Specialists Involved: Jimmy Henning, Chris Teutsch, Jeff Lehmkuhler, Bob Coleman and Ken Adries (Kentucky State University).

The Eastern Kentucky Hay Contest (EKHC) is a cooperative effort between the county agents in Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky and local cattlemen’s associations and the University of Kentucky faculty specialists in animal science, plant and soil science and also specialists from Kentucky State University. The contest began 26 years ago and involved three counties and has grown to include 15 counties in 2020-21. The contest has seen an increase in the number of samples submitted. In the last two years, the contest has set record high numbers of entries. In 2018, the number of entries was around 450 and in 2019 that number increased 25% to 599. In 2020, the number of samples submitted was 625, the most ever. Producers that participate in the hay contest received a forage quality analysis from a accredited forage laboratory and, if desired, a ration or rations for feeding their hay. Proper feeding helps these producers avoid the loss of production and livestock from underfeeding such as was seen in the winter of 2018-19.   Working with the county agents, forms were collected with information on the type of beef cattle to be fed and supplements available.  This information was used to provide feeding recommendations for beef cattle as follows: 114 recommendations for growing calves, 445 recommendations for lactating cows and 294 recommendations for dry cows.