Horses contribute significantly to the agricultural economy of Kentucky. The dollars generated by horse sales capture the greatest attention, however there are other parts of the agricultural community that also paly a role in supporting both the agricultural community and supporting the horse industry. Of importance is the production and marketing of hay. It is well known that Kentucky does produce a significant amount of hay but often connecting the hay producers to the hay consumers is a challenge. 

To bring commodity producers together with commodity users is a goal of a program supported by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Foundation. As part of this grant Extension personal from the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture Food and Environment are working on a program to show case “Quality Hay for Horses”. 

As part of this program a field day was held in Nicholas County in cooperation with the Nicholas County Extension office and the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent and JP Judge Farms a cash hay producer in the county. Over 60 people attended to learn about making quality hay and marketing quality hay for the horse market. The audience was a combination of hay producers and horse owners who regularly by hay.

Dr. Coleman Extension Horse Specialist discussed the market for hay and the factors that horse owners consider when making a purchasing decision. This included the bale size, cost per bale and the reputation of the seller for producing consistent quality hay. 

Mr. Judge discussed his process for making hay and how it worked in his marketing program. In addition, he demonstrated how he used drone technology to both seed fields for a hay crop and how the drone could either apply fertilizer to the field or spray. During this demonstration Dr. Ray Smith Extension Forage Specialist spoke on how these practices could be used but the areas of seeding depth and overlap still needed to be managed.  

Lastly the audience saw how the bale bundler worked to pick up baled hay, and package it into an easily transported package. 

As one attendee noted, the information was valuable and provided ideas they would incorporate into their cash hay operation. 

Quality hay for horses can be made in Kentucky and linking the producers to the users will go a long way to enhancing the agricultural economy one bale at a time.