1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,080 I don't think anybody is happy with the the, the way prices are 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:04,880 at the moment. I was almost embarrassed to 3 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,640 charge what we were charging. That's what we're paying for it. 4 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,040 We've got the A, this is what we need to charge for it so people 5 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:13,960 understand it is what it is and there's not much we can do about 6 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,240 it really. It's double what we were paying 7 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,360 last year. Hello and welcome back to 8 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,560 Curious Equestrian. I'm your host, Anna Louise, and 9 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,120 if you enjoy listening and watching this podcast, please 10 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,800 click the subscribe button. 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In today's episode we're going 14 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,520 to be talking all about the UK's hay crisis shortage. 15 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,360 I don't know about you but I'm really feeling the desperation 16 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,040 as I know many equestrians are across the country now in spring 17 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,600 2026 to try and find enough hay to keep our horses fed. 18 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,880 My local hay supplier has completely run out of stock and 19 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,880 we're having to look further afield, a task that has actually 20 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,760 taken me late into the night and the early hours of the morning 21 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,320 worrying to see if we can find enough hay. 22 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,520 And local suppliers that I've experienced have completely run 23 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,920 out of hailage and any that they have left, they're rationing to 24 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:23,040 just a few bales per equestrian, which has been very worrying for 25 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,440 many. So let's talk to a hay supplier, 26 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,120 shall we, and find out how they're navigating the UK's hay 27 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,800 shortage crisis and how they're changing their business to cope. 28 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,360 Today we're going to be chatting to Nick from Newmarket, the 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:43,120 owner of NP Nun, who supplies hay and bedding and feed to stud 30 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,680 farms, racing yards and livery yards across the country and to 31 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,480 the biggest racing yards in the world. 32 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,240 Stay tuned because we're also going to be hearing how Nick's 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,320 exports have been affected by the war in the Middle East. 34 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,360 Nick, welcome to Curious Equestrian. 35 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,000 Thank you. Yeah, but thanks for asking me. 36 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:06,600 Well, we're really thrilled to have you on. 37 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,120 Nick. Can you just share with us what 38 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,440 business was like for you before this hay shortage crisis and 39 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,720 what you've had to do differently to cope? 40 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:22,080 Well, I mean, it sort of started last last June, July time really 41 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,760 when we, when we, you know, went into the, to the, the hay crops 42 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,440 well before then because it was, it was so dry in the spring. 43 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,280 That was, that was the big, the, the, the big problem the, the, 44 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,200 the, the grass didn't grow. So we were, I think probably 45 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,360 last year we were 50% down on where we were the year before 46 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,960 and the year before wasn't a great year either. 47 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:48,440 I think it's kind of we are having these drier springs and 48 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,880 colder as well. So even now with we've had lots 49 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:57,120 of rain during the winter, but we have now come into a 50 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:02,560 reasonably warm in the day, but very cold at nights and nothing 51 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:04,480 seems to grow. So let's just hope we don't get 52 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,840 in the same position as we were last year. 53 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,960 But we we've we've coke, we've been pretty good actually 54 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,400 because we've, we've been importing hay from France, we've 55 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:20,000 had stuff in from Belgium and obviously Scotland is always 56 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,440 wet. Ireland is always wet and they 57 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,120 had quite good summers last year. 58 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,600 So they managed to make lots of hay. 59 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:29,720 So we've been bringing it in from from there as well. 60 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,320 So we've been OK. Unfortunately the prices have 61 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:38,320 have gone N which there is nothing we can do about that. 62 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,360 But you know we've kept everybody ticking over and we've 63 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,920 got still got shed fulls of hay and we'll be fine right through 64 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:51,360 to new crop in hopefully June. So to answer your question, yeah 65 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,320 we've we've been OK. But yeah, I guess some guys up 66 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:56,640 and down the country have been struggling and we've been 67 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:01,360 selling more hay with, you know, we historically we, we just 68 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:07,560 service kind of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and into Norfolk. 69 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,320 But yes, they were into Derbyshire. 70 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:14,280 Yeah, we're going a lot further afield and servicing a lot more 71 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,440 customers. And what does that mean for you 72 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,360 having to import hay from France and Belgium? 73 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,680 It's what's it mean? It means it's. 74 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,040 It's not, it's not straightforward. 75 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,000 It's not a straightforward operation. 76 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:33,600 We we had lorries going to Germany on where are we today, 77 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:38,880 Friday, on Tuesday, and trying to get through customs and 78 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,240 trying to get the correct paperwork is not 79 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,320 straightforward. In fact, the lorry that went on 80 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:48,240 Tuesday was held up for 28 hours and he had all the correct 81 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,920 paperwork. It was just, it was just, yeah, 82 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,400 a bit of a nightmare. And that is, that's not just us. 83 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:58,160 That is just, you know, if you get through in one go, you're 84 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,120 you're, you're lucky. But then sometimes you can just 85 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,360 be held up for for hours. And how did you shape shift into 86 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,040 this? Because surely that's a hell of 87 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,480 a lot to learn and to prepare your drivers for to suddenly be 88 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,600 importing from places like France and France and Belgium. 