The Colorado 4-H Dairy Judging team recently completed competition at the National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest in Madison, Wis. The contest was held on Oct. 1 in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo.

Team members were Awna Hirsch, Eaton, Megan Podtburg, Greeley and Kyndall and Morgynne Tucker, Fort Collins. Coaching the team were Keith Maxey, Greeley, and Debbie Carpio, Kersey. A total of 91 individuals, from 24 teams across the U.S. and Canada participated in the contest.

The contest required participants to place 10 classes of dairy cattle, representing five different dairy breeds, and present five sets of oral reasons. Each placing class and each set of reasons is worth up to 50 points. Awna Hirsch walked away with Top Individual Overall honors with a total of 707 points. She is the first person from Colorado 4-H to win this coveted award since the contest’s inception nearly 100 years ago. Awna was also the second High Individual in Reasons.

Colorado placed fourth overall in the team competition and was seventh overall in oral reasons. In breed classes, the team placed fourth in Brown Swiss and Holstein, sixth in Ayrshire, and 10th in Guernsey. Additionally, Awna Hirsch and Morgynne Tucker received All-American honors for their first and 25th high individual placings, respectively, and Kyndall Tucker was sixth high individual in the Holstein division.

World Dairy Expo serves as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, with approximately 70,000 people from 100 countries attending. This event showcases the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, dairy and forage seminars, and world-class dairy cattle shows with over 2,000 head of cattle exhibited annually.

Congratulations to the Colorado 4-H Dairy Judging team on their accomplishments in Madison. Special thanks to the generous sponsors for making this trip possible. For more information on the 4-H Dairy Judging program, contact Keith Maxey at the Weld County Extension Office.