A team of novice 4-H dairy project members from Ingham County earned top ranking among nine teams in the novice division of the state's dairy cattle judging contest at this year's Michigan 4-H and Youth Dairy Days, an annual dairy youth activity held in conjunction with the Michigan Dairy Expo. This year's expo, the 18th annual, took place July 21-25 at the Michigan State University (MSU) Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education in East Lansing.

Ingham County Youth Are State's Top Novice Dairy Cattle Judges

Three of the team's members – Keagan Long, Lansing; Irene Nielsen, Mason; and Chloe Spears, Lansing – placed first, second and fourth, respectively. The other team member, Sydney Krause, Lansing, finished 24th overall. The Ingham County team bested the second place team by 55 points.

Youth are eligible to compete in one of three age divisions in the dairy cattle judging contest: novice, junior or senior. Participants in the novice category – for young people ages 9 to 11 and competing in their first or second year at Dairy Days – evaluated the conformation of four classes of dairy animals (four animals in each class) and completed a quiz. Evaluation scores were tallied according to how closely the contestant's placing matched the judges' official placing. Contestants can earn a total of 50 points for each class.

The top 10 individuals overall in the novice division of the dairy cattle judging contest were:
1.   Keagan Long, Lansing (Ingham County)
2.   Irene Nielsen, Mason (Ingham County)
3.   Kole Jakus, St. Johns (Clinton County)
4.   Chloe Spears, Lansing (Ingham County)
5.   Hayley Wineland, Coldwater (Branch County)
6.   Adalee Thelen, Fowler (Clinton County)
7.   Kenny Cavanaugh, Byron (Shiawassee County)
8.   Clarissa Hirsch, Caledonia (Kent County)
9.   Jared Bunn, Manchester (Washtenaw County)
10. Teagan Howell, Jerome (Hillsdale County)

Clinton County Team A placed second overall. Team members were: Adalee Thelen, Fowler; Mackenna Geeseman and Kole Jakus St. Johns; and Jolene Nash, Elsie. The joint team representing Kent and Lapeer counties finished third place: Clarissa Hirsch, Caledonia; Jaryn Howland, North Branch; James and Will Link, Alto.

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 cattle judging program or the Michigan Dairy Expo, contact Domecq at 517-353-7855.

The 2015 Michigan Dairy Expo is scheduled for July 20-24 at MSU.