SOAP LAKE — Stevens Hay has pulled off a hat trick. 

The second-generation hay operation located east of Soap Lake was named the Grant County Hay King for the third year in a row, something no other grower has done before. 

“We're getting better at what we do, and we've been fortunate to employ the team that we have to go out and perform,” said Brynna Stevens, who runs the operation with her brother Kye Stevens. Their father, Bill Stevens, established the farm 33 years ago. Stevens Hay farms about 15,000 acres near Soap Lake, of which about 13,000 is planted in hay. The operation employs a core team of five to 10 people, Stevens said, which swells to 40-50 in the summer. 

“Stevens is doing a fantastic job, said contest superintendent Kirk Jungers. “They placed themselves well. They're very well managed and putting up an exceptional product.” 

The contest is part of the Grant County Fair, held every year in Moses Lake, and dates back to 1984. Other growers have picked up three titles over the years, but this is the first time a grower has done so in consecutive years. 

The contest rated hay in five categories: dairy alfalfa, export alfalfa, feed store alfalfa, domestic grass and export Timothy. Stevens took first in export alfalfa and domestic grass and second in feed store alfalfa and export Timothy. 

“There's some just fantastic entries, high quality,” Jungers said. “There are several of these that could have won … they were all within a few marks of each other.”  

This was a good year for hay in general, Jungers said. 

“I think weather conditions are favorable for everybody,” he said. “All the grasses went up real well, Timothy and the alfalfa … I think that's the biggest difference this year was great weather.” 

Contests like the Hay King competition aren’t just for bragging rights. Getting the public aware of what it takes to produce the food on their tables is important, Jungers said. 

“Sometimes we lose sight of that,” he said. “These products are going into the factory, (which is) the cow, and they're making milk, butter, ice cream, beef – the things we eat every day. They don't come in the Sam Walton truck.”