89 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:18,240 Yeah. No, it is, It is. 90 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,360 But we've got, we've got guys that that that help us with 91 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,880 that. We've got a guy that buys hay 92 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,160 for me and looks at hay and he he, he's got a fleet of trucks 93 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,800 and and he, he does most of that side of it. 94 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,440 You know, we still, we still have to obviously do the 95 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,880 paperwork and fill everything in and, and make sure we've got 96 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,360 that side of it right. But he, he, he deals with the 97 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,680 rest of it. So that's, that's, that's all 98 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,560 worked quite well really. And we always most of sorry, no, 99 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,840 go on you say, yeah, most of the hay that we buy. 100 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:54,520 And we we kind of asked for pictures for samples and 101 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:57,720 analysis reports as well. So we can we can sort of check 102 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,840 it, check it that way. I was. 103 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,160 Going to ask you how is the hay different in in France and 104 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,280 Belgium to that of what what would be grown in in England? 105 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,240 Yeah, it's it's slightly different. 106 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,720 The stuff in France is we've been having is crow hay, which 107 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,960 is it comes with a crow region in France. 108 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:19,800 Over here it's probably equivalent to like a, a nice 109 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,080 quality Meadow hay. But yes, yes, some of the stuff 110 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,600 is slightly different, but it's all again, it's all, it's all 111 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:31,920 nice quality. You know, we generally Meadow 112 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,800 grass we have, but most of the hay we sell is into stud farms, 113 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,200 racing yards. So it's it's a bit higher level 114 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,160 sea haze, Timothy, rye grass and that kind of stuff. 115 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,400 And what, how did you feel having to suddenly get your head 116 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,440 around importing and, and sending drivers and like you 117 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,560 say, delays at the borders and, and was that a lot of stress for 118 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,160 you to work it all out how it would work compared to, you 119 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,120 know, your usual year of business? 120 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:08,720 Yes, we we like a challenge. So anything that we, that 121 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,000 anything that's a bit of a challenge. 122 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,360 Yeah. We're, we're, we're up for it. 123 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,720 And the, you know, the, it was either that or we don't have 124 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,960 any. So yeah, we, we, we, we look at, 125 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,640 look at all sorts and sometimes it works and sometimes it 126 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,200 doesn't. But, you know, thank goodness 127 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,640 it's this, this it's it's worked out, Yeah. 128 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,800 It's been the same for equestrians having to stay up, 129 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,760 you know, I know from personal experience late into the night 130 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,960 trying to find places that are still selling hay, that are 131 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,040 still taking on new clients and customers that aren't closed to 132 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,160 to new people. It's been such a worrying and 133 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,200 stressful time. And I can imagine for you, 134 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,440 you've had a huge undertaking to try and keep up with that demand 135 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,680 and to keep up with the calls of sort of desperate equestrians on 136 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,160 the end of the line. Yeah, exactly. 137 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,360 Yeah. I mean, you know, most, most 138 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,360 folks that own horses, they they're, they're, they're pets, 139 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:02,960 aren't they? And they, they, they, they love 140 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,080 them. And then what I've noticed they, 141 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:06,480 they, they'd rather look after the horse. 142 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,280 They'd feed the horse before they feed themselves. 143 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,160 So, yeah, no, we have to, you know, keep everybody ticking 144 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,840 over and it's it's all about quality. 145 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,440 You know, if you've got a good quality gear, you know, you'll 146 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:25,080 always sell it, you know, even if it is a bit punchier price 147 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,760 than the normal. So yeah, we've been lucky that 148 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,600 everything that we've had so far has been really good. 149 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,080 And. Yeah. 150 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,200 Have you noticed, Nick? Have you been selling more or 151 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,600 less hay in this crisis? Have you found more more clients 152 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,600 coming to you? Yeah, definitely more whether 153 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,920 they will be with us next year will be a different thing 154 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,800 because I mean, obviously through no fault of their, you 155 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,840 know, from no fault of their supplies previously they've 156 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:02,600 struggled and you know, they've been short on supply and maybe 157 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,480 haven't been able to source it from anywhere else. 158 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,800 So they're not saying they've let them down, but they haven't 159 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:11,080 been able to supply. So yeah, we have, we have gained 160 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,680 lots of customers this year, but are they going to be with us, 161 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:17,120 you know, the rest of the year into next year? 162 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:18,440 We, we don't know. We'll we'll see. 163 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,400 But hopefully, you know, some of them will. 164 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:23,720 Obviously some of them won't, but some of them will, 165 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,520 hopefully. And how much have you had to 166 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:32,400 increase your prices by to cover the importing costs, Nick, it's. 167 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:34,840 Yes, it's it's, it's been tricky. 