Wyoming hay producers place well at premier hay show
CASPER, Wyo. – For the eighth year in a row, Wyoming producers have won or placed extremely high in the World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.
The World’s Forage Analysis Superbowl provides growers from across the United States and Canada an opportunity to vie for forage awards by entering their high quality samples in a dairy or commercial division.
Six Wyoming producers competed in the Commercial Hay Division and five producers from the state competed in the Grass/Hay Division.
In the Commercial Hay Division, Kellie Hinman of Lazy 2K Livestock from Wheatland, Wyo. took grand champion. David Hinman with Hardrock Farms in Wheatland, Wyo., was second. Ervin Gara, of Torrington, Wyo., came in third; Wyoming Haybusters with Ervin Gara placed fourth; Kossert Bros. Inc., of Casper, Wyo., was eighth; and David Hinman placed 14th.
In the grass/hay division, three of the five Wyoming samples placed in the top 10. Gerry Danko of Powell, Wyo., came in third. Lazy 2K Livestock was fifth; and Epler Farms, of Hillsdale, Wyo., was 10th.
Wyoming’s entries to the Superbowl were selected by having the top relative feed value at the Wyoming State Fair Hay Show. The winners of this class had entry fees and any necessary shipping required to send samples to the Superbowl paid for by the Wyoming Business Council’s Agribusiness Division.
Donn Randall, Crop and Forage Program manager in the Business Council’s Agribusiness Division, said while this year’s drought did affect the number of entries submitted, he believed the quality of the hay samples was better.
“Most of the U.S. experienced much better drying conditions due to the drought, which helped make for better visual quality of forage samples,” said Randall.
Randall said demand for Wyoming hay from Midwest dairy and horse producers is very high. He also talked with several Asian delegations interested in sourcing Wyoming hay for export to China, Japan and neighboring countries.
“As of now, we are seeing export prices of $20 to $40 dollars more per ton than the domestic markets. This is a really lucrative market for our producers and we are hoping to capitalize on it.
“Once again, Wyoming hay producers have shown the forage industry that our hay is top notch. Wyoming has earned a reputation as a premium hay producing state making our producers very much sought after,” said Randall.