**The Forage Contest is cancelled until further notice.**
This is due to Jim Wade's retirement at the University of Kentucky's Forage Testing Lab. If other arrangements to collect samples can be made, BCSA plans to host the contest again.
This is due to Jim Wade's retirement at the University of Kentucky's Forage Testing Lab. If other arrangements to collect samples can be made, BCSA plans to host the contest again.
The Butler County Stockman's Association Forage Quality Contest is designed to help forage producers
improve the quality of the feeds they are producing. The contest will be for forages produced during the 2018 growing season. The Butler County Stockman's Association will pay for 1 contest entry in each division for each member of
our association.
There are three divisions:
1) haylage
2) conventional grass hay
3) conventional legume or legume/grass mix hay
Prizes will be awarded for 1st and 2nd place in each division:
1st Place - $200 cash
2nd Place - $50 cash
- The Kentucky Department of Agriculture will come to the farm and test the forages using their standard
forage testing protocol. They come to the farm, pull the sample, have it analyzed using NIR.
- Relative Feed Value will be used to determine the winner and ADF will be used to break any ties.
If there is still a tie, NDF will be used.
While the KDA representative is at the farm, farmers may have more samples pulled and analyzed, but the farmer will be responsible for the cost of these additional samples ($10 per sample).
- Members may enter a forage lot into the contest at any time by turning a copy of the results in at the Butler
County Extension Service, as long as it was analyzed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture using their NIR machine.
Members that have their contest entries tested between March 27th and September 1st will not have their entry sample's testing fee paid by the Stockman's Association.
-Members who wish to have their entry tested and paid for by the Butler County Stockman's Association must
sign up for the contest before September 1 and samples will be pulled during the last week of
September. This will allow Kentucky Department of Agriculture personnel to make fewer trips to the county
and get most samples pulled in one day.
- All entries must be turned in to the extension office by October 15.
Results from the past contests will be added here soon.