168 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:43,160 It's so originally, I suppose it was double what we were paying 169 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,080 last year and then now again. So we're bringing some hanging 170 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,320 from Ireland next week. We've just had another 10% fuel 171 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,840 surcharge on because of the war. So it's, it's really interesting 172 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,600 times at the moment. And yeah, if you don't keep up 173 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,320 with it, you soon, you soon, soon catch a cold because you 174 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:05,800 can soon lose a few, lose a few quid on the job. 175 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,760 I was going to ask you, have you noticed that the questions that 176 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,760 customers are happy to pay that price increase, but you 177 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,840 mentioned that desperation and almost that they would rather 178 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,920 feed their horse over doing their own food shopping. 179 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:22,720 Yeah, I don't think anybody is happy, are they? 180 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,880 I don't think anybody is happy with the the way prices are at 181 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:27,920 the moment. I mean, we're, you know, I was 182 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,440 almost embarrassed to charge what we were charging, but it 183 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:32,760 was a case of that's what we're paying for it. 184 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,600 We've got the, we've got the, the, the hay, but this is what 185 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,600 we need to charge for it. So, yeah, you know, people 186 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,240 understand like, you know, it's, it's, it is what it is. 187 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,280 And there's nothing, it's nothing we can do about it or 188 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,480 anybody else. Just if they, if they want it, 189 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,120 that's what it is. And if they don't, or there's 190 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:52,480 not much we can do about it really. 191 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,000 And what's it been like on the yard? 192 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,920 Nick, just paint a picture for us on a day-to-day. 193 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:01,720 Is it all action stations? Have you had to increase your 194 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,840 team? How are you coping with the 195 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:05,520 demand? Yeah. 196 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:10,080 Well, so I mean the hay is just a sort of a small part of our 197 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,840 business really. We're we're farmers, we've got 198 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:14,040 we're, we're arable farmers. So we've got that side of the 199 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,040 business. The, the main side really is 200 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,080 wood shavings and, and horse feed. 201 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,040 I mean, we do, we do, you know, terrific amount of shavings, 20 202 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:25,920 odd thousand barrels a week shavings. 203 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,320 We do. And you know, probably 100 tons 204 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,560 of horse feed a week. So the hay sits alongside the, 205 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,040 you know, the, the other bits and pieces. 206 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,040 And we've always, we've always done hay. 207 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:42,960 But it has, yeah, it's got, as the years have gone on, it's got 208 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,480 busier and busier. We've got, you know, more racing 209 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,280 yards, like I say, more racing yards, more stud farms on board. 210 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:56,240 And they're the ones that when you take on a racing yard, they 211 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:00,240 want a consistent supply for 12 months of the year. 212 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,000 So we, you know, you have to, you have to have the job, right? 213 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,600 Because you can't go and take a load in one week and it'd be, 214 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,840 you know, great quality. And then the next week it's, you 215 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,000 know, it's changed. It has to be consistent. 216 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,120 So that's the, the, the, the challenges we have. 217 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:22,400 It has to be good quality and consistent all the time. 218 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,400 But yeah, no, we've got a good, we've got a really good team of 219 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:30,560 lads here. We've got 7 trucks on the road. 220 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:36,640 We've got a guy who's dedicated to getting orders ready all the 221 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,120 time. And my son Harry, who's a big 222 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:44,960 part of the business, he organizes all the, the website 223 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,400 and all the, all the orders and puts them through. 224 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,720 So yeah, we've got a good team. And yeah, it's been, it has been 225 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,520 busy, yeah. But that's that's how we like 226 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,720 it. And to keep up with that 227 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,560 consistency, when you had to start importing hay, were they 228 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,400 happy to to move with you in terms of then taking on hay from 229 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,320 France and Belgium? Was it a similar type of hay for 230 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,280 the racing yards? Yeah, for the, for the racing 231 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,520 yards, the racing yards, we've been getting the hay from mainly 232 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:19,880 from Ireland and yeah, yeah, there's, there's been, there's a 233 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:25,320 lot of really, really nice quality hay in Ireland from a 234 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,080 supplier in Ireland that we've been using. 235 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,720 And he's really, he's really looked after us. 236 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,800 So he's got he's got shed falls of nice quality hay. 237 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:40,440 So, you know, we've said how much we need for each trainer 238 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,440 and he's kind of stood by it and, and kept us at back. 239 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,760 So that's been fine. The stuff we've been getting 240 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,680 from France has been going to kind of livery yards and and and 241 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:53,920 different throats. We've had a had a good 242 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,680 consistent supply of that. So yeah, on the whole it's been, 243 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,080 you know, once we've committed to it that they've been pretty 244 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,040 good and and stuck to the word and it's been the been the same 245 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,600 consistent quality. And you supply Nick some of the 246 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,640 best and biggest racehorse yards in the world. 247 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,880 How did you get into these racing yards? 248 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,680 How did you breakthrough? I don't know accident really, I 249 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:24,280 don't know that we, we just, yeah, we just built it up over 250 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,080 the years. And I think it's this, it's all 251 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:30,600 about customer service and, and loyalty. 252 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,600 And you know, with, with, I think I'd like to think we've 253 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,640 got a good customer service with we always, you know, deliver on 254 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,480 time when we say we're going to. And yeah. 255 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,120 And I think if you, if you, if you do that with, you know, 256 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,760 quality service with quality products, I think people stick 257 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,200 by you and then it just, it kind of just it grows. 