The 4-H dairy judging team from Foster County placed first in the state 4-H dairy judging contest held with the recent FFA contest at North Dakota State University.

Team members are Casey Murphy, Maggie Mattson, Haley Koenig and Madison Wendel of Carrington; Seth Hazer of Woodworth; and Shawna Fetch of Sykeston. Missy Hansen, Jenny VandeHoven and Joel Lemer are the team’s coaches.

The team is eligible to represent North Dakota 4-H at the national dairy judging contest held in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., this fall.

Dairy judging consists of evaluating classes of four animals and ranking them based on conformation. Contestants then defend their placing with oral reasons.

The Morton County team of Tanner Gress, Tessa Keller, Dani Taylor, Maddy Boechler and Macey Isaacs, all from Mandan, placed second in the senior 4-H division. Jackie Buckley and Amber Buchmann are the team’s coaches.

A team from Morton and Bowman counties won the junior division of the 4-H contest. Team members are Brandi Doll and Braedon Klusmann of New Salem and Colbey Steeke of Rhame. Buckley also coaches this team.

The North Dakota Milk Producers, Midwest Dairy Association of North Dakota and North Dakota 4-H Foundation are the sponsors for this contest.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - June 16, 2011