Hay show seeks samples

Time is quickly approaching for Smith County forage producers to enter samples into the 2007 hay show that is held in conjunction with the East Texas State Fair.

Producers and youth benefit from this event, which has been the focus of the fair's Howdy Neighbor Barbecue for the past 23 years.

The hay show serves as a great tool for producers to use when planning for their winterfeeding needs.

The $3 entry fee per hay sample to enter the hay show is also much less than the $10 per sample it would cost you to send hay in for testing on your own.

For your $3 per sample you will receive a placing ribbon for your hay (blue, red, or white), recognition at the hay auction if you have hay that places as one of the top 25 bales, and the nutritional information (crude protein and digestibility) for your hay sample.

Submitting hay for the show also earns an invitation to the free hay show wrap-up event on Oct. 11 at Traditions Restaurant in Tyler.

Hay produced in Smith County, or hay grown by a producer who lives in Smith County, is eligible for entry.

A hay entry consists of one square bale of hay from a cutting, or one feed sack full of hay (if the hay from a cutting is rolled into round bales).

Producers that submit more than one hay sample for testing are encouraged to write somewhere on the entry tag (other than in the space marked entry number) a code such as cutting number, field name, or something else that will help them be able to correlate their samples back to the results that will be mailed to them following the hay show and sale.

It is recommended that producers submit samples from each hay field each time it is cut.

Entry dates for this year's show are August 23rd and 24th.

Hay can be dropped at one of the following locations: Arp- 3MFeed & Supply; Bullard - Circle C Farm & Ranch; Lindale - Fleming Farm Supply; Noonday - Feed Saver Store; Troup - Steele's Feed & Seed; Tyler - Al H. Horaney's, Estes, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rose Country Equipment, Smith County Extension office, Stampede Feed & Ag Supply, and Tyler Equipment; and, Whitehouse - Whitehouse Farm & Ranch.

For a complete set of rules, call the Smith County Extension office at (903) 590 - 2980 or visit http://smith-tx.tamu.edu and click on the link in the 'Events' section.