258 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:55,960 So that's the person that was ordering a, you know, a few 259 00:14:55,960 --> 00:15:00,480 barrels of shavings and then, oh, can you do some hay for us? 260 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,240 Can you do some straw? Can you do some feed? 261 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,480 And it just builds up like that. And that's what we've done over 262 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:12,240 the last 2530 years, I guess just we, we do do, you know, 263 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,360 quite a bit of advertising, but. I think our business is growing 264 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:22,840 through, you know, organically through good customer service 265 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,480 and, and, and and word of mouth. And yeah, I think that's that's 266 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,960 been the key for us. And what do just share with us? 267 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:37,160 What do race horses and sport horses and show jumpers need in 268 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,120 hay? Because unlike the livery yards 269 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,640 and the owners here in the UK that are desperate to get 270 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,800 anything to feed their horses as long as it's good quality. 271 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,200 I imagine they have quite a speck as to what they want and 272 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,800 and what they need energy wise as well for their sport horses. 273 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:58,120 Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, I mean, good quality hay is good 274 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,240 quality hay whether you're feeding to a pony or to, to, to, 275 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:04,240 to, to a racehorse. But you know, anybody knows what 276 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:05,960 good hay is. When you smell a good Bale of 277 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:12,600 hay, you, you know, it's, it's just, you want it clean and, you 278 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:17,440 know, not, not not dusty and a nice colour to it, nice smell to 279 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,840 it. And then, you know, the, the 280 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,640 other bits, pieces of proteins and, and and stuff and it's, 281 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,640 yeah, it's just, you know, you know when you see a good Bale of 282 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,840 hay and you smell a good Bale of hay, you know, compared to a 283 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:37,720 nobody wants to feed, you know, the mouldy, you know, damn musky 284 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:40,920 hay. And that's it's no good for 285 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,880 anything. And just share with us, Nick, 286 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,960 how have you been affected by the war in the Middle East? 287 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,960 Yeah. That's another interesting we, 288 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:55,160 we do export quite a lot of wood shavings and, and bits and 289 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,440 pieces of hay and different things, but mainly wood 290 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,440 shavings. We do send a lot to the Middle 291 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:01,960 East. So yeah, it's been very, very 292 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:06,200 challenging to say the least. We loaded up 10 containers for 293 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,880 Qatar, what, 2 1/2 weeks ago, finished loading them on a 294 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:14,000 Friday, I think probably the same day as the the war started 295 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,880 and didn't really think much of it. 296 00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:19,079 But yeah, it's caused massive problems. 297 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,359 Where there's been more tariffs added to each container and the 298 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:26,520 containers, I've just been on the phone most of the morning 299 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,880 sorting out. We've got 10 containers just 300 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:34,600 landed in India. So yeah, we're not quite sure 301 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,280 what we're going to do with them and when they can move or how 302 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,720 they're going to move or yeah, we had 10 containers come back 303 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:52,280 to our yard and we've still got some in Lala, which is in Oman. 304 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,720 So yeah, no, it's, it's, it's one of those things that a month 305 00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:01,680 ago it was, it was a, it was a great job when it all went well 306 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,000 loading them. We're all geared up to load them 307 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,080 with ramps and forklifts to drive into the containers. 308 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,520 And yeah, it's, it's, it's been a good, a good job. 309 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,400 But yeah, how things have changed in the last few weeks. 310 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:17,600 It's mad. Oh, rapidly. 311 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:19,760 And who do you serve in the Middle East? 312 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,800 You you mentioned the king of Qatar. 313 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:27,200 Yes, yeah, we do. Qatar, the Emir of Qatar, so the 314 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:32,040 ruler of Qatar, we deliver to Goodolfin, one of our big 315 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:38,680 customers in, in, in Dubai and various other folks in, in, in 316 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,640 Dubai and, and and Qatar. So yeah, we've got, you know, 317 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,600 strong working relationship with them. 318 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,840 We've been, you know, working for them for many years. 319 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,720 And yeah, so it's, yeah, it's been tricky for everyone because 320 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,080 obviously they're they're they're waiting on product. 321 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,320 So we're looking at trying to, you know, fly some feed out now 322 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:02,440 in the, in the in the coming weeks. 323 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,640 But yes, it's not not straightforward. 324 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,040 With all that's been going on with the war, the last thing we 325 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,640 think about is what's happening with the horses. 326 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,240 Who's feeding the horses, you know, in those areas and, and 327 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,760 how will they get access to feed and, and hay and, and all the 328 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,240 other supplies. That's so interesting to hear 329 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,600 that you're trying to find any which way to get these supplies 330 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:28,520 in. Exactly. 331 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,040 Yeah, Yeah. I mean, these are the things 332 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:31,560 that forget, get forgotten about, aren't they? 333 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,720 In a in a war? I mean, I never thought it would 334 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,600 have any effect on us at all. You, you know, you think, well, 335 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,560 oil prices are going to go up and we're farmers. 336 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:43,120 You, you think fertilizers are going to go up, but it's all the 337 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:45,320 other, it's all the other things. 