With societal interest in natural products, hemp and kenaf are being considered heavily by Kentucky farmers.  For these crops to be viable, there has to be a way to harvest the plant products and transport them to processing facilities.  In principle, commonly available hay equipment should work for these crops; however, these fibrous crops are very difficult to handle and they cause many problems with current machinery.  Extension personnel are working with KY farmers and fiber processors to either modify current machinery or develop new machines to handle these new crops.  The machines and techniques developed are critical to the success of the these new industries in Kentucky.