Colorado hay wins Superbowl again

The 40th World Forage Analysis Superbowl brought in 293 forage samples from 18 states. Winning entries in each of the eight contest categories were on display last week at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

The Grand Champion Forage Producer award, sponsored by Legacy Seeds, went to Rodney Archer from Alamosa, Colo., for the second year in a row. Archer clinched the top spot with a sample of commercial hay that had an impressive relative feed quality (RFQ) of 430. Its neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) was 64.5%, and it had a milk per ton value of 4,031 pounds.

Martin Farms of Strykersville, N.Y., was named Champion First-Time Entrant. Their sample of standard corn silage had an NDFD30 of 61.8% and a milk per ton value of 4,017 pounds. The award was sponsored by New Holland.

The metric used to determine winners of the Quality Counts category changes every year and is unknown to participants at the time of sample submission. This year the award, which is given for both hay/haylage and corn silage divisions, was based on forage’s digestible organic matter index (DOMI).

Jenson Family Farms in Elk Mound, Wis., won Quality Counts for the hay/haylage division. Their baleage had a DOMI of 1,775. The sponsor for this award was Croplan.

The Quality Counts award for the corn silage division, which was sponsored by Silostop, went to Zirbel Dairy Farm in De Pere, Wis. Their corn silage had a DOMI of 1,655.

Champions and the top finishers of each of the eight contest categories received more than $26,000 in cash prizes. Entries were evaluated based forage analysis (70%) and visual assessment (30%). Dairyland Labs, located in DePere, Wis., performed forage analysis for each sample.

Organizing partners for the 2023 contest were Dairyland Laboratories Inc., Hay & Forage Grower, University of Madison-Wisconsin, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, and World Dairy Expo.

Monetary support was provided by Brevant seeds as a Platinum Sponsor. Legacy Seeds, New Holland, Croplan, Silostop, Channel, and Provimi contributed additional support. Individual category sponsors are listed below.

The top five placings from each category were:

Grand Champion Baleage — Sponsored by Agri-King Inc.

1st Place — Jacobs Hillview Dairy, Hilbert, Wis.

2nd Place — Rainbows End, Waldo, Wis.

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

4th Place — Evergreen View, Waldo, Wis.

5th Place — Future Seed Select, Denmark, Wis.

Grand Champion Commercial Hay — Sponsored by World Forage Analysis Superbowl

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

2nd Place — Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo.

3rd Place — Bappe Farm, Riverton, Wyo.

4th Place — Rooster Ranch, Casper, Wyo.

5th Place — Dick and Powell Farm, Cordell, Okla.

Grand Champion Dairy Hay — Sponsored by QLF Agronomy

1st Place — Church Farm, Grand Marsh, Wis.

2nd Place — Holst Farms, Lake City, Minn.

3rd Place — Evergreen View, Waldo, Wis.

4th Place — Rick Frozene Farm, Westfield, Wis.

5th Place — Scottmore Holsteins, Westgate, Iowa

Grand Champion Grass Hay — Sponsored by Barenburg USA

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

2nd Place — Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo.

3rd Place — Church Farm, Grand Marsh, Wis.

4th Place — Rosedale, Oxford, Wis.

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

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

1st Place —Rainbows End, Waldo, Wis.

2nd Place — Evergreen View, Waldo, Wis.

3rd Place — Wente Farms, Sigel, Ill.

4th Place — Andy Schmitt, Fort Atkinson, Iowa

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

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

1st Place — Albano Farms SRJF Inc., Stamford, N.Y.

2nd Place — Martin Farms, Strykersville, N.Y.

3rd Place — Double Dutch Dairy, Cedar Grove, Wis.

4th Place — Doug Danielson, Cadott, Wis.

5th Place — Bob Rajek, Cornell, Wis.

Grand Champion Standard Corn Silage — Sponsored by Scherer Inc.

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

2nd Place — Twin Cities View Dairy, Manitowoc, Wis.

3rd Place — Nathan Yoder, Little Suamico, Wis.

4th Place — Johnson Farms LLC, Daggett, Mich.

5th Place — Pine Tree Dairy, Marshallville, Ohio

Grand Champion BMR Corn Silage — Sponsored by Brevant seeds

1st Place — Zirbel Dairy Farm, DePere, Wis.

2nd Place — Sand Creek Dairy, Hastings, Mich.

3rd Place — BS Acres, Dresser, Wis.

4th Place — Brown Star Farms, Gillett, Wis.

5th Place — Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

This year’s champions of the World Forage Analysis Superbowl were recognized at a luncheon sponsored by Brevant. Those champions who were present include (front, from left): Dan Gerrits of Waukesha, Wis. (Grass Hay winner); Chris Kestell of Waldo, Wis. (Alfalfa Haylage winner); and David Hinman of Wheatland, Wyo. (Commercial Hay winner). (Back, from left): Mike Jenson of Elk Mound, Wis. (Quality Counts Hay/Haylage winner); Melinda and Brittany Martin of Strykersville, N.Y. (First-Time Entrant winners); Luke Archer, representing Rodney Archer, of Alamosa, Colo. (Grand Champion Hay Producer); Luke Haywood of Hastings, Mich. (Standard Corn Silage winner); Mark Rueth of Grand Marsh, Wis. (Dairy Hay winner); and Derek Jacobs of Hillbert, Wis (Baleage winner).