Author: Timothy Estes
Planning Unit: Hart County CES
Major Program: Forages
Plan of Work: Increasing Agriculture Awareness and Profitability
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
The Tri County Hay and Straw auction originally started with Monroe, Barren, and Metcalfe counties being the primary ones involved. However, in 2022 Hart County became another one to enter into the lineup with producers willing to access another avenue to connect with potential buyers.
Hart county is one of the leading hay producing counties in the state with much of the hay going to the horse industry. However, there is always room for improvement for producers in increasing their marketing potential. In January 2022, Several Hart County hay and straw producers consigned quality product to the Tri County Hay and Straw Auction. What may have been seen as just another consigned lot of hay ended up being a connection of buyer and seller that entered into a long-term commitment and avenue to move hay products. In addition to connecting buyers and sellers of forage products, producers were able to see first-hand what forage analysis looks like as well as the benefits of proper storage and handling of forage.
The 2022 Tri County Hay and Straw Auction brought in over $31,500 and moved 1100 rolls of baleage, 2500 round rolls, as well as 4300 small square bales either at the sale or as a direct result of the sale. This was definitely a great year for the Hay auction especially in a time with record high fertilizer and fuel prices.
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