Bonnie Ayars, Dairy Program Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University
We managed to be in Fort Worth when the weather was cooperating. It was a trip filled with cultural activities as well as the Dairy Judging Contest attended by many universities. Our OSU judges participating were Whitney Yerina, Will Seedorf, Jed Adams, and Lilly Marsh.
Upon our arrival, we toured the AT&T stadium just days after the football team had played there in the Cotton Bowl. The sheer size and architectural marvel of this stadium did not fail to gather our attention. However, the cattle drive in Old Fort Worth and some other local historic sites gave us quite a lesson in history on cattle movement and marketing. Our next day was spent on dairy farms evaluating several animal classes and appreciating the hospitality of breeders within the area.
The contest itself is always worthy of conversation. The committee there had 3 breeds represented and interesting classes selected from those who were exhibiting. Many sponsors in the area are generous with their resources and sponsorship. It is held in conjunction with their state 4-H and FFA contest and several of our coaches volunteer to listen to their reasons.
We had very good results in the Brown Swiss and Holstein classes. The Jersey class brought a few more challenges for many, including the fact that a placing was entered incorrectly and scores had to be updated. Our results have been posted on our FACEBOOK page, Ohio State University Dairy Judging, but here is a summary of our accomplishments with the updates:
- Team was 4th overall and 4th in reasons. There were 3 scores of 50 given for reasons in this contest and two of those belonged to Whitney and Will.
- Team was high in Brown Swiss and 2nd in Reasons and Whitney finished 2nd in the breed.
- Team was 2nd in Holstein and 2nd in Reasons with Will finishing 2nd in the breed.
- 3rd Team in Jersey Reasons and Lilly earning 6th in this breed. Whitney was 6th high individual overall and Will was 7th.
Pictured: (left to right): Jed Adams, Will Seedorf, Coach Ayars, Lilly Marsh, and Whitney Yernia.