Ten senior dairy judging teams and 14 individuals from across Wisconsin will travel to the Polk Country Fairgrounds on July 27 to compete in the State 4-H Senior Dairy Cattle Judging contest and vie for the opportunity to move on to a national-level contest. The teams and individuals were selected from four statewide district judging contests as part of the 4-H Area Animal Science Days program. Participants judge eight classes of dairy cows and heifers at each competition. Senior contestants, 14 to 19 years old, give reasons on three classes while younger junior contestants answer conformation-related questions on two classes.

Downloadable photo files of the winning teams and individuals are available at the end of this article.

A total of 414 4-Hers competed in the junior and senior divisions at the district contests. That included 180 seniors from 36 teams and 234 juniors from 41 teams. Each team of three to eight individuals represented its county. The three top-placing senior teams from each district, as well as the top three or four individuals who are not a part of one of the top teams, were selected to participate in the state contest.

The contests are a partnership between the 4-H program and the state”s dairy industry, says Ted Halbach UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist.

“At each of the district contests, farms from the host county provide the animals to make up the classes and industry professionals volunteer to serve as officials and help in other roles at the contests,” he explains. “We couldn”t run this program without their enthusiasm and support.”

For the third year, a State 4-H Junior Contest will also be held for youth 10 to 14 years of age. This competition will be held in conjunction with the senior contest at the Polk County Fairgrounds. The top two teams at each district contest earned bids to the state competition.

“I greatly appreciate the willingness of exhibitors at the Polk County Fair to work these contests into an already busy fair week,” said Halbach. “The success of the youth judging program in Wisconsin lies in this kind of support throughout the state. This activity receives great local grassroots support, from the herds the teams practice with to the coaches and extension staff who mentor and teach these youth.”

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COMPETITION RESULTS BY DISTRICT:

Southwest Area Animal Science Day – Richland Center, Richland County
The Southwest district dairy judging contest was held in Richland Center at the Richland County Fairgrounds on June 26. Grant and LaCrosse counties placed 1st and 2nd respectively in the senior competition, both earning a trip to the state senior contest.

Winning the overall senior competition was Danielle Brown of Iowa County, followed in 2nd place by Mason Amundson from Grant County. Danielle Brown, 1st place, of Iowa County, Matt Sullivan, 4th place, of Richland County, along with Rebeka Dieter, 6th place, of Lafayette County will represent the Southwest district as individuals at the state contest.

In the junior competition, LaCrosse County placed first, with Iowa County juniors coming in 2nd place to qualify for the state junior competition. Carissa Tolzman from Iowa County was named the top junior individual. Jeremiah Steege of LaCrosse County followed in 2nd place.

(SW) Top 10 Senior Individuals Overall:
1. Danielle Brown, Iowa
2. Mason Amundson, Grant
3. Heather Scanlan, Grant
4. Matt Sullivan, Richland
5. Shannon Muenzenberger, LaCrosse
6. Rebeka Dieter, Lafayette
7. Katie Jandt, LaCrosse
8. Kyle Meixelsperger, Sauk
9. Krysty Kepler, Richland
10. Cody Carpenter, Lafayette

(SW)Top 5 Senior Teams Overall
1. Grant
2. La Crosse
3. Lafayette
4. Iowa
5. Richland

(SW) Top 10 Junior Individuals
1. Carissa Tolzman, Iowa
2. Jeremiah Steege, LaCrosse
3. Thomas Larson, Vernon
4. Brittany Berg, LaCrosse
5. Ranae Holthaus, LaCrosse
6. Sean Brown, Iowa
7. Amber Yager, Iowa
8. Trevor Rundhaug, Sauk
9.Lara Daentl, Iowa
10. Kathryn Swenson, Vernon

(SW) Top 5 Junior Teams
1. La Crosse
2. Iowa
3. Vernon
4. Richland
5. Grant

Southeast Area Animal Science Day – Janesville, Rock County
Rock County hosted the Southeast Area Animal Science Day in Stoughton on June 29, 2007. Dodge County took 1st in the senior division, coming in 12 points ahead of second place Dane County.

Winning the overall senior division was Ben Sarbacker of Dane County and 2nd place went to Shawn Nehls of Dodge County. Steven Davis, 6th place, from Walworth County, Frank Behling, 10th place, of Dodge County, and Laura Elliott, 9th place, of Dane County will join the top two teams to represent the Southeast District as individuals at the state competition.

Dodge County took 1st place honors in the junior division with an 37-point advantage over second place Rock County, making both teams eligible for the junior state contest. Seth Nehls of Dodge County and Mackenzie Nickels of Rock County took 1st and 2nd place respectively in the junior contest.

