Dairy producers are encouraged to save samples of their 2013 forages for the first-ever "Pennsylvania Dairy Summit Forage Analysis Competition." The contest will be held as part of the 2014 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, being held at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 12 13. Hosted annually by the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and the Center for Dairy Excellence, the annual summit brings in more than 500 dairy producers and other industry enthusiasts for two days of learning and networking.Forage sample entries will be accepted for the contest from December 1 31, so producers are encouraged to gather gallon-sized samples of forages when appropriate to freeze until the entry period is opened. The contest provides the opportunity for Pennsylvania dairy producers and other crop growers to submit their corn silage, haylage and cool season grass samples to compete for monetary prizes. Growers not only have an opportunity to showcase their silage and win prizes, they will also gain from the new "Forage Management Track," which will be offered as one of four program tracks at the 2014 Dairy Summit.
Six categories will be judged in the forage analysis competition: conventional corn silage, BMR corn silage, perennial legume silage, mixed perennial silage (alfalfa and/or clover with grass), cool season annual silage (small grains and/or annual ryegrass), and forage sorghum silage. Class sponsors for each category are currently being solicited, with a top prize of $1,000 available in each class. Those who participate in the contest will also receive free forage analyses for their samples from Cumberland Valley Analytic Services. Sponsors of the Forage analysis competition to date include: Master Choice, Alta Seeds, Kings's Agri Seeds, and ECOSYL Products.
Contest entry forms are available to download at www.padairysummit.org, but entries should not be submitted before December 1. All samples should be from the 2013 growing season, and producers are encouraged to save and freeze any first cutting samples in two gallon-sized Ziploc bags to submit as entries for the contest.
For more information about the summit or forage analysis competition, contact Caroline Novak from PDMP at 877-326-5993 or caroline@pdmp.org or Jayne Sebright from the Center for Dairy Excellence at 717-259-6496 or jsebright@centerfordairyexcellence.org.
10.01.2013