To continue a long-standing Hopkins County agricultural tradition, the Hay Show will take place on October 21, 2021. According to Andy Wright, it will be held at the Hopkins County Civic Center starting about 11:30 a.m with a BBQ lunch. Winning hay samples will be auctioned and Hopkins and Rains County producers will be announced. The event is an annual project of the Soil and Water Conservation District. The event sponsors two Ag Student Scholarships each year.
One of the goals of the Hay Show is to provide agricultural producers an opportunity to test their forages and to gain knowledge from the results. Producers wishing to enter the Hay Show must take up to two samples of hay for testing by the deadline of October 11, 2021, to the Northeast Texas Farmers Co-op lab in Sulphur Springs, located across the street from the Co-op Farm and Ranch Center on North Jackson Street The Co-op testing lab will provide the testing again this year. Hay samples should be about a gallon or more, and can be brought in a feed sack. Hay samples will be tested then displayed at the Hay Show on October 21. Nutrition percentages determined by testing provide valuable information for farmers wishing to produce the best grade of forage for their livestock.
Another of the goals of the Hay Show is to show support for the agricultural interests of high school students of Hopkins and Rains counties. The Soil and Water Conservation District extends scholarships to qualifying high school students entering college to study agriculture sciences. Any high school senior in Hopkins or Rains County can apply. Entry in the Hay Show is not a requirement. Contact Andy Wright, your County Agent or phone the Hopkins and Rains County SWCD office at 903-885-4433 Ext. 3 for more details or for a Scholarship application.
