A total of 343 samples from 17 different states comprised the field of entries for this year’s 38th World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The highest placing samples were on display last week at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

Herrington Farms Inc., Troy, N.Y., submitted this year’s Grand Champion Forage entry, which was sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health. It was entered in the Brown Midrib (BMR) Corn Silage category and had a neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD30) of 75.2% and a milk per ton value of 4,202.

The Grand Champion First-Time Entrant in this year’s contest was submitted by Marty Farms from Sterling, Ohio. It also was a BMR corn silage sample and had a NDFD30 of 71% and a milk per ton value of 4,175. The First-Time Entrant award was sponsored by New Holland.

Entries are evaluated based on forage analysis (70%) and visual assessment (30%). Dairyland Labs, located in DePere, Wis., performed the laboratory testing of each sample.

More than $26,000 in cash prizes was doled out to the champions and the top five placing finishers in each category.

The single metric for the Quality Counts awards changes each year and is unknown to participants at the time of sample submission. This year, the Quality Counts award in both the hay/haylage and corn silage classes were given based on the lowest undigestible NDF at 12 hours (uNDF12).

Taking home the honors in the Quality Counts hay/haylage categories was Legacy Farms from Shell Lake, Wis. Their mixed/grass haylage entry had a uNDF12 of 7.93%. The sponsor for this award was Croplan by Winfield.

In the corn silage classes, the Quality Counts award went to Kensington Farms from Martinsburg, Penn. Their BMR corn silage entry had a uNDF12 of 14.73%. The award was sponsored by SiloStop.

Organizing partners for the 2021 contest were Dairyland Laboratories Inc., Hay & Forage Grower, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and World Dairy Expo.

Monetary support was provided by Brevant seeds as a Platinum Sponsor.

Additional funds were provided by Micro Technologies, Passion Ag Inc., and Provimi. Individual category sponsors are listed below. All photos were taken by Harlen Persinger.

Grand Champion Forage Producer
Sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health

Left to right: Eugene Rodberg, Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health; Jason Herrington, Herrington Farms Inc. (winner); and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

Champion Baleage
Sponsored by Agri-King Inc.

Left to right: Jason Alsum, Agri-King Inc.; William Jenks, Jenks Jerseys; Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president; and Lucas Kruger, Agri-King Inc.

1st Place – Jenks Jerseys, Marathon, Wis.

2nd Place – Denmar Acres, Greenleaf, Wis.

3rd Place – Eric Speltz, Altura, Minn.

4th Place – Coulee Crest LLC, Cashton, Wis.

5th Place – Freysbush Dairy LLC, Fort Plain, N.Y.

Champion Commercial Hay
Sponsored by Nexgrow Alfalfa

Left to right: Parker Heise, Nexgrow Alfalfa; David Hinman, Hardrock Farms Inc.; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Hardrock Farms Inc., Wheatland, Wyo.

2nd Place – Carlson Brothers Farm, Jewell, Iowa

3rd Place – Little Hay Company, Wilsonville, Neb.

4th Place – Calvin Carlson, Jewell, Iowa

5th Place – Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

Champion Dairy Hay
Sponsored by W-L Research

Left to right: Matt Minnes, W-L Alfalfa; David Olson, Olson Farms; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Olson Farms, Lena, Wis.

2nd Place – Donald and Nancy Hasselquist, Osceola, Wis.

3rd Place – Mark Rueth, Oxford, Wis.

4th Place – E & A Milkers, Sigourney, Iowa

5th Place – Schroeder Farms, Odebolt, Iowa

Champion Grass Hay
Sponsored by Barenbrug USA

Left to right: Luke Wilson, Barenbrug USA; Charlie Oberhaus, Cozy Nook Farm; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Cozy Nook Farm, Waukesha, Wis.

2nd Place – Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

3rd Place – Hardrock Farms Inc., Wheatland, Wyo.

4th Place – Donald and Nancy Hasselquist, Osceola, Wis.

5th Place – Stefan Hay Company, North Collins, N.Y.

Champion Alfalfa Haylage
Sponsored by Ag-Bag by RCI

Left to right: Taylor Weisensel and Wendy Clark, Ag-Bag by RCI; Todd Mark; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Todd Mark, Elmwood, Wis.

2nd Place – Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

3rd Place – Ciolkosz Dairy, Thorp, Wis.

4th Place – Mike Redetzke, Colby, Wis.

5th Place – Sand Creek Dairy, Hastings, Mich.

Champion Mixed/Grass Haylage
Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

Left to right: Daniel Olson, Opportunity Acres, and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

2nd Place – Morning View Dairy LLC, Merrill, Wis.

3rd Place – Leuer Dairy, Oconto, Wis.

4th Place – Legacy Farms, Shell Lake, Wis.

5th Place – Four Cubs Farm, Grantsburg, Wis.

Champion Standard Corn Silage
Sponsored by Scherer Inc.

Left to right: Tim Ottenbacker, Scherer Inc.; John Egan, Egan Family Dairy; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Egan Family Dairy, Omro, Wis.

2nd Place – Herrington Farms Inc., Troy, N.Y.

3rd Place – Jenson Family Farms, Elk Mound, Wis.

4th Place – Enos Lehman, Chambersburg, Pa.

5th Place – Olson Farms, Lena, Wis.

Champion BMR Corn Silage
Sponsored by Brevant Seeds

Left to right: John Anderson and Phil Krueger, Brevant seeds; Craig and Noah McDaniel, Rothlisberger Dairy; and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

1st Place – Rothlisberger Dairy, Upper Sandusky, Ohio

2nd Place – Larry Doody, Tully, N.Y.

3rd Place – Old Acres Farms, Perry, N.Y.

4th Place – Conrad Farms, Grafton, Ohio

5th Place – Harold Zimmerman, Shiloh, Ohio

Champion First-time Entrant
Sponsored by New Holland

Left to right: Josh Harkenrider and Sandra Foster, New Holland; Craig and Katharine Marty, Marty Farms (winner); and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

Quality Counts Hay/Haylage
Sponsored by Croplan by Winfield

Left to right: Randy Welch, Croplan by Winfield; Kevin Kruizenga and Lucy Schloneger, Legacy Farms (winner); and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president

Quality Counts Corn Silage
Sponsored by Silostop

Left to right: Garrett Gilliam, Silostop; Ernie Kensinger, Kensinger Farms (winner); and Bill Hageman, World Dairy Expo board president