Banks County Farm Bureau member William A. Griffin III won the 2010 Georgia Farm Bureau Quality Hay Contest.

Griffin, who runs Griffin Brothers farm along with his brother Westly, submitted Russell bermudagrass for the contest and earned a relative forage quality (RFQ) score of 113.1. 

Griffin lives in Maysville with his wife Leigh and sons Will, age 13, Cole, 12, and Bret, 5. He and Wesley grow hay on 90 acres and they also have a herd of approximately 200 beef 
cattle along with corn they grow for silage.



Garren Hall of Franklin County finished second, achieving an RFQ score of 108.3 with his submission of Coastal bermudagrass. Farrell Roberts of Tift County submitted Tift 85 bermudagrass and was third with an RFQ score of 104.3. Neal Pannell of Walton County, the 2009 winner, finished fourth with an RFQ score of 103, also with Tift 85, and Russell Elliot of Bibb County was fifth with an RFQ score of 100 for his Coastal bermudagrass.



The contest drew 40 entries from 19 counties across the state and consisted of quality analysis of hay grown by entrants, using the University of Georgia's RFQ testing method, which measures nutrient content of the hay. Georgia Farm Bureau sponsors the annual contest to encourage superior hay production in the state. The winners were announced during the 72nd GFB Convention on Jekyll Island.