4-H Highlights

Learning to Show Cows That Wow

Each fall, the culmination of the dairy show season is the county fair or—for the very best cows and their owners—the Eastern States Exposition, the Big E.

This year, 87 young folks got a head start on the road to the Big E at the UMass 4-H Dairy Cattle Camp, a weekend retreat held in June at Northampton's Three-County Fairgrounds. The camp targets the next generation of dairy competitors (and their parents) with tips on judging pedigree, sire selection, showmanship, and even dressing for success in the ring.

UMass Extension's Carrie Sears, who also grew up showing dairy cattle and now judges at regional and national competitions, is director of the camp that she started five years ago to help 4-H members learn responsibility and effective animal care. Sears, who heads the 4-H Animal and Veterinary Science program for UMass Extension, says those skills are more important today than ever.

"It's expensive to have animals today," she says. "Corn prices have tripled in the past year so you really need to know how to care for those animals and protect that investment."

The popularity of the camp over the years prompted Sears to create a novice day-camp this year for youngsters just getting started in dairy cattle showing. She says the influx of young talent into the program is a positive sign for the region's shrinking dairy business. Sears relied on help from volunteer veteran campers who returned to pass on their experience and knowledge.

Ross Hubacz of West Brookfield was one of the first dairy campers five years ago and has been showing animals in 4-H since he was ten. He'll be a college freshman next fall and he returned to the camp this year as a volunteer instructor to work with younger campers, as did Rachel Pomeroy of Westfield, an animal science major at UMass Amherst and a veteran showing her family’s Holstein and Brown Swiss cows.

Pomeroy said dairy showing has always been part of the farm life. "You either love it or hate it," she said.

Like many in the advanced class—those with two or more years experience showing animals—Jessica Cottrell of South Kingston, R.I. has already packed her summer with show dates and was simply looking to jump-start the season at the camp. She will show at least four different animals in eight fairs this year and she says the schedule is hectic to say the least.

"You barely have enough time between fairs to do the laundry and pack up the trailers again before the next one," she said.

Cottrell was dusting the rump of an all-white Holstein with talcum powder trying to hide some stubborn stains that she thought might catch the judge's eye as she prepped for showmanship class on camp's opening day. Although her family has Jerseys on their farm, she said learning to work with different breeds is one of the highlights of the dairy camp.

Cottrell was partnered with Regina Grover of Bernardston who spritzed the heifer with coat sheen, a sort of hairspray for cows, while Cottrell applied the talc. Grover is also a veteran of the dairy show circuit and even though she picked up a couple of blue ribbons last summer, she said she was hoping to improve her fitting and showmanship skills this year.

In the small and tightly knit world of dairy showing, most of the advanced campers already knew each other from the show circuit of years past.

"These things are like reunions for us," Cottrell said. "I've made lifelong friends through 4-H."

Parents also had an opportunity to learn a thing or two at this year's camp in workshops that covered animal health and transportation, and how to deal with the angst of watching your child in the show ring. Being a parent at these events isn't easy since mom or dad can't touch the animal after it's been unloaded from the trailer.

"I'm learning to keep my mouth shut," joked Holly Aragi of Sheffield while she watched her three children learn some basic showmanship skills in the novice class. Aragi's children had also attended the 2007 camp and she noticed that they were less intimidated around more experienced youths at last year's shows, so this year Aragi decided to try the parent camp, too.

Carrie Sears says that gaining that kind of confidence in the show ring has long-term advantages for young people.

"As 4-Hers, they learn lots of life skills like leadership, responsibility, and community, and when they get to college they've already built a strong resume," she said, adding, "Many college and scholarship applications look for 4-H participation for that reason."

Photography by Ben Barnhart.