Now that hay season has begun, producers may begin pulling samples from their best hay for the Ozark Empire Fair Hay Contest, said University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist Tim Schnakenberg.
The entry deadline is July 17. To enter, producers should contact their county University of Missouri Extension center. Specialists are available to help pull core samples from the 10-bale entry.
The hay contest is held in conjunction with the 2026 Ozark Empire Fair, set for July 30 through Aug. 8 at the fairgrounds in Springfield.
New prizes will be offered for selected winners in 2026, Schnakenberg said. Sponsors are providing cash prizes, net wrap, orchardgrass seed, hay tests and gift cards. The grand champion will receive net wrap and seed. Ribbons and premium dollars also will be awarded to the top six entries in each class.
The contest allows dry hay or haylage in small bales or large bale packages, Schnakenberg said. It is best to allow about four weeks before collecting a haylage sample.
Within each division, classes are split into legumes, cool-season grass, warm-season perennial grass, grass-legume mix and summer or winter annual grass. The educational hay exhibit at the fair includes booklets with exhibitor data and test results from Custom Laboratory in Monett. Space is limited to exhibit a few of the best hay samples submitted. Past exhibitors have credited the show with marketing assistance.
Class placings will be based on relative forage quality. In addition to relative forage quality, data will include moisture, crude protein, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber and total digestible nutrients. Forage must have been harvested in Missouri in 2026. Exhibitors are limited to two entries per class and no more than one entry per field per cutting.
Sponsors of this year’s hay show are Pennington Seed, Crown Power and Equipment, Green Seed, MFA Inc., Missouri Dairy and Custom Laboratories.
For more information, contact Schnakenberg at the Stone County MU Extension office in Galena at 417-357-6812.
