Ingham, Shiawassee and Livingston county youth represent dairy industry at 7th annual Sale-abration'
Dairy product baskets representing supreme champion winners of 2015 Michigan 4-H and Youth Dairy Days dairy cattle show generate more than $40,000
Youth from Ingham and Shiawassee counties were the supreme champion winners at this year's Michigan 4-H and Youth Dairy Days dairy cattle show held July 21 at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing. Lucas Moser, of Ingham County, showed the supreme champion dairy cow and Andrew Atherton, of Shiawassee County, exhibited the supreme champion heifer. Dairy product gift baskets denoting the winners, in addition to the grand champion Michigan-made cheese, represented the dairy industry at the 7th annual Michigan Livestock Sale-abration' auction held that evening at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education. The Sale-abration' also auctioned off champion animals selected the previous weekend at the Michigan Livestock Expo.
Because a youth may only represent one winning category in the auction, Moser elected to participate as the winner of the supreme champion dairy cow. As the reserve supreme champion showmanship winner, Kristen Burkhardt, of Livingston County, took part in this year's 7th annual Sale-abration' festivities and auction. Moser and Burkhardt were selected as the supreme and reserve supreme champion showmanship winners from a field of 12 individual class winners.
This year's dairy product gift baskets representing the supreme champion cow and heifer, showmanship winner, and grand champion cheese, raised $43,300. A majority of the funds generated from the sale of the dairy lots goes into a statewide dairy youth fund of the Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund. The dairy portion of the fund supports dairy youth programs through educational grants and scholarships. The youth members who exhibited the winning animals or earned the champion showmanship award receive $1,000 each.
Burkhardt, of Fowlerville, the supreme showmanship champion, had the highest-selling dairy lot at $15,000. A syndicate of dairy industry supporters pooled their money to make the purchase: ABS Global, Inc., Calder Dairy, Caledonia Farmers Elevator, Class Construction, Dairy Farmers of America, employees of the Farm Bureau Family of Companies, Golden Elm Dairy and the Eric Frahm family, the Kroger Co. of Michigan, Logan Brothers Printing, the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee, MOOville Creamery, NorthStar Cooperative, Inc., Prince Agri Products, VanBeek Nutrition, VitaPlus, and Zeeland Farm Services, Inc.
The supreme champion dairy heifer owned by Atherton, of Gaines, was the second highest-selling dairy lot at $13,000. It was purchased by the following group of supporters: American Farm Products; Cobank; Consumers Energy; Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C.; Hudson Dairy; MMPA; and Roberts Dairy Service.
The United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM) placed a final bid of $10,000 to purchase the grand champion cheese exhibited by Old Europe Cheese Company, of Benton Harbor. The gift basket representing the supreme champion cow owned by Moser, Dansville, sold for a final bid of $5,300 to MMPA.
Michigan 4-H and Youth Dairy Days is an annual dairy youth activity held in conjunction with the Michigan Dairy Expo. This year's expo the 18th annual took place July 20-24 at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education in East Lansing.
For more information about the Michigan 4-H dairy youth program, contact Elischer at 517-432-4306. For more information about the Michigan Dairy Expo, contact Dr. Joe Domecq at 517-353-7855.
The 2016 Michigan Dairy Expo is scheduled for July 18-22 at MSU.
8.18.2015