338 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,960 The, the knock on effects. I mean, I was, I was speaking to 339 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,120 the guy that does all our shipping for us and that he's, 340 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,920 that's his business is shipping to the Middle East. 341 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,760 And he's just, you know, tearing his hair out because they have 342 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,640 got not, you know, they've got hundreds and hundreds of 343 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,000 containers going over there. So yeah, you don't, you don't, 344 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,560 you don't realise the the the knock on effect. 345 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,200 You know, we're very small. It's, you know, to tiny in the 346 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,680 scheme of things. But you know, some folks, it's 347 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,440 going to be a, it's going to be a bit of an upheaval. 348 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,800 And you mentioned the war tariffs as well on on these 349 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,600 exports. Are your customers and your 350 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,480 clients willing to pay the the 3000 up? 351 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:32,320 Was the £3000 worth of tariffs? Yeah, I think the the they, they 352 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,360 will yes, yeah, I mean that, that, that they've got to 353 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,520 really, because then it ensures the the the containers if they 354 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,640 get held in, because they could be held in ports for, you know, 355 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,760 however long this goes on for weeks and months. 356 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,600 So and they'll be they won't be the only containers in there. 357 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,360 They'll probably be surrounded by thousands and thousands of 358 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:54,520 others. So, you know, if you don't pay 359 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:59,880 that tariff, then you might be charged per day per container, 360 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:02,600 which could run into, well, yeah, telephone numbers. 361 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,960 So yeah. Oh, it's it's all all all very 362 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:09,240 interesting character building, I think is the word isn't. 363 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,040 It oh, don't they say, yeah. Oh my goodness. 364 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,680 And Nick, just just building a picture as well of these horses 365 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,760 in Qatar that you supplied to the King of Qatar is, are these 366 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,240 horses his personal horses or you know, they what kind of 367 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,040 horses are they? They're all, they'll be race 368 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:26,960 horses. Yeah, yeah. 369 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,280 We don't, we, we don't supply them with, we don't supply them 370 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,480 with any feed. It's all, it's all purely 371 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,000 shavings. So the obviously the feed guys 372 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:39,280 have got their own problems, but because, you know, it all goes 373 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,920 on, all goes on the water. You know, one good thing about 374 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,600 our shavings is they're not, you know, they're not perishable. 375 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,200 So they can sit there for, you know, months and they will be 376 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:53,840 fine. But obviously with the horse 377 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,480 feed, it has a sell by date. So, you know, I thought most of 378 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,280 them had sort of a six month sell by date. 379 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,640 Well, six weeks to travel over there and then sat there for 380 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:06,600 another. However long it's, it's not 381 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,240 going to be long before it gets gets past the sell by date. 382 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,480 And then yeah, it's no good for anything. 383 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,560 So yeah. And you've just started 384 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,960 supplying a show jumper in Germany too. 385 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,640 Yeah, we're out there this week. Actually we, well, I'd say just 386 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,560 we did, we, we supplied them all last year. 387 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,280 So, yeah, no, that's been a, that's been, that's been good 388 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,680 and interesting. And that's, that's something we 389 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:38,080 like to do more of actually more into show jumping world in, in 390 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,880 into Europe and over here. That'd be. 391 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,240 That'd be is it? Hard to break into the different 392 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:47,800 equestrian industries. Yes, it is. 393 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,720 Yeah. Yeah, there's it's, it's, it's 394 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,440 hard to get into, you know, to, to any customers really. 395 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,880 I find it harder with the with the feed than anything because I 396 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,480 think someone who feeds, you know, it's, it's like with your, 397 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,280 with your dog, you, you never like to change the, the, the 398 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,640 feed that they're on. And trying to get someone to, 399 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,360 to, to, to swap over is always, always hard. 400 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,040 And especially in the, during the season as well. 401 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,360 And if and if someone's having a good season, there's no reason 402 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,600 for them to want to change. But yeah, so it's, yeah, 403 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,280 nothing. I, I, I've always found that 404 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,280 everything I've done has there's, there's never been an 405 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,560 easy, easy routing with anything. 406 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,200 That's what I think. We have to do networking, Nick, 407 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,120 or is it, is it word of mouth that spread that then means 408 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,680 you've gone into show jumping. How did you kind of get through 409 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:35,520 the gates? It's all. 410 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,160 Yeah, it's all, it's all. It's all about networking 411 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:43,000 really. And who you know, and you know 412 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,120 like I said earlier, if you've got good products and you offer 413 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:51,200 a good service, I think you're sort of 80% there. 414 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,600 But yeah, you obviously you do need the, the contacts to go and 415 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,320 see and a little help along the way. 416 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,920 If you, if you, you know, do a good service and someone's 417 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,440 really pleased with it, they hopefully you'd like to think 418 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:09,640 they go and sort of tell their pals and acquaintances and 419 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:12,520 that's, you know, that's how, that's how it's worked for us 420 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,040 over the years anyway. I guess a bit of advertising. 421 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,080 I think the the the advertising on the website and and the 422 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,320 orders that come through the website have all been through 423 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:25,880 advertising, but most of the big clients has been sort of 424 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,320 networking and going out there and seeing them. 425 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:34,240 And Nick Halage is proving a real problem at the moment. 