Caring for calves

If you'd like to learn more about how and why we take care of our calves, check out this video by club member, Tessa Topp.  Tessa is assisted by her sister and brother, Marissa and Logan!

Blue Ribbon Results

Wow, what a week!  Our 4H club had a phenomenal experience at the 161st Wayne County Fair!  All of our hard work and preparation paid off as we had one of our best years ever as exhibitors at the fair!  In the open shows, the families from our club were proud to exhibit the Champion Jersey (Firestone Homestead Jerseys, the Ted Hershey Family), the Champion and Reserve Champion Ayrshire (Tanner Topp of ToppGlen Holsteins & Ayrshires) and Champion Holstein (Kurt & Rachel Topp and Sherry Smith of ToppGlen Holsteins & Ayrshires).

In the junior shows, we fared just as well!  Check out the photos and comments below to see the recap of our members' highlights:



Our 4H Club was honored to win Grand and Reserve Champion of all three breeds we exhibited at this year's Wayne County Fair!  The photo above shows the three breed champions from our club who competed for Supreme Champion:

Champion Jersey went to Alli Mangun and Reserve Champion Jersey was exhibited by Tyler Topp

Champion Holstein was exhibited by Tanner Topp and the Reserve Champion went to Alli Mangun

Champion and Reserve Champion Ayrshires were also exhibited by Tanner Topp

Congratulations to Alli Mangun and her Sr 2 Year Old Jersey Cow, Sammi for winning Supreme Champion! 

Allison Janes won the 16 Year Old age division of showmanship and went on to be named the Senior Supreme Showman during the 2010 Wayne County Fair

Tanner Topp won the 14 Year Old age division of showmanship at this year's fair

Brennan Topp won the 11 Year Old age division during the 2010 Wayne County Fair and went on to be named Junior Supreme Showman!



Marissa Topp won the 9 Year Old showmanship division during this year's fair!

As one of the advisors for our 4H club, it has been such a rewarding experience to watch these kids grow up and see how their hard work has paid off for them. As individuals they are passionate about what they do and all of them put the necessary work in behind the scenes with their livestock and on their family farms to create success.  As a group they are enthusiastic about dairy cattle, they are friends and most importantly they've learned how to be humble winners and gracious when standing at the end of the judge's lineup.  I am so proud of each of them and think that I get more out of being an advisor than they do as being members!  Great work everyone - we only have 358 days until we get to do this again! 



Generations of Favorite Cows

The picture shown above is of me and my Ayrshire Senior 3 year cow "Wendy". She was Grand Champion in the open show and Reserve Grand Champion in the Junior show. My 4 year old Ayrshire "Susan" was Reserve Grand in the open show and Grand in the Junior show. It's kinda funny how it worked out that way. Also my Senior 3 year old Holstein cow "Pride"was Grand Champion of the open show and the Junior show! So needless to say, I had a really, really good Wayne County Fair!!!

I purchased Wendy at the the Spring sale in Columbus for $1500 when she was just a baby calf. She came from Connebella Farms in Pennsylvania. Ever since I bought her she has always been one of my favorites. I have taken her into into numerous showmanship contests and almost always I have came out at the top of the class. She is the best tempered cow I have and always leads like a dream.  She was scored excellent 90 points as a 3 year old.

I also purchased Susan but I bought her at the Fall sale in Wooster when she was also just a calf. She was a "jackpot" calf which is where they sell 5 calves (and hold back a certain percentage of the money that the calves bring in the sale) and then the calf that makes the best milk record as a 2 year old cow wins part of the pot of money that was made when they sold. Susan made the best record as a 2 year old and i won $1100 back! Susan came from Shiredale farms out in Western Ohio. Susan has won many Grand Champions and has won me lots of money. She is also one of my favorite cows and is scored excellent 92 points as a 4 year old.

Pride is one of my Holstein cows that comes from many generations of my family's breeding. Her sire is Messland Duplex-ET and her dam was my first "Excellent" cow scoring 91 points. Pride's second calf is a Pronto Junior calf and this calf is my favorite because she is so good tempered and is also really nice. Pride's Great-Grandmother was the first cow that I ever owned and I picked her out when I was just 2 years old! She is now 13 years old and hasn't milked in 6 years but I just can't sell her because all of my good Holsteins go back to her. So she is out on pasture and is always out there to look at! Pride scored 90 points as a 3 year old and was my first Holstein Grand Champion which is really special!
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The author Tanner Topp is 15 years old and is a Freshman at Northwestern High School. He enjoys playing Football, Baseball, and Wrestling. His favorite hobby is to take care of the cows at home and to go to any cow show and have a great time! On the farm he likes to mix feed for the cows and feed the show calves.

