Top Wisconsin dairy youth enthusiasts from across the state advanced to two national contests this past fall. Wood, Door and Richland counties represented Wisconsin at the 2006 National 4-H dairy bowl contests after they took top honors at the state competition held last January.

“These national contests are like the Super Bowl of dairy quiz bowl. It”s awesome that the best of Wisconsin are able to go out and compete with the best of the best from across the country,” stated Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension dairy youth specialist. “These youth are the future leaders of the dairy industry and it”s really positive to see their enthusiasm and excitement for our industry.”

Wood County was the 2006 Wisconsin Champion Senior 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Team, topping the field of eleven senior teams. Team members Paul Lippert, Jordan Wolf, and Carl Lippert of Pittsville and Lee Slattery of Rudolph advanced to the national contest at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Ky. in November. They were coached by Matt Lippert, also of Pittsville.

“The national contest follows a different, fast paced format. We felt up to the challenge and nearly came home champions. Experiencing NAILE was great. We met a lot of interesting people from other states – It was a super experience,” state team member Paul Lippert.

At the NAILE competition the Wisconsin team earned the Reserve Champion title. Captained by Jordan Wolf, the Wood county team delivered defeats in the double elimination contest to teams from Minnesota, Georgia and New York, but were ultimately bested by Virginia, who took the Champion banner.

“It is a real honor for these kids to place second in this event – the caliber of Wisconsin teams we have met in the past fully prepared us for what we found at NAILE,” said Coach Matt Lippert. “While Wisconsin teams are selected as the best county team in the state, many other states recruit statewide to create an All-Star team. It really is Wood County going against the entire state of New York. They prepared intensely and performed very well.”

While in Louisville, the team members also viewed the show cattle and mingled with the other teams at an organized mixer at their hotel.

Door and Richland counties placed second and third at the state contest; earning the opportunity to represent Wisconsin at the World Dairy Expo 4-H Dairy Bowl Invitational in October.

With a field of seven teams at this World competition, the Door County team topped the contest after defeating New Mexico, Florida, Illinois and the Wisconsin team from Richland County. The team remained undefeated through the competition and was the first Wisconsin team to capture the champion honors at this contest. Team members included Jacob Brey and Ben Kinnard of Sturgeon Bay, Garrett Rass of Forestville, and Brandon Kruswick of Algoma. Clarice Brey of Sturgeon Bay is the coach.

“It was really neat being the first Wisconsin team to win this competition at World Dairy Expo,” commented team member Jacob Brey. “We studied hard and were really excited to compete well and receive this honor.”

Richland County took the Reserve champion honors at the 2006 World Dairy Expo contest. Team members included Brad Solchenberger of Cazenovia, Krysty Kepler and Josh Joseph of Viola, and Shi Lurvey of Lone Rock. Coaching the team was Dana Kepler of Viola.

“You can cram and cram and cram, but it”s a quiz competition – You don”t know what they”ll ask,” noted coach Kepler. “It was really exciting to make it so far in the competition and have the championship come down to two Wisconsin teams!”

Both Door and Richland counties did extremely well and have made history being the first Wisconsin duo to take first and second at this elite contest.

Dairy quiz bowl is both a knowledge competition that tests and a speed competition. Team members need to know about the different breeds of cattle, nutrition, genetics, diseases, and herd management practices. They also need to be on top of their game and be the first to ring their buzzer.

The Wisconsin 4-H Dairy Endowment Fund and Wisconsin 4-H Foundation sponsor the Wisconsin teams that advance to national 4-H competitive events. For more information contact Ted Halbach at (608) 263-3305 or e-mail tjhalbach@wisc.edu.

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Photo Captions:

Wood County: The Wisconsin 4-H dairy bowl representatives from Wood County took second at the North American International Livestock Exposition. Pictured from left to right in back are team members Paul Lippert, Lee Slattery and Jordan Wolf and in front is coach Matt Lippert and team member Carl Lippert.

Door County: Dairy youth for Door County took championship honors at the 2006 World Dairy Expo. Pictured from left to right is Ben Kinnard, Garrett Rass, Jacob Brey, Brandon Kruswick and coach Clarice Brey.

Richland County: Richland County youth earned reserve champion honors at the World Dairy Expo dairy bowl competition. Pictured from left to right is coach Dana Kepler, Brad Solchenberger, Shi Lurvey, Josh Joseph and Krysty Kepler.