Organizers of the World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl are reminding commercial and dairy forage producers the deadline for submitting entries in this year’s contest is less than a month away.
“It’s truly an international event, offering growers from across the U.S. and Canada an opportunity to showcase their high-quality forage production,” says Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin extension forage agronomist. He’s been involved in the contest for 20 years.
The contest also gives entrants a chance to win a variety of prizes. This year’s first-place prize for each category is one year’s free use of a forage harvesting or feeding piece of equipment or $2,500-5,000 in coupons toward purchase of new equipment.
Undersander notes the contest has gone through several makeovers in its 25-year history in order to keep pace with changing interests in the hay and forage production industry. “For example, when we started we didn’t have a category for cubed alfalfa,” he says. “When more interest in that area developed, we added a category. We’ve also added a baleage category and a corn silage category (for both standard and brown midrib hybrids).”
Last year’s contest drew more than 200 entries. “Numbers have slipped a bit in recent years for a variety of reasons,” says Undersander. “But 200 is still pretty significant. We’ve had entries from more than 20 states and several Canadian provinces. Without a doubt, this is still the largest hay and forage contest anywhere in the world.”
Deadline for entering this year’s Superbowl is Sept. 4. Entry forms and contest rules are available at www.AgSource.com. For more information, phone the AgSource Soil and Forage Laboratory at 715-758-2178. Contest awards will be presented at a luncheon during World Dairy Expo, Sept. 30-Oct. 4 in Madison, WI. Award-winning entries will be on display in the Arena Building, and final scores will be posted so visitors can compare how their forages stack up to the top-notch contest samples. “I’m always amazed that, with so many things going on at World Dairy Expo, you can walk over to the Arena Building at any time of day and find at least a half-dozen people milling around in the area where the contest samples are,” says Undersander. “It’s a great learning opportunity for anyone involved in hay and forage production.”
The 2008 World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl organizing partners include AgSource Cooperative Services, DairyBusiness Communications, Hay & Forage Grower, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and World Dairy Expo.