174 The Southeast hay contest: 10 year summary

Abstract The Southeast (SE) Hay Contest was started by a group of Extension agents from across the SE with the objective of increasing producer knowledge of the relative forage quality (RFQ) index. Since its inception, the program has grown to over 350 hay and baleage samples annually. Forage samples were categorized into warm-season perennial grass hay (WSPGH), alfalfa hay (AH), perennial peanut hay (PPH), cool-season perennial grass hay (CSPGH), mixed annual grass, or other hay (MAG), grass baleage (GB), and legume baleage (LB). Samples were analyzed for RFQ and crude protein (CP) using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) at the UGA Forage Testing Center (Athens, GA). The following summary includes data from 2009–2018 analyzed using Proc Glimmix of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst., Cary, NC) with category and year as fixed effects and α = 0.05. Alfalfa hay had the greatest RFQ, followed by LB (P ≤ 0.004; 199 and 186, respectively). Perennial peanut and GB had median RFQ values (P ≤ 0.001; 169 and 150, respectively), and WSPGH had the least (P ≤ 0.008; 117). With the exception of 2017, the years 2013 to 2018 had the greatest RFQ (P < 0.001; 165). 2017 had a greater amount of rain than average, likely resulting in its lower average RFQ. Alfalfa hay had the greatest (P < 0.001) CP of all categories (23.9%; P < 0.001). Crude protein concentrations did not differ among WSPGH, CSPGJH, and MAG (P ≥ 0.192; 14.5%). While these forage samples were likely greater quality than samples not submitted, we conclude that outreach efforts, including the SE Hay Contest, have increased knowledge of the hay and baleage production process leading to increased hay quality from 2009 to 2018.