CLIFTON — The 31st Annual Bosque County Hay Show will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Green (Home Economics) Building at the Central Texas Fairground in Clifton, according to Sara Ripley and Stacy Dillard of Clifton, co-chairpersons of the Hay Show Committee.

According to Dillard, the deadline for entering hay in the 2009 show is Friday, Sept. 25. 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, Sept. 24, or bring their square bales, round bales, or round bale samples to the Hay Show sampling location at the Clifton Ag Shop between 9 a.m. and noon on Friday, Sept. 25. Samples will be taken from the conventional bales and round bales on the 25th so that the protein analysis can be made.

There is a $5 charge for the first bale entered. Two tickets for a barbecue meal will be provided at no cost to the producer. For additional entries, $1 per bale for each round bale entry and each conventional bale entry will be charged. Entrants will receive a $20 forage test, a $10 meal, and a chance for $100, which makes the $5 entry fee a good bargain, added Dillard.

The 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. An evaluation of food value and protein content can help growers 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.

Ripley said, “With the shortage of hay supplies in parts of the area due to the below-average rainfall, with many producers, purchasing hay, livestock producers preparing to feed hay this fall and winter will know if their hay is adequate to meet animal needs or if supplements are needed.” Hay shows can take a lot of guess-work out of livestock feeding.

Hay probes are located at various locations around the county for use in taking samples.

The locations are Keith Morrison in Walnut Springs; Iredell High School Ag Shop – Bradley Fletcher in Iredell; Valley Mills High School Ag Shop – Weldon Bartels; Jim Bob Wells and Bob Viertel in Cranfills Gap; Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bosque County Extension Service, and Ken Schrank in Meridian; Stacy Dillard and Sara Ripley – Clifton Vo-Ag Department, Bosque County Farm Bureau – Sid Carter, and Gary Arnold in Clifton.

For information on the upcoming hay show contact a member of the hay show committee:  Bradley Fletcher, Curtis Wilkerson, Geary Oldham, and Mickey Burns of Iredell; Ted Whitt, Michael DeKoch, Keith Morrison, and William Offutt of Walnut Springs; Jim Bob Webb, Terry Finstad, Drew Leigh, and Bobby Viertel of Cranfills Gap; Mike Gann, Tim Holland, Kim Lively, David Winkler, and Kenneth Schrank of Meridian; Gary Arnold, Mark New, Roger Parks, David Bevels, Keith Finstad, Stacy Dillard, and Sara Ripley of Clifton; Ronny Liardon and James Harlin of Kopperl; Ken Kattner of Morgan; Weldon Bartels, Jerry Smith, and Raymond Whitney of Valley Mills; or the Natural Resources Conservation Service or Bosque County – Texas AgriLife Extension Offices in Meridian.

The 2009 Hay Show is being sponsored by the Bosque County Hay Show Committee, Bosque Soil and Water Conservation District, and Texas AgriLife Extension Service – Bosque County.