It was another great year for the annual forage testing program and hay contest. We received more than 600 samples from 17 Eastern Kentucky Counties.  

     Samples were up slightly this year, which was to be expected. Several Counties were impacted by the flood and have been working to renovate back into production.

     The forage testing program and contest has been very successful in educating producers on the importance and economic impact of forage improvement.

     This program was initiated twenty-eight years ago and over this period more than 7000 hay samples have been submitted for testing. The contest, which creates some friendly competition between four east Kentucky beef cattle associations, has been a good instrument to get producers to test their hay.

     Data received from these tests assist producers in making management decisions on improving their hay quality and supplement needs for livestock. Also, the data is being used to balance feed rations that improve animal performance.

      In Owsley County, never has this program been of more importance. With a large percentage of the hay fields being flooded in the last few years this has led to a shortage of hay. Even fields that      were in production yields were way down. This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of requests to have forage tested. Producers are trying to maximize what hay they have available and make decisions on supplementation of their livestock.

     In recent years Owsley County has had little interest in hay tests. This year, that number rose to 10 tests. This number will continue to rise as Farmers are wanting to know the quality of their hay and if it has dirt or other contaminants in it from the flood. This has led to a greater understanding of what hay test numbers mean, especially cash values. Clientele realize the economic value of using this data to balance feed rations and to sell their Hay.

      In Owsley County, soil tests for hay and pasture fields have increased since the July 2022 flood. Owsley county ran a total of 55 in the last two years. Over two thirds of these were for hay and pastureland. Owsley has seen well over 1500 acres of hay and pasture fields reseeded or renovated and most used a higher quality forage to improve hay quality and followed soil test recommendations.

     Educational programs and equipment demonstrations at this contest have educated producers on harvesting their forage crop at the correct times and how to store their hay crop to prevent loss in quality. That was evident from this years’ program where forage test results were much improved.