Dairy
4-H dairy projects provide great opportunities for youth to learn about animal and veterinary science, as well as animal production practices while gaining valuable life skills such as responsibility and record keeping.
4-H youth will feed, train, show and care for project animals as they learn about breeds, selection, grooming, production, management, marketing, reproduction, health and agribusiness careers. Youth can start with a project animal and build a herd over time. In addition to local county events, statewide competitions and educational events are all possibilities as well.
In 2014, our Senior Dairy Judging Team placed seventh in the state, one participant scored well enough to be invited to be part of the MSU judging team. At the competition in Louisville, MSU placed third and our 4-H member took first place in the Holstein division.
Agriculture is a big player in Michigan’s economy and future prosperity. Dairy is an important part of agriculture. Working on 4-H dairy projects could do more than get you a ribbon at the county fair. It could give you a start on a great career!
Dairy Notebooks
All 4-H members attending the Barry County Fair with a dairy or dairy feeder project are required to complete a notebook following the guidelines listed below. The notebooks must be judged on non-livestock judging day at fair and on exhibit throughout the week. Links to the notebooks can be found below.
Dairy Notebooks
Dairy Feeder Notebook
- Junior Dairy Feeder Notebook Ages 9-11
- Intermediate Dairy Feeder Notebook Ages 12 - 14
- Senior Dairy Feeder Notebook Ages 15 - 19
Forms & Study Guides
All 4-H members planning to attend the Barry County Fair with a dairy or dairy feeder project must pre-register their animals by May 1. Links to the pre-registration forms can be found below.
Gallon of Milk Sale
Each year at our 4-H & FFA Livestock Sale at the Barry County Fair a gallon of milk from the Supreme Grand Champion Diary Cow will be available for donations to be made to the Gallon of Milk Pool. The total raised by the pool will be announced at the conclusion of the Livestock Sale. Each 4-H dairy project member is responsible for getting donations to the pool of buyers. The funds raised from the milk sale support the Dairy Developmental Committee and project members. Here is the link to the Gallon of Milk Sponsor Letter.
Dairy Feeder Project
Part of building your future dairy herd is learning to manage the resources you have. So your cow has a bull calf, what do you do with it? Several years ago we started a 4-H dairy feeder project to help answer just that question. 4-H members can raise a dairy feeder calf to be shown at fair and sold in groups of feeders at a silent auction fair week. 4-H members are responsible for finding bidders for the groups of feeders. Here is the link to the Dairy Feeder Buyer Letter. Here is the link to the Dairy Feeder Buyer Registration Form.
Dairy & Dairy Feeder Skill-a-thon
Do you like a challenge? How do you know if your dairy knowledge and skills are growing? Well we have created a fun event held prior to fair (watch the 4-H News & Notes for specific date and time) for you to test your dairy wisdom and skills. Here is the link to the Dairy & Dairy Feeder Skill-a-thon Study Guide
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