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Glasgow, KY – On May 29, 2025, Kentucky State University held a grand opening of a new hay testing lab at its Cooperative Extension Office in Barren County. The lab uses advanced near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology and is staffed by trained professionals. Farmers will be able to receive not only prompt detailed lab results but also expert interpretation and consultation on improving hay and forage quality.

This service is offered free of charge and has the potential to help farmers enhance marketability, increase sales, and improve profit margins.

“From multiple sources, especially from area farmers and Ag professionals, we heard about the limited availability of quality services for hay and forage testing, as well as the dependency on private labs that did not always help with proper interpretation of the results,” said Dr. Marcus Bernard, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources.

“Realizing the gap in available services and the potential revenue loss to our farmers, we are jumping in to help them realize the full economic potential of their hay, feed, and forages with high precision analysis of these products,” added Dr. Avinash Tope, Associate Dean, associate professor of human nutrition and food safety, and one of the project leaders.

Forages are Kentucky's most profitable agricultural commodity and occupy the largest acreage statewide, with nearly 1.8 million acres produced by 37,000 farms in 2022. However, forage quality and profitability vary widely due to factors like forage type, nutrient levels, harvest timing, storage, soil preparation, and fertilization. 

Once baled, forage quality can't be changed, but proper testing allows farmers to maximize nutrient potential and formulate optimal livestock rations. Without forage testing, farmers may not achieve the best outcomes in hay production and ration balancing. 

Kentucky State’s Cooperative Extension Service is addressing this limited availability of forage testing facilities in the Commonwealth with its new Hay Testing Lab, located at 107 Myrtle Street in Glasgow. 

The lab’s utilization of advanced near-infrared spectroscopy technology offers rapid analysis of forage and hay samples, quickly determining key nutritional components like relative feed value (RFV), crude protein (CP), and mineral content. It can also identify issues such as nitrate poisoning and mycotoxin contamination. Testing enables farmers to optimize harvest timing, fertilization, and storage methods. 

For more information, contact KSU’s Barren County Cooperative Extension Office at 270-282-0982 or reach out to Tyler London at Tyler.London@kysu.edu or Jacob Hall at Jacob.Hall@kysu.edu.