Podcast — Farming

Jon Paul Driver sits down with Mike Stefan of the Stephen Hay Company to talk about the "wild west" of the East Coast hay market—from his "OCD" approach to making high-end show cow hay to managing a diverse 4,000-acre operation near Buffalo, NY.

From Reckoning to Renewal in Hay Exports, this episode digs into the structural reset underway in global forage markets and what it means for growers, exporters, and rural communities.

Jesse Bounds joins Jon Paul Driver to talk about HayCon 2025 in Las Vegas, the state of the hay export market, and why connection and adaptability matter more than ever.

Making hay isn’t always the best decision. Dr. Carson Roberts, Assistant Professor and Forage Specialist at the University of Missouri, joins host Jon Paul Driver to unpack his controversial article: “10 Reasons You Should Quit Making Hay.”

From skyrocketing equipment costs to oversupply, soil health, and alternative winter feeding strategies, this episode challenges assumptions and sparks fresh thinking about specialization, economics, and forage management.

In this episode of the Hay Kings Podcast, host Jon Paul Driver is joined by logistics veteran Eric Wright of Portland Container. Together, they unpack the rhythm of global container flow, the hidden costs of just-in-time supply chains, and why parts availability matters more than ever for agriculture. From tariff shocks to warehouse trends, this episode gives hay and forage producers a strategic lens for navigating supply volatility.

Sponsored by Krone – Dedicated to Hay and Forage Producers.