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A new way to make hay? Romulus man says it's a job creator.

Top Quality HayRomulus, N.Y. - Jeff Warren doesn't claim to be an expert when it comes to farming. "My daughter had a horse and that led us to the hay business," Warren says. "And we needed to create a way so farmers could produce hay on a profitable basis."

So Warren retired from financial planning in Florida and came home to western New York to figure out a better way to make hay. He surrounded himself with some agricultural experts and with the help of some partners created Top Quality Hay Processors.

"We've hired all local workers," Warren says.

The company is based at the Seneca Army Depot and has a staff of about 25 employees. Using state grants and private loans totaling just under $4-million dollars, Warren's created a massive assembly line processor that makes hay ready for animal consumption in four hours.

The conventional way to make hay is to cut it, let it bake in the sun for four days and then bale it up. But if it rains at the wrong time using the conventional method, anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of the cut hay can be ruined. Warren's process removes weather from the equation; freshly cut hay goes from the field into his processor and is baled up immediately.

"It's almost unbelievable," says Doug Freier, a longtime farmer and distributor.

"Farming isn't something that changes much, but this is a change," said Chuck Long of Long Milk Haulers.

Right now, Top Quality Hay Processors has one line in operation but Jeff Warren hopes to have several at multiple locations in the future. It's an innovation that he believes could ultimately create jobs for thousands throughout western New York.

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