Illinois dairy hay tops World Forage Superbowl |
| By Hay and Forage Grower |
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 A total of 336 samples from 17 different states comprised the field of entries for this year’s World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The highest placing samples were on display last week at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. Harry F. Adams, Jr. of Byron, Ill., submitted this year’s Grand Champion Forage entry, which was sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health. It was entered in the Dairy Hay class and had a relative forage quality (RFQ) of 342 and a milk per ton value of 4,015. The Grand Champion First-Time Entrant in this year’s contest was submitted by Ro-La Dairy in Rexville, N.Y. It was a brown midrib (BMR) corn silage sample that had a 30-hour neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility of 71.8 percent and a milk per ton value of 3,968. The First-Time Entrant award is sponsored by Kuhn North America. Entries are evaluated based on forage analysis (70 percent) and visual assessment (30 percent). 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 four placing finishers in each category. The Quality Counts award in the hay/haylage classes were given based on the highest RFQ. Taking home the honors was Hardrock Farms of Wheatland, Wyo. Their commercial hay entry had a RFQ of 348. The sponsor for this award was Croplan by Winfield United. In the corn silage classes, the Quality Counts award went to the sample with the highest starch content. The winning entry belonged to Nor-Rich Acres in Pulaski, Wis., with a starch content of 45.9 percent. The award was sponsored by Scherer Inc. The criteria for the Quality Counts awards changes each year and is unknown to participants at the time of sample submission. Organizing partners for the 2019 contest were Dairyland Laboratories Inc., Hay & Forage Grower, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and World Dairy Expo. Additional monetary support is provided by Mycogen Seeds as a Platinum Sponsor and Protexia, the Dairy Forage Seminar Broadcast sponsor. Further support is received from Dairyland Seeds, Passion Ag Inc., the National Hay Association, and Provimi. Individual category sponsors are listed below. All photos were taken by Harlen Persinger. Grand Champion Forage Producer  Pictured from left, Back Row: Eugene Rodberg, Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health; Harry F. Adams Jr., Byron, Ill.; Benjamin Adams; Marianne Adams; MaLyssa Adams; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo. Front Row: Abigail Adams; Adelaid Adams; Annabelle Adams; and Harry Adams
Sponsored by Agri-King. Category winner not present for photo. 1st Place – Vogel Family Farms, Minden City, Mich. 2nd Place – Kendall Guither, Walnut, Ill. 3rd Place – Katherine Guither, Walnut, Ill. 4th Place – Trevor Lisson, Browerville, Minn. 5th Place – Rainbows End, Waldo, Wis. Champion Commercial Hay Sponsored by Nexgrow Alfalfa. Category winner not present for photo. 1st Place – Rooster Ranch, Casper, Wyo. 2nd Place – Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo. 3rd Place – Berney Ranch Inc., Okanogan, Wash. 4th Place – Bappe Farm, Riverton, Wyo. 5th Place – T & J Peterson Farms, Clinton, Wis. Champion Dairy Hay Sponsored by W-L Research. Category winner not present for photo. 1st Place – E & H Milkers, Sigourney, Iowa 2nd Place – Reimer Dairy, Capron, Ill. 3rd Place – Evergreen View LLC, Waldo, Wis. 4th Place – Rainbows End, Waldo, Wis. 5th Place – S & B Dairy, Sigel, Ill. Champion Grass Hay  Pictured from left: Luke Wilson, Barenbrug USA (sponsor); winner Dan Gerrits, Cozy Nook Farms; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo 1st Place – Cozy Nook Farm, Waukesha, Wis. 2nd Place – Indianhead Farms LTD, Barron, Wis. 3rd Place – Rosedale Seeds, Oxford, Wis. 4th Place – Tristan Swartz, Gilman, Wis. 5th Place – College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo. Champion Alfalfa Haylage  Pictured from left: Taylor Weisensel, Ag-Bag (sponsor); winner Aaron Barclay; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo 1st Place – Aaron Barclay, Seymour, Wis. 2nd Place – Sand Creek Dairy, Hastings, Mich. 3rd Place – Ethan Haywood, Hastings, Mich. 4th Place – Austin Haywood, Hastings, Mich. 5th Place – Degrave Farms, Brussels, Wis. Champion Mixed/Grass Haylage  Pictured from left: Renato Schmidt, Lallemand Animal Nutrition (sponsor); Steph Jens, Lallemand Animal Nutrition; winner Daniel Olson, Opportunity Acres; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo 1st Place – Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis. 2nd Place – Matt Held, Slinger, Wis. 3rd Place – Wilstar Holsteins, Pine River, Wis. 4th Place – Egan Family Dairy, Omro, Wis. 5th Place – Woldt Farms, Brillion, Wis. Champion Standard Corn Silage Sponsored by EnogenFeed. Category winner not present for photo. 1st Place – O’Harrows Inc., Oconto Falls, Wis. 2nd Place – Acker Farms, Middleton, Wis. 3rd Place – Mossy Creek Holsteins, Shiloh, Ohio 4th Place – Austin Haywood, Hastings, Mich. 5th Place – Nor-J Farms, Celina, Ohio Champion Brown Midrib Corn Silage  Pictured from left: John Anderson, Mycogen Seeds (sponsor); winner Craig McDaniel, Rothlisberger Dairy; Noah McDaniel; Luke McDaniel; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo 1st Place – Rothlisberger Dairy, Upper Sandusky, Ohio 2nd Place – Pine Tree Dairy, Marshallville, Ohio 3rd Place – Nighthawk Dairy Farm LLC, Stratford, Wis. 4th Place – Jauquet Hillview Dairy, Luxemburg, Wis. 5th Place – Lightland Farms, Stanley, N.Y. Quality Counts Corn Silage  Pictured from left: Greg Nelson, Mycogen Seeds; Lyndon Luckasson, Scherer Inc., (sponsor); winner Barb Smith, Nor-Rich Acres (Pulaski, Wis.); and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo Quality Counts Hay/Haylage  Pictured from left: Randy Welch, Croplan by Winfield United (sponsor); winner David Hinman, Hardrock Farms (Wheatland, Wyo.); and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo Champion First-Time Entrant  Pictured from left: Heather Akins, Kuhn North America (sponsor); winner Stanley Lewis, Ro-La Dairy (Rexville, N.Y.); Diane Lewis; and Bill Hageman, board president of World Dairy Expo |
