A total of 300 entries were evaluated in this year’s World Forage Analysis Superbowl during the 55th World Dairy Expo. Awards were presented to the top five finishers in each category during a luncheon on Oct. 5 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Rodney Archer of Alamosa, Colo., was named the grand champion forage producer with his grass hay entry and will receive $2,500 from Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health for that honor. Archer was not present at the awards program.

The grand champion first-time entrant award of $2,000, sponsored by New Holland, went to Strassburg Creek Farm of Wittenberg, Wis., for their brown midrib corn silage. Quality Counts awards were also presented. In the area of Quality Counts Corn Silage, sponsored by Silostop, Four Hands Holsteins of Amery, Wis., owned by Rick and Gwen Dado, captured top honors with their BMR corn silage. For Quality Counts Hay/Haylage, Archer earned first place. His award was sponsored by Croplan.

A total of $26,000 in prize money was presented to this year’s World Forage Analysis Superbowl champions. Here are the top five placings from each category:

Grand Champion Baleage. This category was sponsored by Agri-King Inc.

1. Harry Bontrager, Bonduel, Wis.

2. Adams Creek Farm, Bangor, Wis.

3. Joseph Beachy, Bonduel, Wis.

4. Vogel Family Farms, Minden City, Mich.

5. Katherine Guither, Walnut, Ill.

Grand Champion Commercial Hay. This category was sponsored by Nexgrow Alfalfa.

1. Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo.

2. Sandy Knoll Farm, St. John, Kan.

3. Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

4. Cross Roads Farm, Center, Colo.

5. Beeson Farms, Climax, N.C.

Grand Champion Dairy Hay. This category was sponsored by W-L Alfalfa.

1. Twin-Spruce Holsteins, Rose Creek, Minn.

2. Donald and Nancy Hasselquist, Osceola, Wis.

3. Holst Farms, Lake City, Minn.

4. KMR Dairy, Onarga, Ill.

5. E&A Milkers, Sigourney, Iowa

Grand Champion Grass Hay. This category was sponsored by Barenbrug USA.

1. Lazy 2K Livestock, Wheatland, Wyo.

2. Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

3. Dantuma Acres, Rockton, Ill.

4. Rosedale Genetics, Oxford, Wis.

5. Indianhead Holsteins, Barron, Wis.

Grand Champion Alfalfa Haylage. This category was sponsored by Ag-Bag by RCI.

1. Sand Creek Dairy, Hastings, Mich.

2. Ethan Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

3. Austin Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

4. Daniel Nolt, Spencer, Wis.

5. Devin Haywood, Hastings, Mich.

Grand Champion Mixed/Grass Haylage. This category was sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition.

1. Opportunity Acres, Lena, Wis.

2. Jenks Jerseys, Marathon, Wis.

3. Packenham Farms, Rib Lake, Wis.

4. True Farms, Perry, N.Y.

5. Curvin Brubacher, Stanley, Wis.

Grand Champion Standard Corn Silage. This category was sponsored by Scherer Inc.

1. Twin Cities View, Manitowoc, Wis.

2. K and D Feedlot, Sioux Center, Iowa

3. Michael Martin, Colby, Wis.

4. Nyhof Dairy, Sioux Center, Iowa

5. Olsons Dairy Farm, Birnamwood, Wis.

Grand Champion BMR Corn Silage. This category was sponsored by Brevant seeds.

1. Co-Vista Holsteins LLC, Arcade, N.Y.

2. Brown Star Farms, Gillett, Wis.

3. BS Acres, Dresser, Wis.

4. Brink Dairy Farm, New Woodstock, N.Y.

5. Litwiller Farms, Almena, Wis.

Daniel Olson, owner of Opportunity Acres of Lena, Wis., who won grand champion grass haylage and a second place in the grass hay category, spoke immediately following the awards program about his and his family’s experience of entering the Wisconsin Forage Analysis Superbowl.

“We’ve been entering this contest for the past 10 years,” Olson said. “I believe this is our seventh win. We were grand champions with our corn silage sample a few years ago. We submit samples every year.”

Olson said at Opportunity Acres, he farms 300 acres and milks 50 show cows, which are housed year-round at that farm. Meanwhile, he and his family own Olson Family Farm, also in Lena, where they milk 180 cows and farm 800 acres.

Why does the Olson family enter the contest every year?

“We come every year to show cows at World Dairy Expo,” Olson said. “We use this contest as a barometer to see how our forage quality is measuring up with other growers. Everybody who enters this forage contest are the best of the best.”

The World Forage Analysis Superbowl is organized in a partnership involving Dairyland Laboratories Inc., US Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin, World Dairy Expo and Hay & Forage Grower. To learn more, visit foragesuperbowl.org.