Home4H Youth Development4-H Projects & ProgrammingDairy Program
youth posing with their cow holding a blue ribbon for excellence after winning their show class at the fair

Dairy Program

Delaware County 4-H has a great dairy program. We offer educational clinics, shows, dairy quiz-bowl, dairy judging, dairy challenge, and more.

Ownership

All 4-H dairy cattle must be owned and registered by June 15 to be shown at the Delaware County Fair and New York State Fair.

Non-Ownership Animals

 

4-H Dairy Quizbowl

A team event that uses a question and answer format with game show style buzzers to learn information about dairy cows. Our youth practice during the winter months to get ready for competition. You do not need any previous experience or have to own cows to participate. Jackie Gray and Corrine Tompkins are the coaches.  Winners may be eligible to compete at the District, State, and National levels. Visit the New York State Development Program/Department of Animal Science web site to view past contest questions or study materials.

For more information about Dairy Quiz Bowl and study resources, please visit Cornell’s website.

4-H Dairy Judging

A series of three barn meetings take place in late winter and early spring where 4-H youth judge various breeds and classes of dairy cows. The barn meetings take place at various dairy farms in Delaware County that agree to host our 4-Hers for an afternoon. The cows are grouped according to their breed and age. 4-Hers rotate from one class to another with their score cards and rank the animals according to their dairy characteristics.  You do not need any previous experience or own cows to participate.

4-H Dairy Challenge

A one day competition held at the Delaware County Fair designed to test youth on their understanding of the dairy industry and how to properly manage a dairy farm.  The contest is set up as a rotation through any or all of the following stations testing skills and knowledge: Dairy Judging, Linear Dairy Evaluation, Farm and Food Safety, Dairy Nutrition and Feeds, Dairy Housing and Facilities, Meat Identification, Dairy Products and Quality Assurance of Dairy Beef, Dairy Health and Diseases/Mastitis and Biosecurity, Dairy Reproduction, and Farm Business Management.  Winners may be eligible to compete at the State and National levels. Visit the New York State Development Program/Department of Animal Science web site to view the informational booklet and sample material.

Showing Dairy Cattle at the Fair

You’ll find more detailed information on the Fair Page, but here are some need to know basics to get you started.

  1. All cattle must be owned and registered by June 15.  No pending registrations/transfers will be permitted.
  2. All cattle will have their registration papers checked by the 4-H Dairy Advisory Committee on Monday of fair week.
  3. All cattle must have a BVD/PI ear notch test prior to fair.
  4. Official breed tags must be visible and unaltered.
  5. No coaching of exhibitors will be allowed from outside of the show ring.

For more information, contact the 4-H Office or 4-H Staff

(607) 865-6531