EAST LANSING, Mich. — As dairy producers from across the state descended on East Lansing for the largest annual dairy event in Michigan, they were joined by nearly 175 youth exhibitors who showcased their dairy-related skills and talents through a variety of contests. These young people, age 9 to 19, took part in the 2018 Michigan 4-H Youth Dairy Days, the youth-centered portion of the Michigan Dairy Expo. This year’s expo took place July 16-20 at the Michigan State University (MSU) Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education in East Lansing.
Michigan 4-H Youth Dairy Days is a program of MSU Extension and offers young people interested in the dairy industry opportunities to compete for premiums, ribbons, and scholarships in various educational activities, including dairy quiz bowls, dairy management contests, dairy cattle judging competitions and the Dairy Days youth show. Winners may go on to represent Michigan in national competitions.
Melissa Elischer, MSU Extension Michigan 4-H dairy youth educator and director of 4-H Youth Dairy Days, said that the weeklong educational event serves as the stage for showcasing some of the industry’s most talented and engaged young people and who are already dairy industry leaders. She said youth must learn a number of skills and knowledge in the weeks and months leading up to the event.
“It requires a lot of commitment on the part of young people to prepare for Dairy Days,” said Elischer. “These youth spend many hours learning and practicing with their teams and coaches to prepare for Dairy Days. Once here, youth then have to budget and prioritize their time to compete in back-to-back contests, often while being responsible for taking care of their show animals in the barn.”
With the exception of the cattle show, 4-H Dairy Days exhibitors were eligible to compete in one of three age divisions: novice, junior or senior. Participants in the novice category are young people ages 9 to 11 and competing in their first or second year at Dairy Days. Junior competitors are youth ages 11 to 14 and seniors are youth ages 15 to 19.
Top honorees in the various age categories and competitions include:
- Dairy Cattle Judging
- Top Novice Individual: Kamryn Atherton, Shiawassee County (Swartz Creek)
- Top Junior Individual: Keagan Long, Ingham County (Lansing)
- Top Senior Individual: Drew Neyer, Isabella County (Shepherd)
- Dairy Management Contest:
- Top Novice Individual: Jadyn Herzog, Mecosta County (Paris)
- Top Junior Individual: Caleb Tucker, Allegan County (Hopkins)
- Top Senior Individual: Jonah Haskins, Lapeer County (Marlette)
- Dairy Quiz Bowl
- Top Novice Team: Clinton County – Clarissa Baese of Elsie, Harris Evans and Thomas (Tom) Hicks of St. Johns, and Ethan Humphrey of Fowler
- Top Junior Team: Allegan County – Anna and Sam Geerlings of Hamilton, Caleb Tucker from Hopkins, and Tristan VanDenBerg of Plainwell
- Top Senior Team: Clinton County – Miriam Cook of Pewamo, Amanda Hicks of St. Johns, Jessica Nash of Elsie, and Kyle Schafer of Westphalia
- High Ranking Individuals
- Junior: Irene Nielsen, Ingham County (Potterville)
- Senior: Shannon Good, Kent County (Caledonia)
- Youth Cattle Show:
- Supreme Champion Cow: Kieran Hartnagle, Gratiot County (Wheeler)
- Supreme Champion Heifer: Ashton Geurink, Ottawa County (Zeeland)
- Supreme Dairy Showman: Anna Moser, Ingham County (Dansville)
Awards and other recognition during Michigan 4-H Youth Dairy Days, along with other dairy youth and judging program activities conducted throughout the year, are made possible through the generous support of numerous businesses, organizations, and individuals. These include: ABS Global, AIS Equipment, the Branch County Dairy Organization, the Clinton County 4-H Dairy Council, Dairy Farmers of America, Dairyland Laboratories Inc., the District I and District VI Holstein Associations, Drs. Joe and Denise Domecq, GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Hillsdale County Dairy Leaders, Ira Krupp, the Michigan Dairy Memorial Foundation, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Michigan Farm Bureau, the Michigan Holstein Association, the Michigan Jersey Cattle Club, the Michigan Milk Producers Association, the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, the MSU Dairy Club, the MSU Dairy Cattle Judging Team, the MSU Department of Animal Science, MSU Extension, MOO-ville Creamery, NorthStar Cooperative, the Osceola County 4-H Dairy Boosters, the Ottawa County 4-H Dairy Committee, the Place Family, Rodney Pennock, the Shiawassee County 4-H Dairy Association, the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, and the Vitality Dairy crew.
The 2019 Michigan Dairy Expo is scheduled for July 15-19 at MSU. For more information about the Michigan 4-H dairy youth program, contact Melissa Elischer at 517-432-4306. For more information about the Michigan Dairy Expo, contact Dr. Joe Domecq at 517-353-7855.
— Michigan State ANR
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