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Finding a hay king
Annual
contest
puts
growers
to
the
test
November
23,
2008
 |
| Dairy specialist Mirelle Chahine, left, and forage specialist Glen Shewmaker, both of the University of Idaho Extension system, judge a hay bale for buds at the Hay King Contest in Dairy Saturday H&N photo by Ty Beaver |
DAIRY
—
Carlos
Curry
says
color
is
never
the
problem.
The Fort Rock-based hay grower has participated in every Oregon Hay King contest since it started in 1998. He won the grass/legume category in 2004 but a different factor each year impacts how his bales perform.
But it’s not the glory of being Hay King that keeps Curry and other Eastern Oregon hay growers coming back each year.
“Every time you can learn something different,” he said.
Between 15 and 20 hay growers submitted about 36 bales for the contest at Rice Feed & Supply in Dairy Saturday.
The bales covered the gamut of hay varieties, from alfalfa and cereal hays to grass and timothy hay. Any grower can participate.
Though originally started by the Central Oregon Hay Growers’ Association a decade ago, the Hay King Contest is now the annual competition of the Oregon Hay and Forage Association, the blanket organization for the hay growers spread across Eastern Oregon.
Judges, brought in from extension services in Washington, Idaho, Utah and occasionally Oregon, consider a long list of factors. Judging covers the bale’s shape and how tightly it is bound, and the bale’s color and texture. Samples are processed by a machine to determine moisture content and other properties.
Smell test
The bale is also subjected to a smell test. It’s best if it smells fresh and free of rot. A caramel smell means the hay has heat damage. Heat damaged hay has fewer nutrients, though cows love the taste of it.
Hay is marked down if there is too much dust or mold, or if it looks yellow. Judges also take note if there are things in a bale that shouldn’t be there.
“One year we opened one up and there was a piece of aluminum pipe inside,” said David King, president of the Klamath Basin Hay Growers’ Association and an officer in the state organization.
Winners are awarded in each category and there’s an overall winner. The prizes aren’t glamorous, but are functional such as baling twine, oil, a moisture probe, gift certificates and toy tractors that often end up with a grower’s children.
Mylen Bohle, a Crook County extension agent, said the real function of the contest is educational. If growers and the industry didn’t benefit from the event, experts wouldn’t be willing to lend their talents in judging and growers wouldn’t drive from around the state to participate.
As it is, the contest lends to better quality in the state’s hay, through professional advice and friendly competition.
“People will go home and check their balers based on judging,” Bohle said.
Curry said he makes adjustments to his equipment based on the scores his bales receive. He may not win every year but he keeps attending. He always picks up something new and also learns more about how to find the right market for the hay he produces, he said.
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