4-H Youth Excel in District Dairy Judging

Junior and Senior Teams Achieve First Place

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (July 21, 2017) – Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s 4-H Youth Development Program is pleased to announce the outstanding accomplishments of local 4-H dairy youth who recently competed in the Finger Lakes Dairy Judging Contest at Alfred State College Farm, in Alfred, NY.

This contest involved 4-H youth from primarily western and central New York State, who have an interest in the dairy industry and specifically in judging dairy cattle. The youth evaluated the conformation characteristics of dairy cattle and placed various groups of four cattle, which were compared to the placing of an official dairy cattle judge. The youth were then scored on their placings and received ribbons and trophies based upon their results.

The dairy judging program helps youth develop critical thinking skills and teaches them about ideal cattle conformation characteristics used in selecting dairy cattle to efficiently produce high quality milk on today’s modern dairy farms.

The Senior team (14 years of age and older) placed first in the contest and were honored to bring the rotating trophy back to Chautauqua County, which is a milestone for these youth, as it has been many years for Chautauqua County 4-H youth in the Senior division to accomplish this first place honor at this district competition. The Senior team included: Robert Nagel, 3rd place individual, Clymer Eager Beavers 4-H Club; Brandon Nickerson, 5th place, Sherman; and Ashley Haskins, 6th place, Wild Oats 4-H Club. Also competing in the Senior division and placing 4th as a team was Tesika Kilmer, 10th place individual, Wild Oats 4-H Club and LynnDee Nagel, Clymer Eager Beavers 4-H Club.

The Junior team (under 14 years of age) also placed first in the contest. Team members included: Miranda Nickerson, 4th place individual, Clymer Eager Beavers 4-H Club; Cole Nickerson, 5th place, Clymer Eager Beavers; Aden Nickerson, 6th place, Sherman; and Owen Ward, 9th place, Cherry Creek Cornhuskers.

In the Novice division (first time youth participating in this contest) Liam Nickerson, received 6th place individual, from Sherman.

The youth are coached by two 4-H dairy project alumni, who now share their knowledge with our 4-H youth as volunteer leaders: Dan Crowell, R&D Crowell Farm in South Dayton and Ben Nickerson, Reliance Dairy in Sherman.

These 4-H members, along with many other youth participating in the 4-H Dairy Project, will be testing their judging skills once again at the upcoming Western District 4-H Dairy Judging contest to be held on Friday, July 28th at 8:30 am at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds in Dunkirk, NY. Local youth will then be selected based upon their judging scores to represent Chautauqua County at the NYS Fair 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in August 2017.

Congratulations to our 4-H dairy youth on their recent achievements and continued success at future dairy judging competitions.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated July 21, 2017