Colorado grass hay tops Superbowl entries

A total of 300 samples from 19 different states comprised the field of entries for this year’s 39th World Forage Analysis Superbowl. The highest placing samples were on display last week at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

Rodney Archer, a hay producer in Alamosa, Colo., captured the Grand Champion forage producer award, which was sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health. Archer’s orchardgrass hay excelled with a neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) value of 86.5% . It had a relative forage quality (RFQ) of 235 and a milk per ton value of 4,007.

The Grand Champion First-Time Entrant in this year’s contest was submitted by Strassburg Creek Farm of Wittenberg, Wis. Their brown midrib (BMR) corn silage sample had a NDFD30 of 75.4% and a milk per ton value of 4,108. 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 sample’s digestible organic matter index (DOMI), which is calculated from the organic matter digestibility of protein, fat, NDF, and starch.

Taking home the honors in the Quality Counts hay/haylage categories was the Grand Champion sample from Rodney Archer. The orchardgrass entry had a DOMI of 1,718. The sponsor for this award was Croplan.

In the corn silage classes, the Quality Counts award went to Four Hands Holsteins of Amery, Wis. Their BMR corn silage entry had a DOMI of 1,786. The award was sponsored by Silostop.

Organizing partners for the 2022 contest were Dairyland Laboratories Inc., Hay & Forage Grower, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Department of Extension, and World Dairy Expo.

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

Additional funds were provided by Legacy Seeds, Passion Ag Inc., Provimi, and QLF Agronomy. Individual category sponsors are listed below.

The top five placings from each category were:

Grand Champion Baleage – Sponsored by Agri-King Inc.

1st Place – Harry Bontrager, Bonduel, Wis.

2nd Place – Adams Creek Farm, Bangor, Wis.

3rd Place – Joseph Beachy, Bonduel, Wis.

4th Place – Vogel Family Farms, Minden City, Mich.

5th Place – Katherine Guither, Walnut, Ill.

Grand Champion Commercial Hay – Sponsored by Nexgrow Alfalfa

1st Place – Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo.

2nd Place – Sandy Knoll Farm, St. John, Kan.

3rd Place – Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

4th Place – Cross Roads Farm, Center, Colo.

5th Place – Beeson Farms, Climax, N.C.

Grand Champion Dairy Hay – Sponsored by W-L Alfalfa

1st Place – Twin-Spruce Holsteins, Rose Creek, Minn.

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

3rd Place – Holst Farms, Lake City, Minn.

4th Place – KMR Dairy, Onarga, Ill.

5th Place – E & A Milkers, Sigourney, Iowa

Grand Champion Grass Hay – Sponsored by Barenbrug USA

1st Place – Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

2nd Place – Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

3rd Place – Dantuma Acres, Rockton, Ill.

4th Place – Rosedale Genetics, Oxford, Wis.

5th Place – Indianhead Holsteins, Barron, Wis.

Grand Champion Alfalfa Haylage – Sponsored by Ag-Bag by RCI

1st Place – Sand Creek Dairy, Hastings, Mich.

2nd Place – Ethan Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

3rd Place – Austin Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

4th Place – Daniel Nolt, Spencer, Wis.

5th Place – Devin Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

Grand Champion Mixed/Grass Haylage – Sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition

1st Place – Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

2nd Place – Jenks Jerseys, Marathon, Wis.

3rd Place – Packenham Farms, Rib Lake, Wis.

4th Place – True Farms, Perry, N.Y.

5th Place – Curvin Brubacher, Stanley, Wis.

Grand Champion Standard Corn Silage – Sponsored by Scherer Inc.

1st Place – Twin Cities View, Manitowoc, Wis.

2nd Place – K and D Feedlot, Sioux Center, Iowa

3rd Place – Michael Martin, Colby, Wis.

4th Place – Nyhof Dairy, Sioux Center, Iowa

5th Place – Olsons Dairy Farm, Birnamwood, Wis.

Grand Champion BMR Corn Silage – Sponsored by Brevant seeds

1st Place – Co-Vista Holsteins LLC, Arcade, N.Y.

2nd Place – Brown Star Farms, Gillett, Wis.

3rd Place – BS Acres, Dresser, Wis.

4th Place – Brink Dairy Farm, New Woodstock, N.Y.

5th Place – Litwiller Farms, Almena, Wis.

This year’s champions of the World Forage Analysis Superbowl were recognized during the Brevant seeds Forage Superbowl Luncheon. Those champions who were present included (from left): Derek George and Brian George of Arcade, N.Y. (BMR corn silage winners); Daniel Olson of Lena, Wis. (Mixed/Grass Haylage winner); David Hinman of Wheatland, Wyo. (Commercial Hay winner); Rick Dado of Amery, Wis. (Quality Counts BMR Corn Silage winner); Luke Haywood of Hastings, Mich. (Alfalfa Haylage winner); and James Lepich of Manitowoc, Wis. (Standard Corn Silage winner).