What to do during showmanship

Showmanship is the only class where the judge is analyzing the person leading the animal (in all other classes, the judge is looking at the characteristics of the animal not the person).  To prepare for showmanship, we begin working with our animals a few months before the show so that they are used to being led on a halter and to give them time to be trained on the proper way to walk.

When I am participating in showmanship, these are the things that I work hard to do:

• Watch the judge
• Keep their feet set correctly (the front feet should always be even and  if you are leading a heifer - the back foot on the side of the judge should always be behind the foot on the far side of the judge so they can see the udder that will eventually develop.  If you are leading a cow - it's the opposite, the back foot on the side of the judge should always be forward so they can see both the fore and rear udder attachments).
• Pinch down their back if it arches upward because you want the animal to have a straight topline
• Make sure their tail is tucked in between their pins at the back of their rump
• Be knowledgeable about your animal and know the following basic information: name, sire, dam, birthday, class that they showed in during the junior show, and if you're showing a cow you need to know when she calved last and when she is due again
• As a showman, I need to keep a balance of being relaxed and having fun while also staying intense and making sure my animal is looking her best at all times
• Never take a dirty animal in the show ring and she must always be clipped and groomed well

Showmanship is really fun and practicing it on my farm with my parents has helped me learn how to make my animals look their best!
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Author Marissa Topp is 9 years old and is in the 4th grade at Northwestern Elementary School.  She plays soccer, basketball and softball.  Marissa is in her 1st year of 4H, participates in dairy judging and also won her showmanship class at this year's Wayne County Fair!  On the farm Marissa feeds water and grain to the baby calves and also feeds water, grain and hay to calves that are older and have already been weaned. 

 

Doing Toplines is a MUST when showing dairy cattle!

Showing animals at the fair can be very time consuming!  In order to get a dairy cow ready, it takes a lot of effort - this morning, blowing up toplines took most of my time!

Toplines on cattle are very important for a show because they improves the animal's angularity and straightens their back.  In order to get a topline ready, you need the following items:

• Stiff tail brush
• Hair dryer (aka "Blower")
• Soft grooming brush
• Clear Magic (very strong hairspray)
• Black Magic (basically like black spray paint)
• Body Clippers
• Topline Clippers
• Scissors

To do a topline, you must first use the tail brush and hair dryer to blow the animals hair up on their topline.  Second, you must take the body clippers and cut in a straight and sharp manner starting at the the back of the animal's topline and ending at the front of their body (when making this cut, you angle the clippers so that the hair comes to a point in the center of the animal's back).  You must then repeat the first and second steps on both sides of the animal's body.  After these steps, spray the topline with Clear Magic.  Using the topline clippers, go over the top of the topline to trim off any stray hairs.  Last, you want to paint the topline with spray paint that matches the color of the animal's hair (if you are working on a Holstein, use Black Magic).  It's important to use the spray paint because the Clear Magic leaves a white residue on the hair and you don't want your animal to enter the show ring with a white topline!  Last, you'll want to use topline scissors to trim the hair on the tail.

It's important to remember that if you try it a few times and it doesn't look as good as you'd like for it to, that you need to keep practicing - I've been doing toplines for 4 years!

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Author Tyler Topp is 18 years old and is a Senior at Northwestern High School where he plays football and wrestles.  He is a member of the Northwestern FFA Chapter and will be participating in the American FFA Association's national dairy judging contest.  On the farm, Tyler is responsible for milking and feeding cows in the milking herd.

Mini Showmanship is a Giant Experience

Tonight at the Wayne County Fair five of our "Cloverbuds" participated in the mini showmanship contest.  Mini showmanship is open to youth ages 5 - 8 and is a pre-cursor to the junior fair when then kids are able to participate in the older, more competitive showmanship classes.  As a participant in showmanship, the judge is analyzing the showman's ability in leading their cattle and making them look their best. Obviously kids this young aren't capable of typing a blog post, so as their 4H advisor, I took the liberty of interviewing them about their experiences tonight!

Dugan McLaughlin (6 Years Old) thought that mini showmanship was fun because his calf walked really good and there were a lot of people in the crowd.  He felt really comfortable in the ring because he had been practicing with his calf, Pepper, this summer before the fair started.  He was excited because the judge asked him when his calf was born and he remembered the answer - April 11th.  Dugan wants to be in 4H when he gets older (and graduates from being a Cloverbud) because he wants to get to be in harder classes every year.  He was also glad that Pepper didn't get stubborn in the ring.  (As the adult editor of this post, it's important for readers to know that every night before Dugan leaves the fair he has to make a stop at the barn to give Pepper a goodnight kiss.)

