Wyoming producers compete at World Forage Analysis Super Bowl

A total of 293 entries from across 18 states competed for honors at the World Forage Analysis Super Bowl, held in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. 

On Oct. 4, during the Forage Super Bowl Luncheon, awards were presented to the top five finishers across eight divisions, in which several Wyoming producers took home honors. 

Division winners

Producers from the Cowboy State swept the Commercial Hay division, earning the top four of the top five honors. 

Lazy 2K Livestock of Wheatland was first place in the division; Hardrock Farms, also of Wheatland, was second place; Bappe Farms of Riverton finished in third place and Rooster Ranch of Casper placed fourth. 

Dick and Powell Farm of Cordell, Okla. finished out the top five in the division. 

Wyoming producers also made a showing in the Grass Hay division. 

Following behind first-place finisher Cozy Nook Farm of Waukesha, Wis., was Hardrock Farms with another second-place finish. Lazy 2K Livestock took fifth in the division behind Church Farm of Grand Marsh, Wis. in third and Rosedale of Oxford, Wis. in fourth.

Winners in the other six categories hailed exclusively from Eastern states. 

Church Farm won the Dairy Hay division, followed by Holst Farms of Lake City, Minn. in second; Evergreen View of Waldo, Wis. in third; Rick Frozene Farm of Westfield, Wis. in fourth and Scott More Holst of Westgate, Iowa in fifth. 

Bringing home honors in the Alfalfa Haylage division were Rainbow Ends with a first-place finish; Evergreen View with a second-place finish; Wente Farms of Sigel, Ill. with a third-place finish; Andy Schmitt of Fort Atkinson, Iowa with a fourth-place finish and Sand Creek Dairy of Hastings, Mich. finishing out the category with a fifth-place finish. 

In the Mixed/Grass Haylage category, two New York based operations respectively took home first and second-place honors – Albano Farms SRJF, Inc. of Stamford and Martin Farms of Strykersville. 

Wisconsin producers Double Dutch Dairy of Cedar Grove, Doug Danielson of Cadott and Bob Rajek of Cornell, finished out the category in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Sand Creek Dairy was the winner of the Standard Corn Silage category, followed by Twin Cities View Dairy of Manitowoc, Wis. in second place; Nathan Yoder of Little Suamico, Wis. in third place; Johnson Farms, LLC of Daggett, Mich. in fourth place and Pine Tree Dairy of Marshallville, Ohio in fifth.

The top five finishers in the BMR Corn Silage were Zirbel Dairy Farm of De Pere, Wis. in first place; Sand Creek Dairy in second place; BS Acres of Dresser, Wis. in third place; Brown Star Farms of Gillett, Wis. in fourth place and Opportunity Acres of Lena, Wis. in fifth place. 

Five producers from Wisconsin swept the final division – Baleage. 

Jacobs Hillview Dairy took home first-place honors; Rainbows End followed in second; Jenson Family Farms finished third; Evergreen View was fourth and Future Seed Select of Denmark, Wis. rounded out the division in fifth. 

Other awards

During the luncheon, a few other awards were handed out to outstanding hay producers. 

For the second year in a row, Rodney Archer of Alamosa, Colo. was named Grand Champion Forage Producer with his commercial hay entry. 

Archer farms 550 acres, all irrigated, in an alfalfa-oat hay rotation, and although he wasn’t present at the awards ceremony, his wife Jeanne and son Luke were in attendance. 

For this notable honor, Archer received $2,500, donated by Legacy Seeds. 

The Grand Champion First Time Entrant was also named and went to Martin Farms for their corn silage entry. They received a $2,000 award, donated by New Holland. 

Two Wisconsin producers received the Quality Counts awards. 

Zirbel Dairy Farm was the winner of the Quality Counts Corn Silage Award, which was sponsored by Silostop, and Jenson Family Farms received the Quality Counts Hay/Haylage Award, which was sponsored by Croplan.

Information in this article was compiled from an Oct. 11 Farm Progress article written by Fran O’Leary.

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.