The Thirty-Sixth Annual Bosque County Hay Show will be held on Monday, October 20, 2014 at the Bosque Bottoms Pavilion in Meridian, according to Bradley Fletcher of Iredell, Chairman of the Hay Show Committee.
Fletcher said the deadline for entering hay in the 2014 show is Friday, September 19, 2014. Round bales as well as conventional small square bales can be entered. Producers with round bales may enter the entire bale or just a sample of the bale. Those who wish to have hay in the show are asked to take their conventional bales or samples from their round bales to their Vo-Ag Instructor by Thursday, September 18, 2014 or bring their square bales, round bales or round bale samples to the Hay Show sampling location at the Iredell Ag Building between 9:00 a.m. and noon on Friday, September 19, 2014. Samples will be taken from the conventional bales and round bales on the 20th so that the protein analysis can be made.
There will be a $10.00 entry fee (no limit on number of bales entered) for bales entered in this year’s hay show. Two tickets for a Barbecue meal will be provided at no cost to the producer. Entrants will receive a forage test, $10.00 meal, and a chance for $100.00.
The County Hay Show will provide an opportunity to compare different samples of hay and help producers evaluate what makes high quality hay. Hay is a major portion of the roughage diet of many ruminant animals. With many producers purchasing hay, the evaluation of food value and protein content can help determine hay quality more easily so that livestock can be fed according to hay value.
An individual entering a hay sample will know the value of his hay when the show is over. Samples will have a protein analysis run and be physically evaluated as to leafiness, steminess, color, foreign material, and maturity.
Fletcher said, “Sampling hay can take a lot of the guess-work out of livestock feeding, with livestock producers knowing if their hay is adequate to meet animal needs or if supplements are needed”.
Hay probes are located at various locations around the county for use in taking samples. The locations are Keith Morrison and Troy Webb in Walnut Springs, Iredell High School Ag Shop – Bradley Fletcher in Iredell, Brad Obenhaus – Valley Mills High School Ag Shop Jim Bob Webb and Bob Viertel in Cranfills Gap; Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bosque County Extension Service and Ken Schrank in Meridian; Jason Whitney – Clifton Vo-Ag Department and Bosque County Farm Bureau – Grant Dietiker, in Clifton.
For information on the upcoming hay show contact a member of the hay show committee: Bradley Fletcher, Curtis Wilkerson and Mickey Burns of Iredell; Troy Webb, Keith Morrison and Greg Eilers of Walnut Springs; Jim Bob Webb, Terry Finstad, Drew Leigh and Bobby Viertel of Cranfills Gap; Mike Gann, David Winkler and Kenneth Schrank of Meridian; Roger Parks, David Bevels, Justin Kelly and Jason Whitney of Clifton; Ronny Liardon and James Harlin of Kopperl; Phillip Munden of Morgan; Raymond Whitney, Jerry Smith and Brad Obenhaus of Valley Mills, or the Natural Resources Conservation Service or Bosque County – Texas AgriLife Extension Office in Meridian.
The 2014 Hay Show is being sponsored by the Bosque County Hay Show Committee, Bosque Soil and Water Conservation District and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service – Bosque County.