Sisters Haley (7 Years Old) and Hanna (5 Years Old) Wilson loved participating in mini showmanship.  They both learned a lot about dairy calves, and especially liked showing Storm and Pepper.  All summer, they practiced leading their calves and spent a lot of time learning their birthdays, the classes that they showed in and also how to properly set them up in the show ring.  They are already looking forward to next year's show!  Lizzy Howman (7 Years Old) also enjoyed showing her Holstein calf Blizzard.  Blizzard lives at the same farm as Storm .  Lizzy and Haley had fun this summer spending time together working with their heifer calves and preparing them for the show.  Lizzy's favorite part about raising calves is seeing them grow up.

Logan Topp (5 Years Old) thought that mini showmanship went really good tonight. His calf Pizazz is really nice and he likes that she's almost all black (he is pictured with his sister's calf Rosette).  This was his second time participating in mini showmanship as he did it earlier this year at the Ohio State Fair.  He really likes showing calves because all of his 5 brothers and sisters show calves too and he really looks up to them. He is looking forward to participating in mini showmanship next year!


I'm looking forward to watching these kids develop their showmanship skills in the coming years and enjoy every minute when I'm with them!

Family, Fun... and Banana Peels!

My family spends a lot of time preparing for the fair and when the week of the fair finally rolls around, we have a lot of work to do!  Luckily, our family works well together and we have fun working with our cattle.  The picture above is of me and my younger cousin, Danni - this is Danni's first year in 4H and I've enjoyed helping her learn the ropes!

In the photo above, Danni and I were eating watermelon after our 4H club's annual showmanship clinic where we practice showing or cows and have a real dairy judge critique our showing abilities to help us improve our craft.  When it comes to 4H, family and food - one of my best memories is of a of few years when my mom and I were making the early morning trek into the fairgrounds from our farm about 10 miles away.  We make our trip in to the fairgrounds around 6AM to start chores every day and during the drive, my mom would also (and still does!) eat a banana.  When she was finished, she would always have me roll down my window and throw the banana peel out for her.  It was late in the week and needless to say we were really tired, so this particular morning, my mom rolled down my window and threw the banana peel across me, or should I say she tried to....  Instead of hitting her target of the open window, she hit me right in the face with her slimy banana peel!  I was definitely awake for chores at that point and ready to get out of the car and into the barn!  Needless to say, every morning since then on the way to the fairgrounds, I happily throw the banana peel out the window for her!
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Author Tessa Hershey is a junior at Northwestern High School where she is active in the Northwestern FFA Chapter and holds the office of Student Advisor. She also participates in rural soils judging, partiamentary procedure, ag sales, grain merchandising and horse judging.  On her family's dairy farm, Firestone Homestead Jerseys, Tessa is responsible for milking and feeding cows and calves.  Tessa is also a member of the Wayne County Junior Fair Board, is a 4H Camp Counselor and Junior Leader.

Sweet Caroline!

The first thing I did this morning when I got to the fair was milk my cow, Caroline - she made 35 pounds!  (She gets milked twice per day and makes a total of about 65 - 70 pounds).  When I got back to the barn, I fed her some of her TMR (which stands for total mixed ration and includes corn silage, hay and other feed stuffs).  After she was finished eating, I took her and her four month old calf, Carolina outside where I gave them their daily baths.  All day after they were clean, I kept a watchful eye on them to make sure they didn't get dirty and continued to feed them.

Last night, I showed both of them.  Caroline received 4th place in her class and Carolina was 8th place.  I purchased Caroline three years ago at the Ohio Spring Dairy Expo sale.  She was my first 4H project and I bought her with my own money.  When I was really little, I started saving money that I got as gifts from my family and after nine years of saving, I finally had enough to buy Caroline!  Caroline is very friendly and really likes to be petted!

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Author Brennan Topp is tweleve years old and goes to Northwestern Middle School where he plays football and wrestles. Brennan also loves to dairy judge, he even won 1st place junior in last year's Ohio Dairy Judging contest and was on the first place junior team.  On the farm, Brennan feeds the 2 - 4 month old calves and is in charge of giving the little calves in hutches grain and water every night.

The Milkshake Booth

Today our club worked the 4-H milkshake booth.  Above is a picture of my sister, cousin and me before we worked.  In all we had 15 members of our club work in the booth.  We had an assembly line of people scooping ice cream, adding milk and flavor and then blending the delicious milkshakes.  The ingredients used in the milkshakes come from Smith Dairy, which is a local milk plant.  This was quite entertaining as my three brothers, sister, cousin, mom and I were all working at the same time.   My cousin had surgery on her foot and has a boot and crutches so we let her sit up front and take orders.  We worked for a total of six hours as fundraiser for our club. 

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Author Tessa Topp is a junior at Northwestern High School where she is active in volleyball, baskeball and softball.  She is a member of the Northwestern High School FFA chapter where she holds the office of Sentinel and particpates in dairy judging.  She is excited to test her judging skills this fall as her state winning FFA dairy judging team will be particpating in the American FFA association's national dairy judging contest!

