Engaged in deep thought as she cradled her notebook in her arms, 13-year-old Grace Wivell studied the four Guernsey cows in front of her, then recorded her observations, hoping they would match the judges’ official designation.
“I’m constantly flip-flopping the top cow with what the judge says,” she exclaimed, “but I’ve pretty much been right on so far.”
Wivell, of Oneida, was one of more than 120 students from 15 different counties who gathered at the Morrisville State College Dairy Complex for the recent Central New York Regional Dairy Tour, an annual dairy judging event.
The competition, for 4-H members interested in pursuing agricultural-related careers, involved judging eight classes of dairy cows and heifers, including Holsteins and Guernseys. Each class was displayed in front of members who had 12 minutes to study them, record their observations and rank them before their records were collected and an official judge made his ruling. Students were scored based on how closely they matched the official judges rulings.
In a dairy judging event, participants are ultimately looking for cows that will provide the most functionality and production for their farms, Tom Davis, a 4-H leader at the competition, said. They follow industry judging criteria and are looking for strong cows, cows with sound udders, and strong feet and legs, for example.
Students who place highest overall in the Morrisville event will go on to participate in judging competitions at The New York State Fair and the top 10 from the fair will compete at the national level, Debbie Grusenmeyer, a New York state dairy youth specialist, said