Cattaraugus County 4-H Dairy Judging Team Members Shine at New York State Fair
Cattaraugus County 4-H Dairy Judging Team members excelled at the NYS Fair, with top-25 finishes and national competition spots secured.
Cattaraugus County 4-H Dairy Judging Team Members at the NYS Fair. Front L-R: Peyton Britton, Miranda Ritter, Colt Conklin, Ben Thompson, Adalyn Tempio, and Claire Thompson. Back L-R: Caden Herman, Blake Hill, Wyatt Shields, Kendal Herman, Addyson Shawley, and Olivia Shawley.
LITTLE VALLEY - On Thursday, August 21st, the Cattaraugus County 4-H Dairy Program sent 12 youth to the New York State Fair to take part in the 4-H Dairy Judging Contest. The contest allows youth members to try their hand at evaluating dairy cattle with their placings then being compared to the “official placing” designated for the class. Each class is scored out of 50 points and the youth lose points based on how far off they are from the official placing. Scores are tallied both as individuals and teams made up of 3-4 youth. Youth evaluated 6 classes of Holstein cows and heifers during the first day of evaluation.
“Our county is very proud of the youth that traveled to the New York State Fair to take part in this contest. We are the only county in NYS that was able to send a team in each of the three divisions without having to combine with other counties to make full teams. That is an accomplishment in itself, but we were also able to place in the top 5 teams of each division,” stated 4-H Youth Development Educator, Courtney Charlesworth. “Our kids begin practicing in the spring when we host practices at multiple farms throughout the county and then they qualify for the State Fair based on their placings at our contest hosted at the Cattaraugus County Fair. Their commitment is impressive.”
The hard work and commitment certainly paid off when Cattaraugus County youth received top individual honors in both the Junior division and the Senior division. Senior members finishing in the top 25 are asked back to compete during the second week of the New York State Fair to qualify for spots on the New York State 4-H Judging team, which travels throughout the United States to national shows throughout the Fall. All 3 Cattaraugus County Senior members finished in the top 25, returning to compete on August 28th. Olivia Shawley finished 3rd and will be traveling to the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin with the NYS 4-H Team. Addyson Shawley finished 12th and will be traveling to the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, Kentucky with the NYS 4-H Team. Caden Herman was designated the first alternate for the NYS 4-H Team after finishing 13th.
The Cattaraugus County 4-H Program is seeing outstanding numbers in the Dairy Program with 55 youth exhibiting over 120 animals at the Cattaraugus County Fair this summer. Due to the large number of kids and animals, the program is fortunate enough to host the District Dairy Judging Contest, inviting youth from 4-H programs across Western New York to participate. If you are interested in learning more about the Cattaraugus County 4-H Program, contact the 4-H office today by calling 716-699-2377 or emailing cattaraugus4h@cornell.edu.