Fillmore Central School in Harmony has some national champions in their midst, as the FFA Dairy Judging team competed on September 17, and came away winners. The team consists of Klaudia and Kelsey Biel (daughters of Kevin and Kelly Biel), Krista Jorgenson (daughter of Archie and Cheri Jorgenson), and Morgan Wingert (daughter of James and Randi Wingert) along with their advisor, Megan Brown. Klaudia is in eighth grade, while the other three team members are seniors.
Megan and the four girls recently sat to answer some questions about the competition, which was held in Harrisburg, Pa. Megan explained, “Last April, these girls placed second at the state FFA competition, and as a result of that, they were invited to this contest… at the All American Dairy Judging Contest.” Teams came from all across the USA, and there were four levels of competition (Collegiate, Two-Year College, 4H, and FFA).
The girls explained that, in preparation for the national contest, they were coached throughout the summer by Todd and Stacy Leiding. Kelsey added, “They’ve been our coaches since, like forever. They really devote themselves into the dairy judging project for 4H and helping us with FFA.” The many hours of coaching and practice obviously paid off, as the team placed first, both in the Overall Team category, and the Overall Reasons Team category.
When asked why dairy judging matters, Morgan replied, “It’s important because you have to know what kind of cattle you want in a good herd… you want to make sure you have the strong, well put-together cows that are going to be in your herd and last, and give you good cattle for the next generation.” Krista stated that what they look for as they judge cattle includes, “I’d say some of the top things are their feet and legs, how they walk and stand… and then their mammary system, their udder.” Kelsey added, “And then also their body structure and making sure that they aren’t over-conditioned or under-conditioned and frail.”
Explaining how the judging is done, Klaudia said, “We have this ring, and all four cows or calves walk around… and you have to stay outside and look.” The team judged five breeds of dairy cattle: Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, and Guernsey. Megan explained the “reasons” portion of the contest, stating, “So, they give oral reasons, which is while they’re judging, they take notes and then they place these four animals… they rank them on their different characteristics, and then they have to give reasons as to why.” She said this is truly the hardest part of the competition, sharing that, “Morgan placed first, Kelsey placed second, Krista placed fourth and Klaudia placed sixth, and they competed against 39 other FFA members, so they did very well in that category.”
The scoring system is unique, as explained by Kelsey, “We are all scored on a 50-point scale, and then there’s different ways to get your points.” Megan pointed out that the girls received 1,800 out of a possible 1,950 points, and they ended up 56 points ahead of the second-place team.
Despite the intense competition, the team also took a little time for fun during their trip to Pennsylvania. Kelsey stated, “We did go out, the day before the judging contest, to Hershey, and got to experience Hershey World.” The girls also shared a funny story that happened on their return trip, as Kelsey explained, “We were going through the airport, and all this bling that we got kind of weighed a lot… and Krista’s bag went through security and then it had to come back…” Krista then took over the story, telling that the security worker asked if her bag contained anything fragile, and she said it had quite a few plaques, ribbons and awards. Then, she said, “He opened it, and his eyes just got huge!”
Besides the practice and coaching help from Todd and Stacy Leiding, the team voiced appreciation for the financial sponsors who made the trip possible, including the Harmony Fire Department ($1,000), Nutrien ($1,000), Minnesota Livestock Association ($650), F & M Community Bank ($150), Cresco Livestock ($150), Jamie Woodard ($150), Morem Electric ($100), and an anonymous donor ($200).
The team’s trophies are currently on display in the school office. Additional kudos was planned for the team, as they were to be congratulated during Fillmore Central’s Homecoming pepfest, and at the Homecoming football game. In summarizing the team’s success, Megan stated that in her opinion, “The best thing about these girls is they all encourage each other’s success… they are happy when their teammates place high, and it’s the best thing to see them support each other. I’m very proud of these girls, and they really know what they’re doing… their hard work really paid off.”
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