Lewis County has a strong forage and livestock production and this is a big part of the counties farm income. According to the last Census of Agriculture (2017) Lewis County has 13,853 acres in hay production, 9,255 head of Cattle and Calves, 390 goats, and over 350 head of Horses and Ponies. Lewis County has in sales $1,365,000 in hay, $3,664,000 in cattle and calves, $83,000 in goats, and $40,000 in equine.  The Lewis County ANR agent has been working with these producers to have a better forage and nutritional programs.

Educational programs such as Master Haymaker, Cattlemen’s Association, Eastern Kentucky Hay Contest, and Farm School for Women, were designed to help famers learn how they can produce both better forages and the quality of their animals. The Lewis ANR Agent has help producers pull and test over 70 forage samples a year, and with those results help producers develop rations so that their livestock can receive proper nutrition, save money on feed cost, and help receive a premium on cash hay sales. Farmers have learned the importance of weed management for their pastures, so that livestock have access to more desirable forages, understand the dangers of poisonous plants growing where livestock may consume them, and improve the amount of desirable forages growing in their pastures.

Through these efforts, famers have reported to the ANR Agent the use correct chemical for weed control in pastures to reduce undesirable species, saving money on feed by understanding their hay quality and using a balanced ration, and selling hay at a higher price because they could show the quality with a forage test.