Record-Breaking Year for Hay Contest at 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo
The hay contest at Sunbelt Ag Expo continues to be a source of pride for hay producers across the Southeast. We caught up with Dr. Lisa Baxter to learn about the highlights of this year’s competition, including a record-breaking number of entries and standout winners.
“This is our 21st year of the Southeastern Hay Contest. It has grown exponentially over these last few years because of an effort of our really dedicated county extension agents.”
Participation in the contest has surged, thanks in part to the hard work of local ag professionals:
“This year we had a new record number of entries. We had 540 submissions that came from a record number of 10 states across the southeast region.”
High-Quality Forage Despite Tough Weather
This year brought climatic challenges to hay producers, yet the quality of entries exceeded expectations.
“This was not a banner hay year. There was a lot of climatic challenges, but despite that we had some of the highest quality forages ever submitted to the competition this year.”
The grand prize went to a repeat winner in the alfalfa hay category:
“And our grand prize this year, no surprise, will again come from the alfalfa hay category and it is going to go to Mr. John Pope from Coates, North Carolina. He had an incredible relative forage quality index value of 354, which is what we say in extension, that is rocket fuel.”
Honoring County Extension Agents
The contest also shines a spotlight on the extension agents who help make it all possible:
“We also are still recognizing some of our top extension agents throughout the region. We have three states that are represented in those awards this year and these are the agents that submitted the greatest number of samples.”
Georgia’s top contributor made a major impact:
“And I’d specifically like to point out our top Georgia agent, Mr. Greg Pittman, from up in Jackson County. He submitted an incredible 100 samples this year, so he was responsible for about 20 percent of the contest.”
The Sunbelt Ag Expo’s Southeastern Hay Contest continues to grow, offering valuable recognition for forage quality, producer dedication, and extension service excellence.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.