St. Croix County represents Wisconsin at National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest

A team of youth dairy cattle judges from St. Croix County, Wis. competed in the 88th Annual National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest held Monday, September 29, 2008 in Madison, Wis. Among the 28 teams competing, St. Croix County”s team earned seventh place honors overall and placed ninth in Oral Reasons. Leading the team was Jake Kruschke of New Richmond, Wis. Kruschke placed third in Guernseys and ninth in Holsteins and earned All-American honors. The team also was second in Guernseys, third in Jerseys and seventh in Holsteins.

The Wisconsin 4-H Team Placed:
– Seventh High Team Overall (2003 points) Pennsylvania 4-H placed first at the contest.
– Ninth in Oral Reasons
– Second in Guernseys
– Third in Jerseys
– Seventh in Holsteins

Individual Awards and Team Members:
Jake Kruschke, New Richmond, Wis.
– Third in Guernseys
– Ninth in Holsteins

All-American
Jill Cowles, Roberts, Wis.
Kendra Mitchell, New Richmond, Wis.
Tom Zwald, Hammond, Wis.

In order to compete at the National Contest, St. Croix County”s team earned second place at the Wisconsin State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest on July 25, 2008.

“The kids really enjoyed the contest and I thought it was a really great experience for all of them,” said Coach Bob Zwald. “Overall, I thought the kids saw the cows as a team. They really jelled well together and ended up seeing the classes the same way.”

“Our team was very committed to the contest and really rose to the occasion. One of our team members is the star player on her high school volleyball team and she ended up sitting on the bench all week because she decided that the contest was a once in a lifetime opportunity that she didn”t want to miss,” said Zwald. “We were very proud to represent Wisconsin.”

The Wisconsin 4-H Foundation”s Dairy Endowment Fund helped sponsor the team.

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Editor: Photo files available for download

Caption:
WI4-HNationalContest.JPG – left to right, Bob Zwald, coach, Tom Zwald, Jake Kruschke, Kendra Mitchell, Jill Cowles, Chuck Kruschke, coach
https://webhosting.cals.wisc.edu/downloads/2008_oct_photo/WI4-HNationalContest.JPG