Beauty Pageant For Cows

Showing cows is like a beauty pageant, so basically when we show them, we're all trying to win the prettiest cow award! We do many different things to get our cows ready to show, however one of the most important is learning what the prettiest cow should look like.

The prettiest cow award goes to the cow who looks the best or shows the best dairy traits. Judges look for a cow that will produce lots of milk and the udder is 40% of what the judge looks for in a cow. As farmers, we want our cows to have udders that are high above the ground.  Also we want the teats square underneath the udder so that the cow can be easily milked. While the udder is the biggest thing that a judge is reviewing when analyzing a cow, it is just one traits the judge is taking into consideration.

Another trait that a judge looks for is dairy strength. Farmers want cows to have strong bones so that they have the ability to carry their immense body weight, the weight of a calf and their milk.  Sometimes, people think that our cows look "skinny", but when you think about it - a milking cow is no different than a nursing woman, she is burning her fat reserves to produce milk.  You may not know, but cows that are too heavy are very prone to illnesses and lameness.  As farmers we are very dedicated to making sure our cows get the nutrition they need to have a healthy body condition and still produce milk, we even hire nutritionists who are consultants that test the nutritional value of our feeds and help us create healthy diets for our cows.

Third, judges will look for sound feet and legs. As humans we want good legs so we can walk, run, do activities etc. For a cow we want her to have good feet and legs so she can do things like walk to eat feed, graze in our pastures and get to the milking parlor!
Finally the judges look for a cow with a good frame. Frame is important because a large frame allows a cow to eat a lot of feed (about 90 pounds in one day) and drink a lot of water (about a bathtub full) and also so that she has enough room to grow a strong, healthy calf.

Lastly, we want our cows to exempfly great dairy character. Dairy character is sharpness of body, and clean cut animals that aren't carrying a lot of extra weight.

There are a alot of things that go into the prettiest cow award and some of them are similar to some of the qualifications to win a beauty pageant. In the picture of above you see future judges for cow beauty pageants practing their skills.  In fact, if you want to see a real live dairy cow beauty pagent come to the fair on Tuesday to watch the junior dairy shows!

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Author Allison Mangun is a sophomore at Norwayne High School. At school she is the reporter for her FFA chapter. She also plays for the Norwayne High School Soccer team. Outside of school Allison is actively involved in her church youth group, is the President of Blue Riboon 4-H Dairy Club and is also on the  Wayne County Junior Fair Board.

This should be a holiday!

This SHOULD be a holiday!!! Today is the start of The Wayne County Fair. This is my favorite time of year. Not only do I not have to go to school, but I get to do the things I LOVE most; showing cows and spending time with my friends.

In the picture above you see me (Allison Janes) on the left and my friend (Alli Mangun) on the right washing my cow Mia. I started my day off by getting up at 4:30 this morning so we could come in and do chores. We got to the fairgrounds at about 5:30 this morning. We milked our 5 cows and washed all 15 animals by about 8:30 this morning.

Not only do we have to wash all the animals we have to bed them down with straw and shavings. Think of the straw and shavings as a BIG, GIANT bed for cows. After we have all the washing done we have to feed. When it comes time to feeding it gets a little crazy. We have to get the feed tubs out at lightning fast speeds, so that none of the animals get into a little fight over them.

Every morning a family in the club makes breakfast. Today was Alli Manguns and my turn. My mom always makes breakfast sandwiches. They are AWESOME and everyone loves them. This is my most abosolute favorite time of the year. Everyone should sometime this week come and visit the Wayne County Fair (September 11-16). 
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Author Allison Janes is a Junior at Triway High School. She was the Wayne County Dairy Princess last year. She is also involved with the Triway High School marching and symphonic band,and she plays basketball. She is in French club and is a member of the Purple Pack or Pep Club. She is currently on Junior Fair Board and is serving on the dairy committee as well as being Vice President of the Blue Ribbon 4H Dairy Club.

Welcome to the "Blue Ribbon Dairy 4H Club" Diary!

Thank you for visiting our diary!  The Blue Ribbon 4H Dairy club has been around for about 10 years and is made up of a group of young people who love dairy cattle!  This site will host a special "live-from-the-barn" event during Ohio's 161st Wayne County Fair which runs from September 11, 2010 through September 16, 2010.   During the fair, our club's members will be posting live from our dairy barn to update readers on topics like why we show our cattle, why we enjoy doing it, who our favorite cows are and what being a dairy farmer means to each of us.  We will also post results of our shows for you to follow along during our journey. We welcome comments and questions to our blog and will do our best to respond in a timely manner... however, please note that we won't be posting during our regular chore times!

Also, a special thank you to Jessica D Photography for designing the banner for our blog!