Behind the Scenes: A Delivery Day at McDaniel Farms
Most hay buyers see exactly one thing: a trailer pulling into their barnyard. Here's what happened in the 14 hours before that trailer showed up.
4:30am — coffee and the manifest
The first thing on the kitchen table is the day's delivery manifest. It lists every stop on today's route, in geographic order, with bale counts and any special notes. Today it's six stops, 180 bales, 240 loaded miles, total revenue ~$3,500.
Manifest gets cross-checked against Tuesday's invoices in the office laptop. Two confirmations to text: one customer needs us 30 minutes later than scheduled, one is paying cash at the gate.
5:00am — pre-trip walkaround
The truck and trailer get a 10-minute walkaround:
- Tire pressure on all 14 tires
- Brake lights, signals, trailer connection
- Hitch pin and safety chains
- Straps and tarp accessible
- Fuel level (always fill the night before)
Anything off, fix it now. Roadside breakdowns kill a delivery day.
5:30am — barn pull
Today's bales were pre-staged Monday evening, but we re-check the moisture on a random sample bale from each stack. This morning's reading: 13.8%, 14.1%, 14.3%. All well under our 16% limit. Numbers get written on the manifest.
The first 60 bales come off the stack and onto the trailer. They're stacked tight against the front wall, two layers, strapped twice with ratchet straps. The middle 60 stack on top. The last 60 — these go to the closest customer, who's last on the route — load near the tailgate for last-on, first-off efficiency.
6:45am — pull out
Truck pulls out of Peanut Rd, headed west on FL-90 toward stop #1 in Bonifay. Coffee #2.
7:50am — Stop 1, Bonifay
40 bales to a small boarding barn. The owner is feeding when we pull in. We back the trailer up to the barn door, count the bales as we unload them, get a signature on the delivery slip. They pay Venmo on the spot.
Time on site: 22 minutes. Including unload assistance.
9:15am — Stop 2, Defuniak Springs
25 bales to a goat dairy. They have a forklift and ask for a pallet-style unload. We rearrange the load to make sure the pallets come off intact. They moisture-test one of our bales themselves (16.0% — passes). Check payment is on the counter, signed and ready.
Time on site: 30 minutes.
10:30am — Stop 3, Crestview
30 bales to a feed store that resells to walk-in customers. They're our largest single-stop customer this route. Bales stack into their loading dock. We compare invoices, sign the consignment paperwork, take photos for our records.
Time on site: 18 minutes.
11:45am — lunch on the road
15 minutes at a gas station picnic table. Sandwich, water, recheck the manifest for the afternoon stops. Phone has three new customer texts — answer them now while parked.
12:30pm — Stop 4, Niceville
20 bales to a private horse owner. She's a standing-order customer, gets a 5% discount, and is paying by check. We swap her empty pallet for a fresh stack. She has the check ready and a fresh-baked cookie for the driver. (We accept the cookie.)
Time on site: 15 minutes.
1:55pm — Stop 5, Panama City
35 bales to a boarding barn with 12 horses. The barn manager isn't there yet — running 40 minutes late from a feed-store trip. We stage the bales under their overhang and leave the delivery slip on her desk. She'll Venmo us when she gets back. We've delivered to her for 14 months. Trust is earned.
Time on site: 25 minutes (waiting for unload assistance to clear).
3:20pm — Stop 6, Marianna (closest stop, last on route)
30 bales to a long-time customer 12 miles from our farm. Easy unload, half-trailer-loaded, big aisle to stack into. Cash payment in an envelope, exact amount. Quick chat about her broodmare's foaling date (next week). We're back on the road in 16 minutes.
4:10pm — back at the farm
Empty trailer pulls into the barn. Truck gets fueled. Straps and tarp get returned to the rack. Six delivery slips get filed in the office.
Payment summary for the day:
- 2 Venmo, posted on the spot
- 2 check, deposited Wednesday morning
- 1 cash, into the lockbox
- 1 standing-order invoice, net-7
Today's revenue: $3,485. Today's fuel: $98. Today's actual hours on the truck: 9.5.
5:00pm — manifest for tomorrow
Wednesday is a pickup day at the barn. Three customers scheduled, plus walk-ins. Bales need pre-staged. Three new texts to confirm. One delivery quote to send.
By 6pm the manifest is done. By 7pm dinner is on the table.
Why this matters
You're not buying hay from a warehouse. You're buying it from a family that loads, drives, unloads, and answers the phone — same people, every time, since 2010.
That's the difference between farm direct and farm marketing.
Schedule a delivery → or call (850) 573-0470 or (850) 573-0471 to talk to whoever picks up. Probably Robert.