2005 - Volume #29, Issue #4, Page #8

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Hay Farmer Expands Into "Bunny Bales"

Hay Farmer Expands Into "Bunny Bales" 29-4-8 JW Tingler has been a hay farmer for 23 years near Covington, Va. When he wanted to expand his business, he spent two years analyzing the market and found that although other businesses supply hay to small pet owners, most provide loose hay in bags. He decided to provide a high-grade hay (timothy or alfalfa) in 6-lb. bales about the size of a shoebox. Like normal bales, they come off in slices and have two bale ties around them. Tingler created a feeder for the "Bunny Bales" as well. To make the smaller bales, he created a patent-pending machine in his shop that rebales a regular square bale into about 18 smaller Bunny Bales. "As we create new products, we test them on our own rabbits first," Tingler says. At first, Tingler planned to sell the smaller bales to area pet stores and possibly larger grocery chains. A friend convinced him to put them on the internet. "Had we not set up a website and just sold to stores, our success would have been doomed for sure," he admits. 6 lb. Timothy Grass and Alfalfa Bunny Bales sell for $9.80 apiece plus shipping. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pine Hill Farms, 308 Armentrout Rd., Covington, Va. 24426 (ph 540 863-0209; email: jwtingler@bunnybale.com; website: www. bunnybale.com).