(SE) Top 10 Senior Individuals overall:
1. Ben Sarbacker, Dane
2. Shawn Nehls, Dodge
3. Kristin Natzke, Dodge
4. Ty Hildebrandt, Dodge
5. Julia Cooper, Dane
6. Steven Davis, Walworth
7. Kelly Sime, Dane
8. Kyle Natzke, Dodge
9. Laura Elliott, Dane
10. Frank Behling, Dodge

(SE) Top 5 Senior Teams overall
1. Dodge
2. Dane
3. Walworth
4. Vernon
5. Waukesha

Top 10 Junior Individuals:
1. Seth Nehls, Dodge
2. Mackenzie Nickels, Rock
3. Janelle Remington, Dodge
4. Jenna Langer, Columbia
5. (tie) Lauren Hageman, Dane
5. (tie) Taylor Vanderstappen, Walworth
6. Erica Ballmer, Rock
7. Brooks Hendrickson, Green
8. Steven Fincutter, Walworth
9. Felicia Bohn, Dodge
10. Elizabeth Sarbacker, Dane

Top 5 Junior Teams
1. Dodge
2. Rock
3. Dane
4. Walworth
5. Green

Northwest Area Animal Science Day – Glenwood City, St. Croix County
The Northwest Area Animal Science Day was held at the St.Croix County Fairgrounds in Glenwood City on June 28, 2007. Pierce County won the senior division, followed in second by St. Croix County. Both teams gained automatic bids to the state contest. Joining them will be 3rd place Polk County.

In the individual senior contest, Mary Johnson of Polk County took top honors followed by Jake Kruschke of St. Croix County in 2nd place. Johnson, along with Bethany Wohlk, 3rd place, of Barron County, Stephanie Merritt, 4th place, of Dunn County, and Michelle Owens, 6th place, of Polk County will represent the Northwest District as individuals at the state senior contest.

Clark County was first among the junior teams and was followed in second by the Barron County team. Jessica Pralle, 1st place, of Clark County beat out Ben Powers, 2nd place, of Dunn County by 20 point to take home the first place junior individual ribbon.

(NW) Top 10 Senior Individuals overall:
1. Mary Johnson, Polk
2. Jake Kruschke, St. Croix
3. Bethany Wohlk, Barron
4. Stephanie Merritt, Dunn
5. Hayden Hauschildt, Pierce
6. Michelle Owens, Polk
7. Brian Coyne, Pierce
8. Claudia Hardie, Trempealeau
9. Erin Merritt, Dunn
10. Hans Johnson, Polk

(NW)Top 5 Senior Teams overall:
1. Pierce
2. St. Croix
3. Polk
4. Dunn
5. Barron

(NW) Top 10 Junior Individuals:
1. Jessica Pralle, Clark
2. Ben Powers, Dunn
3. David Pintens, Barron
4. Laura Jensen, Polk
5. Ruth Hecker, Rusk
6. Dane Thompson, Barron
7. Claire Van Dyke, St. Croix
8. Trent Dado, Polk
9. Jacob Welsh, Clark
10. Jacob Pintens, Barron

(NW) Top 5 Junior Teams:
1. Clark
2. Barron
3. Polk
4. Dunn
5. Rusk

Northeast Area Animal Science Day – Wautoma, Waushara County
On June 27, the Northeast district contest, which was Area Animal Science Days” largest contest this year, was held in Wautoma at the Waushara County Fairgrounds. Wood County placed first and Calumet and Fond du Lac counties both received bids to the state contest after tying for second place.

Zachary Sawall of Waupaca County won the overall senior competition and Carissa Levash from Calumet County was seven points back in second place. Representing the Northeast District as individuals will be Sawall, Kelly Lee, 9th place, of Jefferson County, Kayla Wright, 10th place, of Jefferson County, and Austen Schmidt, 12th place, of Fond du Lac County.

In the junior competition, Fond du Lac County topped the contest, beating out 2nd place Sheboygan County by 14 points. Both teams will represent the Northeast District at the junior contest. Courtney Perronne of Sheboygan County won the individual competition over Valerie Kramer of Fond du Lac County.

(NE) Top 10 Senior Individuals
1. 1. Zachary Sawall, Waupaca
2. Carissa Levash, Calumet
3. Paul Lippert, Wood
4. Brandon Ferry, Fond du Lac
5. (tie) Carl Lippert, Wood
5. (tie) Kyle Zimdars, Fond du Lac
6. Lee Slattery, Wood
7. Justin Schmitt, Calumet
8. Adam Geiger, Calumet
9. Kelly Lee, Jefferson
10. Kayla Wright, Jefferson

(NE) Top 5 Senior Teams
1. Wood
2. Calumet
3. Fond du Lac
4. Jefferson
5. Waupaca

