2009 LFGC State Hay Show

1.1. PURPOSE: The state Hay Show is designed to provide a showcase for the presentation of top quality hay and to recognize the producers of this hay. Hay is the only agricultural commodity that is bought and sold without quality and/or weight guaranteed. The quality of hay varies more than any other agricultural commodity. The State Hay Show will provide educational information to producers regarding hay quality. It will also serve to introduce Louisiana livestock and forage producers to the activities and benefits of the Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council.

2.2. PARTICIPANTS: Any legitimate livestock or forage producer residing in Louisiana may submit samples for possible entry into the State Hay Show so long as the entries are certified by and submitted through the county agent’s office either from the parish in which the hay was produced or the parish in which the producer lives and be from a field of at least five acres.

3. SAMPLING:

A representative sample must be taken.
A tube‑type hay probe must be used to take core samples of the hay bales being entered. The probe tip must be sharp.
Square bales should be sampled for the end with cores being taken near the center of the end.
Sampled bales must have been produced from a Louisiana field or pasture.
A minimum of five large round bales or 10 small square bales should be sampled from each field and/or cutting to be submitted.
Hay from the field being sampled should be cut at the same time, at the same stage of maturity, be all of the same variety and fertilized alike.
The cores obtained from the field or cutting should be combined into a composite sample for chemical analysis. The composite sample should be put into a plastic freezer bag and sealed tightly.
Non‑cored samples will not be eligible for entry.
An additional grab sample must be taken from several bales for determination of a physical score at the Hay Show. The grab sample should be placed in a non‑airtight bag (i.e., clean feed sack) and should be at least one gallon in size.
Each hay sample to be submitted should be labeled as follows: LFGC Hay Show, Name, Address, and Type of hay.
The core sample should be mailed to: Forage Quality Lab, Southeast Research Station, P.O. Drawer 569, Franklinton, LA 70438. Please enclose a check for $10 per sample for the forage quality analysis. The check can be made payable to the Southeast Research Station.
The grab sample should be retained at the county agent’s office for possible entry into the Hay Show.
For stockpiled forage samples, the same basic rules apply, except that core samples with a hay probe will not need to be taken. Instead, producers should take small grab samples from their stockpiled pasture (summer perennials only) and combine them into one composite sample of about one-gallon in size. The grab samples should include the whole plant down to a 2-inch height. Samples should be taken from the pasture between November 1 and November 20, 2009. No samples will be entered into the contest after November 20. This composite sample should be submitted to the Forage Quality Lab for quality analysis.

No hay samples shall be accepted by county agents after October 30, 2009.
Each submitted sample will be analyzed for crude protein percentage (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and total digestible nutrients (TDN).
Lab analysis will be completed by November 6, 2009 and results forwarded to the Hay Show Committee.
By November 9, 2009, all producers and county agents will be contacted regarding the results of the screening process. Those entrants placing in the top 10 from each category will be eligible for the final round of competition. From these finalists, the one‑gallon grab samples of hay must be received in Ed Twidwell’s office by November 20, 2009. These samples will be judged for physical characteristics on November 23, 2009.
Producers whose samples are selected for the Hay Show will be contacted and invited to be present for the announcement of the winners on December 4, 2009, at the LFGC meeting in Alexandria.

Maturity: More mature plants get lower scores. Presence of seedheads and stem length are considered. Texture and leaf/stem ratio are also considered. (30 points)

Foreign Material: Weeds, mold, dust and other contaminants are considered (5 points)

Odor: Highest scores are obtained from samples that possess a fresh, newly‑mown odor. (5 points)

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