They missed a week of school, but several Troy FFA members and their advisor returned to class Monday having represented their hometown and chapter well.
That’s because they brought home a plaque noting their finish as one of the top teams at the National FFA Conference, a “gold place” finish.
The contest these youngsters did so well in? The Dairy Cattle Evaluation & Management career development event.
“Nutrition recommendations were important there,” added Landon Jenkins, another member.
The second day was the fun part: presentations of classes of dairy animals, three classes of heifers and three of mature cows, for evaluation and grading. The members also had to defend their choices in front of a panel of judges as well.
As a further test of the breadth of their experience with dairy cows, the cows were not all black and white. Alongside the popular Holsteins were also Jerseys and Brown Swiss, each breed presenting different physical characteristics the members needed to note in their decisions.
All breeds have the same considerations though, which the three younger members of the team were able to recite from memory: udder quality, feet and legs, frame, and “dairyness.” Udder quality is the main consideration, with the members learning that 40% of a dairy cow’s evaluation comes from her udder health and quality.
When asked if judging a class of four high-quality animals can prove difficult, Champluvier answered like an old pro.
“Usually they fall into place if you pay attention,” she asserted.
Each member has a varying experience in the field, with all of them longtime regulars at the Troy Fair showing a variety of breeds of animals for 4-H and FFA.
Jenkins lives on a dairy farm consisting mostly of Holsteins. Champluvier comes from a farming background and shows at local fairs.
“Wanting to show animals got me involved in dairy,” Murray said. She pursued that passion to its fullest, now serving Bradford County as its Alternate Dairy Princess.
Sara Reed is the fourth and final member of the team. A scion of a family with deep roots raising Jerseys in the Troy area, Reed graduated Troy Area School District in May. Recent graduates remain active FFA members, though, and she competed with her team first in Penn State and then, after the team placed first in that, in Indianapolis: the traditional home of the annual National FFA Convention. Reed is currently studying agricultural sciences at Penn State.
The team put a lot of effort into this win. Last year the same team had managed to advance out of the state competition to the FFA’s regional competition called The Big E, where they took first among the assembled teams from up and down the east coast.
This year they roared into the state competition determined to make it to the National Convention, an event few members qualify to compete in. Champluvier took first in the state, with Reed coming in second. The team took first overall, punching their ticket to Indianapolis.
There, in between the competition, the members toured the convention, connecting with members from all 50 states and island territories.
“We got to go to the Lainey Wilson concert while we were there, and a rodeo,” Murray recalled of the week-long itinerary.
On Friday the convention came to a close, with the team learning they’d received a gold award for placing among the elite of the elite: 42 teams had come out to compete against them in the dairy contest.
Troy FFA advisor Brooke Shucker said she couldn’t be more proud of the hard work her students had put into their performance.
The three members still enrolled in Troy are anticipating a fun and competitive county-level dairy judging contest in the spring, hosted by the Northeast Bradford FFA chapter. They’ll surely put in the time and effort to compete when the time comes, but the national spotlight in the dairy competition has gone out. A member that qualifies for nationals in a career development event cannot compete at the national level again.
The new plaque proudly displayed in the ag classroom in Troy indicates they’re ok with that — they certainly made the most of their first visit.
