Ms. Sherry Smith, 4-H Dairy Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, Ohio State University Extension
The Ohio 4-H Dairy Judging Team wrapped up an outstanding year at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI on September 29th. They finished second by one point to Michigan in a field of 27 teams from around the country and qualified to compete in the Royal Highland Show in Scotland and the Charleville show in Ireland in June. This outstanding showing was preceded by a first place finish on September 15th at the All- American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, PA. Team members are Hannah Dye from Beloit, Ella Jackson from DeGraff, Kaleb Kliner from West Salem and Tanner Topp from Wooster. The contestants judged 10 classes and gave oral reasons on five classes. All four team members were outstanding with Ella Jackson finishing 3rd overall in the individual competition, Hannah Dye placed 8th, Tanner Topp 9th and Kaleb Kliner tied for 25th. Hannah Dye was 4th individual in oral reasons followed by Tanner Topp 10th and Ella Jackson 11th. The team placed in the top 7 in all 5 individual breeds, taking 2nd place honors in Holstein and Guernsey and capturing 3rd place in overall team reasons.
Highlights from the Harrisburg, All-American Contest include: First place overall team and second place team in oral reasons. The team was first in Ayrshire, Guernsey, and Holstein and second in Brown Swiss and Jersey. Hannah Dye swept the individual awards taking home the top individual award and finishing 1st in oral reasons, followed by Ella Jackson finishing 2nd overall and 10th in oral reasons and Tanner Topp with 4th place individual honors and a 7th place finish in reasons.
This will be the first 4-H team to represent Ohio in the International competition since 1999. The team will be fundraising in the upcoming months. If you are interested in contributing, please contact the coach, Sherry Smith at smith.10072@osu.edu. And GO BUCKS!!