Hay season is here! Hay production is a large part of our economy here in Jefferson County and now is the time to focus on quality hay production. The first step in producing high quality forages is to soil sample and fertilize based on sample recommendations. Following that, fields should be scouted routinely for weeds and herbicide applications as needed. The third and most important step is to harvest before maturity. The final step, that is often forgotten or neglected, is to send in a sample for forage quality analysis.
Do you produce high quality forages in Jefferson County? If so, you should consider working with UF/IFAS to get some samples analyzed this season from your best hay cuttings. Since 2004, high quality hay producers across the Southeast have entered their best hay into the Southeast Hay Contest, which concludes each year with the awards ceremony at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, in Moultrie, Georgia. This year’s general contest winners will be announced at the Sunbelt Ag Expo on October 20th. Submissions from Florida will be sorted into three categories (bermudagrass hay, bahiagrass hay, and haylage) and recognized at the Florida Cattlemen’s Association Annual Convention as well as featured in the December issue of The Florida Cattleman.
The Southeast Hay Contest offers a great value for the investment. For $22 per entry, you can get a complete forage analysis, and have a chance to win cash prizes and recognition as one of the premier hay producers in the region.
Categories include: warm season perennial grass hay, alfalfa hay, perennial peanut hay, cool season perennial grass hay, mixed annual grass or other hay, grass baleage and legume baleage.
Entries for each category will be judged using Near Infrared Reflectance spectroscopy (NIR) testing procedures at the University of Georgia’s Forage Testing Lab. The entries will be ranked based on Relative Forage Quality (RFQ), which accounts for protein, energy, and fiber digestibility. If necessary, ties in RFQ scores will be broken based on crude protein and total digestible nutrients (TDN) values.
Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries of the above seven categories of the contest as described below:
GRAND PRIZE (Overall Highest RFQ): The choice of the use of a new Massey Ferguson RK Series rotary rake or a new Massey Ferguson DM Series Professional disc mower for the 2021 hay production season AND $1,000 cash
1st Prize in Each Category: $150
2nd Prize in Each Category: $100
3rd Prize in Each Category: $75
You could win $75-$150 for having one of the top three entries in one of the contest categories, or $1,000 and the use of a Massey Ferguson rake or disk mower for the year, if you have the best hay in the Southeast. Don’t wait until the week of the September 1 deadline, but send in samples after each cutting. The forage test results can be a great marketing tool, because the University of Georgia’s Forage Testing Lab will verify the quality of what you produce and email the results to you within about two weeks of submission. It’s a win - win situation! For more information, contact Danielle Sprague at (850) 342-0187.
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