GRAVETTE — Quality Forage Bermuda Hay Program participants are closing the energy value gap between Bermuda hay and corn.

Just how close the two are coming was demonstrated at the recent Quality Forage Bermuda Hay Program meeting that drew 130 producers and sponsors from Arkansas, southwestern Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Turning attention fromprotein to energy content was a goal established when the program was launched in 1998. The energy content is expressed as TDN, or total digestible nutrients.

Jim Singleton, of Gravette, the Quality Forage Program chair, said there was a record number of entries for the 2011 forage contest and 105 of the 144 entries had TDN levels “of 65 percent or better, which is exceptional by any standard.”

Robert Seay, Benton County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, noted the high energy values in terms of dollars.

“Those top 105 samples, with an average TDN level of 68 percent, reflect 75 percent of the energy value of corn,” he said.

“Based on today’s corn market, one ton of quality Bermuda hay would have an energy value of $180 per ton.”

News, Pages 13 on 04/13/2011