Logan County 4-H youth win Superior Young Dairy Producer Award

[August 30, 2012]  The Superior Young Dairy Producer Award program took place at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 18. Twenty 4-H and FFA dairy project members from across Illinois participated in the event. The three-phase competition, emphasizing the young people's knowledge of the dairy industry, awarded each of the top five overall participants a $1,000 scholarship. The scholarship recipients were Carol Baumann, Wyoming, Stark County; Anna Folgate, Dakota, Stephenson County; Kaleb Hoerbert, Delavan, Logan County; Todd Irwin, Beason, Logan County; and Daniel Obert, Orangeville, Stephenson County.

The contest is an educational activity that promotes youth development, career development and personal growth through increased knowledge of the dairy industry.

The $5,000 in scholarships was sponsored by Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur. Individual plaques were awarded to the top three in each phase and the top five overall winners. The Land of Lincoln Purebred Livestock Breeders Association and Illinois State Fair sponsored the plaques.

The first phase was a dairy management test relating to dairy nutrition, health, reproduction, milk marketing and other dairy-related information. Top three contestants for this phase were Anna Folgate, Dakota, Stephenson County; Daniel Obert, Orangeville, Stephenson County; and Meredith Ziller, Huntley, McHenry County.

The second phase was a three-station "skill-a-thon" on various aspects of the dairy industry. Contestants had to identify dairy feeds, parts of the cow and dairy equipment. The top three contestants were Carol Baumann, Wyoming, Stark County; Kaleb Hoerbert, Delavan, Logan County; and Joshua Laesch, Greenville, Bond County.

The third phase was a judging contest. The judging phase consisted of animal selection by placing four classes of dairy cows and two classes of heifers. The top three contestants for this phase were Joshua Laesch, Greenville, Bond County; Andrew Rice, Sheldon, Iroquois County; and Brett Woker, Greenville, Bond County.

This was the 17th consecutive year for the Superior Young Dairy Producer Award program, which has provided $85,000 in college scholarships to Illinois dairy youth since its inception. Participants must be 4-H or FFA dairy project members in Illinois. The program is developed and coordinated by Dave Fischer, University of Illinois Extension retired dairy educator.

[Text from file received from University of Illinois Extension]