Podcast — Hay

Jon Paul Driver sits down with Scott Courtright of Courtright Enterprises for a brutally honest assessment of the hay export crisis. They move past the surface-level talk to provide the intellectual honesty required to navigate an industry that has effectively wiped out $600 million in equity through inventory write-downs and a historic demand collapse.

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.