426 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:38,760 I have been doing a tour of all the equestrian outlets in my 427 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:44,800 county and all of the horse feed suppliers are limiting owners to 428 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,040 five bales of hailage per customer. 429 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,360 And they've told me stories of customers from 2 counties away 430 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,440 ringing up and saying can we bring a trailer and fill up? 431 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,360 Basically wipe you of all your pallets and and load up the 432 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:00,600 trailer and and be away. And they've said no. 433 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,440 We've had to ration it to keep all the customers in hailage. 434 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,520 But obviously all these supplies are going down and down and 435 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,040 down. Gradually, we've seen all 436 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,560 different brands of hailage disappear off of our shelves. 437 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,760 Are you finding an issue with sourcing hailage as well? 438 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,480 Yeah, definitely. I think the hailage is a lot 439 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,360 seems to be a lot shorter than than Hay, whether that's because 440 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:25,160 more people feed hailage now and you know, everyone's got through 441 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,240 the supplies quicker. But yeah, definitely there is a 442 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,120 definitely a shortage of hailage and we, yeah, we can't, we're 443 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,320 struggling to find hailage. We've got, we've got bits and 444 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,520 pieces left and we are funny enough, we bring a lorry load 445 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,480 back from Germany which should be back here today actually. 446 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,960 So we are going to have some of that available. 447 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,880 But no Halage would be the one that people are struggling with. 448 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,000 But then the, the Halage season, I mean they're not what we 449 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,760 coming into April now there could well be Halage made in 450 00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:02,320 May. So hopefully that won't be too 451 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,840 much longer before there's another, you know, new new 452 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,400 croppers in. It's interesting because we were 453 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,080 told as equestrians at the beginning of the, the hay 454 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,680 shortage, like you mentioned last summer when there were sort 455 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,360 of rumblings of it, it was like, oh, make sure you feed hailage 456 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,640 alongside hay to make your hay stocks last longer. 457 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,000 So a lot of us moved on to a sort of combination and now are 458 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,320 really feeling that pinch where we can't get the hailage 459 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,360 anywhere that we've moved on to, which is so anxiety inducing 460 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,440 when you're trying to keep your horses diet stable for their 461 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:35,760 digestive systems. I mean, it's an absolute 462 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,800 nightmare. Yeah. 463 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,320 No, I can, I can understand that. 464 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,200 Yeah. It's, it's not, it's not 465 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,880 straightforward at all, is it? No, I mean, you mentioned and 466 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:48,680 you'd lightheartedly say Nick, oh, it's character building. 467 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,000 But seriously, how do you deal with the kind of stress of the 468 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,240 shipments and and the deliveries going out, keeping up, you know, 469 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,640 with with all of this demand and also keeping an eye on, on hay 470 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,960 stocks and making sure that there is enough coming in, in 471 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,600 for you and your clients. Yeah, well, it's this, you know, 472 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,640 it's what we do. This, this is the is the same 473 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,640 with with everything, isn't it really? 474 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:15,280 It's just, you just have to, you know, manage it well, logistics 475 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,760 and and everything. But yeah, with, yeah, I don't 476 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,640 mind. I, I, I, I don't suffer with too 477 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:21,440 much stress. So. 478 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,640 Yeah. It's part of the business for 479 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,120 you to be calm and collected and stable. 480 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:29,120 Do you think that's needed for for the area that you're you're 481 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:32,000 working in Nick? Yeah, I think any, any business 482 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,240 isn't it, you know, you know, there's, there's, there's 483 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,440 everybody has different challenges in, in, in, in, you 484 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:41,000 know, whatever business you're in. 485 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,400 And yeah, it's certainly been a challenge. 486 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:50,040 But yes, we, we, I don't suffer too much, get too, too stressed 487 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,040 over it. We'll, you know, we get it to 488 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:56,000 we've, we've, we've got most of it over the line in the last, 489 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,920 the last few months. So hopefully it'll continue. 490 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:02,720 And Nick, with your farmer hat on, because of course you are a 491 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:06,720 farmer too, how are things looking for 2026? 492 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,520 Because we are reading in equestrian magazines and news 493 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,640 outlets, you know that sort of that worrying time hearing what 494 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:18,600 will summer 2026 bring and will we expect another hay shortage 495 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,800 in the next year to come? From your perspective, what are 496 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:23,960 you seeing on the ground at the moment and what are your 497 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,280 predictions? Well, I wish I had a crystal 498 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,240 ball, but it's, it's, it's very difficult to say. 499 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,920 We're in, we're, we're now coming towards the end of March 500 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:41,240 and our crops look reasonably well, but we just, you just, you 501 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:45,000 just need that consistent weather, You know, you need, I 502 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,000 know everybody's probably sick to death of, you know, how wet 503 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,360 it's been over the winter, but it's amazing how quickly it 504 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,120 dries out and it has, we were putting fertilizer on last week 505 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,280 and it's amazing how stuff has dried out. 506 00:28:56,280 --> 00:29:02,160 And in a funny way, we, we almost need another rain to, you 507 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:03,800 know, to keep, keep freshening up. 508 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:05,400 That, that, that, that will be the key. 509 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,200 We need, we need a, a consistent rain through, you know, next 510 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:15,080 month and, and, and May and then we should be fine. 511 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,600 As you know, you need warm and we need the warmer nights as 512 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,080 well. Because the, everything I've 513 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,280 noticed the last three weeks, stuff has gone backwards again. 