(NE) Top 10 Junior Individuals
1. Courtney Perronne, Sheboygan
2. Valerie Kramer, Fond du Lac
3. Darren Kamphuis, Fond du Lac
4. Jordaann Siemers, Manitowoc
5. Crystal Peterman, Manitowoc
6. Emily Selner, Kewaunee
7 Matthew O”Leary, Fond du Lac
8. Diana Zimdars, Fond du Lac
9. Derrek Kamphuis, Fond du Lac
10. Laura Finley, Jefferson

(NE) Top 5 Junior Teams
1. Fond du Lac
2. Sheboygan
3. Manitowoc
4. Kewaunee
5. Jefferson

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PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS:

Southeast Contest

1st Place Junior Team – Dodge County
Front Row (L to R): Nathan Twardokus, Justin Nehls, Dawson Nickels, Felicia Bohn, Alexis Remington
Back Row: Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist, Seth Nehls, Carrie Warmka, Janelle Remington, Brittany Nampel, Todd Wendorf, Coach, Kevin Jorgensen, Coach

Junior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Taylor Vanderstappen, 5th; Lauren Hageman, 5th; Jenna Langer, 4th; Janelle Remington, 3rd; Mackenzie Nickels, 2nd; Seth Nehls, 1st, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

1st Place Senior Team – Dodge County
Front Row (L to R): Kyle Natzke, Aaron Bohn, Brett Hildebrandt, Kristin Natzke, Ty Hildebrandt
Back Row: Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist, Zachary Damrow, Shawn Nehls, Frank Behling, Kevin Jorgensen, Coach, Todd Wendorf, Coach

Senior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Julia Cooper, 5th; Ty Hildebrandt, 4th; Kristin Natske, 3rd; Shawn Nehls, 2nd; Ben Sarbacker, 1st, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Northwest Contest

1st Place Junior Team – Clark County Junior Team
Front Row (L to R) Jodi Pinter, Caitlyn Welsh, Nicole Pralle, Kaitlin Artac, Isaac Welsh
Back Row: Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist, Pam Selz-Pralle, Coach, Jacob Welsh, Ryan Pralle, Scott Pralle, Coach, Jessica Pralle

Junior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Ruth Hecker, 5th; Laura Jensen, 4th; David Pintens, 3rd; Ben Powers, 2nd; Jessica Pralle, 1st; Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist. Missing: Katrina Nunes, 4th place

1st Place Senior Team – Pierce County Senior Team
Front Row (L to R): Megan Miller, Jessica Miller, Ellen Esch, Bob Traynor, Coach
Back Row: Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist, Hayden Hauschildt, Tom Knegendorf, Brian Coyne, Lindsey Shafer

Senior Top 5 Individuals Overall
L to R: Hayden Hauschildt, 5th; Stephanie Merritt, 4th; Bethany Wohlk, 3rd; Jake Kruschke, 2nd; Mary Johnson, 1st, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist.

Northeast Contest

1st Place Junior Team – Fond du Lac County
Front Row (L to R) Krista Lambert, Derrek Kamphuis, Darren Kamphuis, Matthew Kraemer
Back Row: Amy Ryan, Coach, Chad Ryan, Coach, Matthew O’Leary, Nick Schuester, Diana Zimdars, Valerie Kraemer, Chris Pollack, Coach, Ted Halbach, UW-Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Junior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Crystal Peterman, 5th; Jordaann Siemers, 4th; Darren Kamphuis, 3rd; Valerie Kramer, 2nd; Courtney Perronne, 1st; Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

1st Place Senior Team – Wood County
Front Row (L to R) Bill Thiel, Coach, Joe Gilbertson, Stephanie Weyerts, Michelle Heeg, Carl Lippert
Back Row: Matt Lippert, Coach, Aaron Schifferl, Steven Weyerts, Paul Lippert, Lee Slattery, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Senior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Kyle Zimdars , 5th; Carl Lippert, 5th; Brandon Ferry, 4th; Paul Lippert, 3rd; Carissa Levash, 2nd; Zachary Sawall, 1st, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Southwest Contest

1st Place Junior Team – LaCrosse
Front Row (L to R) Jeremiah Steege, Brooke Muenzenberger, Aaron Berg
Bact Row: Don Langrehr, Coach, Tyler Hoyer, Brittney Berg, Ranae Holthaus, Cole Hoyer, Robyn Muenzenberger, Jen Clark, Coach, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Junior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Ranae Holthaus, 5th; Brittany Berg, 4th; Thomas Larson, 3rd; Jeremiah Steege, 2nd; Carissa Tolzman, 1st; Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

1st Place Senior Team – Grant County
L to R: Jeff Burggraf, Heather Scanlan, Chandler Linneman, Andrea Pagenkopk, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist

Senior Top 5 Individuals
L to R: Shannon Muenzenberger, 5th; Heather Scanlan, 3rd; Danielle Brown, 1st, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist