Agriculture + Lifestyle

Knowles wins 2020 GFB Quality Hay Contest

Posted on February 23, 2021 7:00 PM

By Jay Stone, Georgia Farm Bureau 

Kerry Knowles of Telfair County won the 2020 Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Quality Bermudagrass Hay Contest with his Tift 85 Bermudagrass. He receives the use of a Vermeer 604R Baler for one year, with the option to buy it at a reduced price at the end of a year. In addition to growing hay, Knowles raises beef cattle.

GFB holds its annual Quality Bermudagrass Hay Contest to encourage producers to improve the quality of their hay via forage analysis from the University of Georgia Feed and Forage Lab. GFB members producing Bermudagrass hay compete to see whose hay has the highest relative forage quality (RFQ) - a measure of the hay’s nutrient content and palatability for livestock. The contest drew 33 entries statewide; entrants’ average RFQ score was 122.

Knowles’ sample achieved an RFQ of 177.6.

Jeff Bacon of Laurens County came in second with his sample of Coastal Bermudagrass, RFQ of 147. Bacon received a $200 gift card provided by GFB & a hay bale sample probe.

Jimbo Crumley of Morgan County placed third with his Tift 85, RFQ 140.8. Crumley received a $100 gift card from GFB.

James Hawkins of Glascock County (Coastal Bermudagrass, RFQ 138) finished fourth and received a $100 gift card from GFB.

Jamie Tate of Jeff Davis County (Russell Bermudagrass, RFQ 133) placed fifth and received a $100 gift card from GFB.

The second through fifth place winners also each received a gift bag courtesy of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association (GCA) and GFB.

Look for information about the 2021 GFB Quality Hay Contest to be released in mid-summer.