We baled it before we brokered it.
Davis Hay Co. has been brokering hay in the Imperial Valley since 2008. Before that the work was custom hay — cutting, raking and baling other growers' crop across this valley. It's why we judge a stack by how it was grown, cut and stored first. Tests support a sale. They don't replace judgment.
General patterns, not rules. Requirements are set by your buyer and your destination, and they change. Tell us the end use and we'll say what's actually needed for that load.
Alfalfa in the stack · Imperial Valley
How we got here
Two trades,
in order.
Steve Davis
Davis Hay Co. · El Centro
Most brokers learn hay from the buying side. This one started at the other end of it — in the field, on the equipment, putting the crop up for somebody else.
Custom hay
Cutting, raking and baling other growers' crop on contract across the Imperial Valley. Years of putting hay up before ever selling a load of it.
Brokering begins
Davis Hay starts finding buyers for other people's hay. The field knowledge came along with it — same valley, same growers, different side of the deal.
Incorporated
Davis Hay Co., Inc. registered in California. Still one office in El Centro, still the same phone number.
Two customers
Both ends
of the deal.
Growers need a stack moved without running a sales desk. Buyers need hay that suits what they're actually doing with it. Markets change — we stay flexible so we can match the load to the buyer, the season, and the end use.
Dairy, equine, export & livestock
Tell us the end use and any specs you're held to. We'll tell you what fits and whether a test is worth running.
- Alfalfa, Sudan, Bermuda and Klein grass
- Straight grading — leaf, color, weeds, rain damage, how it was stored
- Lab analysis arranged when you want it or your market requires it
- Pickup and local movement across the valley
- Repeat supply through the season, not one lucky stack
Growers
You cut it. We find the buyer and keep the whole stack moving instead of leaving you the leftovers.
- Access to dairy, equine, export and local buyers
- Honest read on what your hay will actually fetch
- Sampling and testing arranged if the buyer needs it
- Relationships in this valley going back before the brokerage
- Terms you can plan a season around
Hay testing
Testing depends
on the buyer and
the market.
Dairy, equine, export and local livestock buyers do not all ask for the same numbers. Some loads move on visual grade and experience. Others need a lab report. We don't pretend either one is always right.
When it's requested
Analysis can be arranged to fit the use of that hay. Typical items include protein, fiber, moisture, RFV/RFQ, TDN, nitrates, and whatever else the market calls for.
When it isn't
Plenty of hay moves on a look and a handshake, and that's not a shortcut. Quality gets judged first by how the crop was grown, cut, baled and stored — and by who it's going to.
Worth knowing
The sampling matters as much as the lab does. A report is only as good as the core it came from, which is one more reason to have someone who knows the stack pull it.
Tell us the end use and any required specs when you call. We'll say whether a test is needed and what package makes sense for that load.
Supply timing
The valley cuts
when others can't.
Below sea level, mild winters, Colorado River water. Alfalfa here is perennial and cut eight to ten times a year, so supply keeps coming in months when other growing regions have nothing standing.
| Forage | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
Summer heat pulls quality down on everything — mid-season alfalfa gives up leaf and color. Spring and late fall are where the best cuttings come from.
Stacked and waiting on a buyer
Service area
Imperial Valley,
Yuma County,
Central California.
Pickup, local movement and brokerage across this area.
CaliforniaImperial County
ArizonaYuma County
CaliforniaCentral Valley
Destinations
Where the
loads go.
We source out of the valleys above and deliver across the greater Southwest. If your yard isn't on this list, ask — most of it comes down to freight, and freight can usually be worked out.
Start here
Tell us what
you've got, or
what you need.
This builds a clean message and hands it to your email. Or just call — 760-353-0556.
Our banking details do not change by email.
If you get a message that looks like it came from us asking you to wire funds to a new account, or to update payment instructions on file, it did not come from us. Call 760-353-0556 and confirm with Steve before you move anything. That holds even if the message comes from an address you recognize, and even if it's a reply inside a thread you started.