514 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:26,960 We've had reasonably warm days but the nights have been very 515 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,160 cold and it really knocked stuff back. 516 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,840 And you need that more for the nights for the grass to grow. 517 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:36,640 Yeah, exactly. Yeah, Well, you want the soil, 518 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,240 you want the soil to warm up because it, you know, it's, it's 519 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,400 just starts to warm up and then it frosts at night, cold nights 520 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,280 and it just, it stops everything in its tracks. 521 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,800 So yeah, as long as we get some, some, some decent weather, 522 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,680 everything looks, looks well. But as long as we get some, you 523 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,880 know, decent weather between now and, you know, when we think 524 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:03,680 about cutting maybe June time, yeah, fingers crossed and 525 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,680 everything crossed that hopefully it all comes good. 526 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,000 And then obviously you need the, the, the, the, the sunny warm 527 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,240 weather when you, when you make the hay, that's the hardest, 528 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,400 that's the hardest part. Yeah, oh gosh. 529 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,840 And with we've had some unpredictable seasons, haven't 530 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,000 we nicked the last few years? But as you mentioned, the 531 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,480 drought last year was caused this entire crisis. 532 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,560 So when you say we need that decent weather between now and 533 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,280 the summer, we're looking for warm nights and a mixture of 534 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:34,560 that warm sunshine but also getting enough rain as well. 535 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,560 Yeah, exactly. If we, if we could control, it 536 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:39,560 will be easy, wouldn't it? If we if we had the sunshine 537 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,320 during the day and turn a tap on at night, it'd be it'd be easy. 538 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,840 But unfortunately we don't have that, do we? 539 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:50,240 So yeah, it's just, yeah, we get, we just don't want as we've 540 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,080 had the last couple of years, the, the really dry springs kind 541 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,640 of from narrow through to, you know, May time, April, May are 542 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,640 probably the key months to, to, to really get stuff, get stuff 543 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,280 growing. Have you ever seen a hay 544 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:06,360 shortage like this in your career, Nick? 545 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,200 This no, it's probably probably is one of the the driest, but 546 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,880 you know, it's in plenty of years when the the, the you 547 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,600 know, you have a really wet hay making time. 548 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:23,040 So although there's lots of hay about, it's absolute rubbish. 549 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:26,360 So I don't know what's, I don't know what's best really having 550 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:33,120 less but good quality or lots and, you know, bad quality. 551 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,400 So yeah, which is? Another, another conundrum. 552 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,040 Isn't it another difficulty in that exactly in the seasons for 553 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,080 you to to navigate and challenge and to challenge you? 554 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:46,960 Yeah, the hard, you know, the hardest, the hardest part is 555 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,360 actually making the hay. You need the, you need the, the 556 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,400 weather to make the hay. And whether it's a, you know, a 557 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,840 bumper crop or, you know, a thin crop, you still need the weather 558 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,640 to make it. So that's the that's, that's 559 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,480 that's the key. And it's clear, Nick, that you 560 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,880 manage challenges and and stress really well. 561 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,160 But is it something that you worry about looking ahead as a 562 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:14,320 farmer, as a business owner, with these unpredictable weather 563 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,440 seasons that we're seeing? Do you worry about the future of 564 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:22,840 making hay and halage? Actually, you can't, you can't, 565 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:24,800 you can't worry about it, can you? 566 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:26,640 It's, it's the seasons have definitely changed. 567 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,280 I mean, I've, I've seen that, you know, we seem to get these 568 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:35,640 drier springs and, you know, I've, I've noticed that sort of 569 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:37,560 August now seems to almost be a wet month. 570 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,040 I think we had a good Woolworths last year, but Woolworths now 571 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,600 seems to be quite, you know, sketchy. 572 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,360 But yes, I, I definitely think the seasons have changed. 573 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:53,000 And yeah, you, I think you, you may see that. 574 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,480 I know that I've got a guy growing hay for me this year. 575 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,400 He's got 300 acres in it and he's got, he, he can irrigate it 576 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,440 all. He's a vegetable grower. 577 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:08,040 And I think the potato trade has been so bad the last couple of 578 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,000 years that he's going to be, he's started growing hay and he, 579 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,320 he can actually irrigate it. So that's going to be really 580 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:15,520 interesting to see how that goes. 581 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,720 He can, you know, control what water he puts on. 582 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:23,640 Again, you do need the you do need the, you know, 2-3 weeks of 583 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:28,240 hot, sunny, windy, dry weather when you come to make it. 584 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,600 And I wonder if we're going to see this summer equestrians kind 585 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:39,640 of grabbing all the hay and hailage they can and filling up 586 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:43,440 barns and sheds as soon as possible to try and avoid that 587 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,360 panic that we've experienced throughout the winter, steadily 588 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,120 getting worse and actually feeling the real the crunch in 589 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,880 this springtime. I wonder if people will start 590 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,640 sort of making plans ahead of time. 591 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:57,400 Yeah, 100%. Yeah, you do. 592 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,400 We see it every year with a straw, you know, on a, on a, on 593 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:06,280 a year when there's a bump across the straw, the, the, you 594 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:11,719 know, the price drops. And then not many folks then 595 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,239 bail straw next year because there's such a, a carryover and 596 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:20,600 there's not so much bailed. And then, then it runs short and 597 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:22,520 then everybody goes out the next year and bails it. 598 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:26,760 And yeah, I can, I can, I can, I can see that actually that, that 599 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,719 everybody will be making hay this year and, and, and the 600 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:34,880 price will, you know, if there's a bumper crop and lots made and 601 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:36,880 obviously the price will, will drop again. 