This month the South Dakota 4-H Dairy Judging Team competed at the National Dairy Judging competition held in conjunction with World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.

Thirty one teams from around the United States were represented and over 120 youth participated. Four 4-H members represented South Dakota; Samuel Schweer and Andrew Thyen from Codington County; Dyllan Knutson from Day County and Logan Triebwasser from Brookings County. Samuel Schweer was recognized in the top ten for overall placings and ranked 19th within the Holstein breed.

Members for the team were selected from the top senior youth who competed in the State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest held at the South Dakota State Fair. In preparation for the contest the team had the opportunity to visit and practice at several Wisconsin dairy farms: Cozy Nook Farm, Waukesha; Mapleton Valley Farm, Oconomowoc; Scholten Dairy, Lake Mills; Ocean View Wisconsin of Deerfield; Hoard's Dairy Farm of Fort Atkinson and Sunshine Genetics, Inc of Whitewater. The members also toured the National Dairy Shrine and stopped at the Nasco factory.

The South Dakota 4-H team would like to thank all the sponsors who helped make this trip possible and a special thanks to the chaperones Jodi Knutson and Keith and Terri Goens from Deuel County who organized and led the team. F

–SDSU

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