The 2013 Michigan Dairy Expo got off to an exciting last week when the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer, exhibited by Lucas Moser of Dansville, Mich., topped the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-abration with a record-setting bid of $25,000. The buyer of the dairy lot of the livestock sale was a strong contingency of dairy industry supporters who pooled their money to purchase the winning lot.

The Supreme Champion Heifer exhibited by Lucas Moser along with a contingency of dairy industry supporters. Pictured (l-r) Ken Nobis, MMPA; Dan Bailey, Zeeland Farm Services; Dale Hollandsworth, Kroger; Brian Troyer, Caledonia Farmers Elevator; Clay Galarneau, MMPA; Lucas Moser, Chuck Courtade, Dairy Farmers of America; Staci Garcia, UDIM; MDARD Director Jamie Clover-Adams; Gary Smith, NorthStar Cooperative; Katelyn Horning, Dairy Ambassador; Todd Hoppe, Foster Swift, Collins and Smith, PC; Kelly Raterink, Dairy Ambassador.


In total, $43,000 was bid on four dairy lots: Supreme Champion Dairy Cow exhibited by Parker Hardy of Tipton, Mich.; the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer, Supreme Dairy Showman Kailey Sweers of Dansville, Mich. and the Grand Champion Cheese exhibited by the Old Europe Cheese of Benton Harbor. The three dairy youth exhibitors each receive $1,000. The remaining proceeds from the sale of the dairy lots goes into the statewide dairy youth fund of the Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund and is used to support scholarships and educational grants for youth in the dairy industry.

The Buyers of the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer were:

Michigan Milk Producers Association
The Kroger Co. of Michigan
CoBank
Caledonia Farmers Elevator
NorthStar Cooperative
Dairy Farmers of America
Zeeland Farm Services
Calder Dairy
Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C.
Vita Plus
Roberts Dairy Service
Class Construction
Hardys Holsteins
United Dairy Industry of Michigan



The buyer of the Supreme Champion Dairy Cow exhibited by Parker Hardy was Meijer, Inc. for $8,000.
The buyer of the Champion Dairy Showman exhibited by Kailey Sweers was Kalmbach Feeds for $5,000.
The buyer of the Grand Champion Cheese was United Dairy Industry of Michigan for $5,000.


"The Michigan dairy industry is a vibrant and growing industry and we need to encourage these kids interested in our industry to stay involved, to stay excited about our industry and to stay here in Michigan," says Ken Nobis, president of Michigan Milk Producers Association.

"We are proud to support the Michigan dairy industry, and especially all the youth involved in dairy program activities. We rely on Michigan dairy farmers to supply our stores with fresh, high quality milk every day. Encouraging young people to stay involved in dairy farming helps us ensure that we can continue to provide locally produced dairy products to our customers," says Dale Hollandsworth, community manager for the Kroger Co. of Michigan.

The Michigan Dairy Expo is a week-long education event featuring the State Dairy Days Youth Show, educational contests and State breed association dairy shows. This year over 300 dairy youth from around the state will participate in one or more of the events.

The Michigan Livestock Expo Sale is held each year following the Michigan Livestock Expo.

The Michigan Livestock Expo is a statewide multi-species livestock event featuring over 700 youth exhibitors of beef, sheep, swine and goats that is designed to enhance the livestock industry, educate youth and showcase Michigan's agriculture industry.
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7.23.2013