Richland County”s Senior and Junior dairy bowl teams topped the State 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest Jan. 26 at Portage High School. Their senior division team will represent Wisconsin this November at the national contest in Louisville, Ky. Jefferson County”s team earned top honors in the mixed division.

The competition tested the quick wit and extensive knowledge of 4-H members who participate in the dairy project. Contestants answered questions about dairy cattle genetics, health, nutrition, showing and other topics. Four-person teams traveled from all corners of the state to represent their counties in the three divisions.

“I really appreciate all the time and effort that the county coaches put in to dairy quiz bowl,” said Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist. “Dairy Bowl has become one of my favorite events because of how educational it is. It”s also exciting to see the contest continue to grow with more youth participants each year.”

Teams from 15 counties vied for first place in the junior division, where teams are comprised of members under 14 years of age. The Richland County team went undefeated and topped Manitowoc County in the final round. Richland County team members included Devin Kepler, Cody Jump, Heidi Solchenberger, and Sierra Lurvey. The team was coached by Dana Kepler.

Thirteen counties competed in the mixed division where teams have a combination of both junior and senior members. Undefeated Jefferson County beat out runner-up Rusk County on the last question in the final round to take home top honors. Coached by Katie DeBruin, the Jefferson County team included Kelly Lee, Lauren Holterman, Cassy Krull, and Nicole Wright.

Senior teams are made up of youth between the ages of 14 and 19. The Richland County team came through the consolation bracket to win the senior championship. With fourteen teams contending, Richland County edged out undefeated Dane County two times in the finals to take first place. In the second and final championship match between the teams the score remained deadlocked at the end of the bowl so an additional five toss-up questions were asked to determine the winner.

The Richland County team members, coached by Dana Kepler are Brad Solchenberger, Josh Joseph, Krysty Kepler, Scott Eberle, and Tyler Moore.

“The Senior Team lost their third round match, so what made it really exciting was that they had to come through the consolation bracket,”
said Coach Dana Kepler. “They ended up playing nine rounds. This is the first time our Senior team has won while I”ve been working with them, so the National Contest in Louisville is a new experience that we”re all really excited about!”

Representing Wisconsin at the World Dairy Expo 4-H Dairy Bowl Invitational will be the second place team from Dane County and third place Barron County.

UW-Madison Department of Dairy Science faculty, Badger Dairy Club members and UW dairy science alumni helped with moderating, judging and operating the contest.

The Wisconsin 4-H Dairy Endowment Fund, the UW-Madison Department of Dairy Science, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese and the Badger Dairy Club co-sponsored the event.

Photos Available:
Winning Jr Team from Richland County (L to R): Coach Dana Kepler, Devin Kepler, Heidi Solchenberger, Cody Jump, Sierra Lurvey, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist.

Winning Senior Team from Richland County (L to R): Tyler Moore, Krysty Kepler, Josh Joseph, Brad Solchenberger, Scott Eberle

Winning Mixed Division Team from Jefferson County (L to R): Coach Katie DeBruin, Lauren Holterman, Kelly Lee, Nicole Wright, Cassy Krull, Ted Halbach, UW-Madison Extension Dairy Youth Specialist