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.