602 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,040 And the. Price will, will, will. 603 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,639 Yeah, the price. You know, I'm pretty convinced 604 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:47,719 that the price will will will drop anyway, I don't think it 605 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,280 can possibly be as dry as it was last year, can it? 606 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,159 Oh, no, don't say it. That's what we're all, you know, 607 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,320 hoping, wishing and praying for and and also hoping that we see 608 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,040 the prices come down because it's always a worry that they 609 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:02,800 will just stay at that at that risen cost. 610 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:06,960 Yeah. Well, I think, you know, like I 611 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:09,960 said earlier, it depends on what happens on the war, doesn't it? 612 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,400 With the, with the fuel as well, because everything that goes 613 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,240 into everything that goes into good quality, hey, you know, 614 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:22,520 fertilizers and, and and fuel and and chemicals is going to go 615 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:26,960 through the roof. So yeah, it will be. 616 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,760 It will certainly be perhaps more expensive than it 617 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:34,720 historically has been, but I don't, I think you'll see it 618 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:36,440 drop back from where it is at the moment anyway. 619 00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,520 And like you mentioned, another price hike coming literally in 620 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:44,000 the coming weeks with this, this fuel rise as well, where it's 621 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,080 absolutely skyrocketed, hasn't it? 622 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,880 A question then have to try and find more funds to cover even 623 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:52,840 higher delivery rates. I mean, my delivery cost has has 624 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,280 tripled, I think when I last, when I last heard the scores on 625 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,600 the doors. So it's it's really difficult 626 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:02,280 because whereas horse owners do, we find this, this extra money 627 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,160 that we haven't accounted for in horse ownership. 628 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,880 I know, I know. It's, it's it's tricky, isn't 629 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:10,000 it? It is. 630 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,920 It's so difficult, but Nick, thank you so much for sharing 631 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:17,000 with us your story and what it's like behind the scenes trying to 632 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:21,160 kind of manage and maintain these hay stocks for, for 633 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,720 customers and clients all over the world from everyday 634 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:26,840 equestrians to like you say the king of Qatar and and the 635 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,040 biggest racehorse yards in the world. 636 00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:33,000 I mean, are you amazed to to sit back and think about where you 637 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,600 are supplying now in your career, in your 30 plus years of 638 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:37,480 doing this? Yeah. 639 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:40,080 Definitely, yeah. We never, never take it for 640 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:43,000 granted. It's no, it's, it's, it's, it's 641 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,400 been good to us really. And no, we're really, really 642 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,360 pleased how it's going. And like I say, I've got Harry 643 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:53,200 now who's sort of taken on the battle and he's, he's doing 644 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,800 really well and, you know, picking up customers and looking 645 00:36:56,800 --> 00:36:59,960 after them and growing it. So yeah, no, it's good. 646 00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:00,920 It's good. It's really good. 647 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,960 I'm learning to to navigate those difficulties and all the 648 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:06,560 challenges that come along with it. 649 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,120 Yeah, well, he's, he's started in probably the hardest, the 650 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:14,000 hardest decade, hasn't he? What with, you know, COVID and 651 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,640 and Brexit and, you know, all the other problems we've had. 652 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,600 So yeah. And what with these 653 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:23,760 unpredictable weathers, that's what it's going to take, isn't 654 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:25,440 it? To keep moving forward with a a 655 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:29,160 business like yours is to be able to do the sort of seemingly 656 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:31,960 impossible. Yeah, exactly. 657 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,400 Yeah, yeah. And Nick, we've heard your phone 658 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:39,120 dinging with sales throughout the chat, so we know that you're 659 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:41,400 incredibly busy. What does the rest of your day 660 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:45,400 look like for you, Nick? The rest of the day, back in the 661 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:49,120 office this afternoon, I'm trying to sort out how I can get 662 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:54,280 rid of shavings in India, no. And what happens next when we'll 663 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:56,400 have to wait and see. Nick, it sounds like you're just 664 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,640 taking it as it comes and and navigating it when you get 665 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,080 there. Yeah. 666 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,200 We'll, we'll, we'll sort it out one way or the other. 667 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,040 Yeah. Nick, for those listening who 668 00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,680 think I desperately need some hay and they live somewhere in 669 00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:13,160 the UK, how do they get in touch with you to find out if you'll 670 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:18,000 be able to deliver? Yeah, just message us on go on 671 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,480 the website, you'll see the different types of hay we've got 672 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,920 on there. And yeah, you all the details 673 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:26,080 are on there. And give us a shout, e-mail us, 674 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,560 give us a call and hopefully we can, we can help you out. 675 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:32,920 Yeah. Brilliant. 676 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:34,440 Nick, thank you so much for coming on. 677 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,160 Curious the question. Thanks very much.