Madison county ranks in the top 5 in the state of Kentucky for hay with approximately 43,600 acres produced. To help market local hay, the Madison County Extension ANR agent and the Madison County Fair Board partnered to coordinate a regional hay auction at the county fairgrounds.

On Saturday January 8th, 2022 our 15th annual hay auction took place with 68 different lots of hay and straw offered for sale. The Madison County ANR agent coordinated hay testing services, some deliveries, some load out, collected all hay samples, and provided radio, newsletter and social media advertisements. Unfortunately, hay was not able to be tested on site by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture mobile testing program this year due to a snowstorm. Fair board members weighed bales and calculated their average weight for each lot of hay. As each lot of hay was sold, weight was displayed and lot description announced to buyers by the ANR agent.

Approximately $42,000 dollars of hay was sold in the auction by 16 producers from 7 Kentucky counties and one from Tennessee. This year’s attendance was lower than in the past due to COVID-19 and a snowstorm. Hay prices were in line with last year and close to average which was expected due to another good hay producing year.

Our annual hay auction serves several purposes. Most importantly, it allows an opportunity to educate producers about the need for hay testing while bringing buyers and sellers together in the marketplace where local price discovery can occur. Many farmers in the region reference our auction sale prices when placing a value on their own hay. This auction supplies much needed feed for livestock in Madison and surrounding counties.