Stevens Hay earns threepeat as Hay King
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year AGO
Stevens Hay owners Kye Stevens, Left, and Brynna Stevens, right, share the spotlight with the next generation of Stevens farmers, Kye’s son Hudson, 3, and Brynna’s 20-month-old son Callahan. Stevens Hay was named Hay King at the grant County Fair for the third time in a row Aug. 12.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 25, 2025 8:26 AM
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.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.