Pennsylvania 4-H Dairy Program

03/27/2025

Spring Judging Contest

Thank you to all of the contestants, coaches, educators, and parents that participated in our Spring Judging Contest on Saturday. It was great to see the enthusiasm of our young people throughout the day. Congratulations to our winning individuals and teams. First place junior was Brooke Yoder from Mifflin County, and the high team was Lebanon. Lebanon also had the high team in the intermediate division, and Luke Dechow earned high intermediate individual honors. In the senior division, Connor Servin from Berks County earned first place, and Berks was the first place team. We emailed results to coaches and educators, but we were missing some email addresses. If you had contestants in the contest but did not receive the results, please email Dale Olver at [email protected]. Once again, thank you for a great day of judging!

03/20/2025

Judging Contest is Saturday
Thanks to everyone who has entered our Spring Judging Contest on Saturday. We are hoping for a good contest. If you are planning to come up but have not yet registered, please send a quick email to [email protected] and let us know how many people to expect from your group so that we can order the right amount of pizza.

03/05/2025

Spring Dairy Judging Contest is Saturday, March 22

We are excited to be hosting the Spring Dairy Judging Contest again this year! The contest is scheduled for Saturday, March 22, at the Snider Ag Arena Holding Barns. There are divisions for Junior 4-H, Intermediate 4-H and FFA, Senior 4-H, and Senior FFA. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the contest starting at 9:30. We are also distributing information to FFA advisors and extension agents. If you would like to receive entry forms or would like more information, just email us at [email protected]. (yes, this is the correct email address.) Early registration deadline is March 19. We hope to see you later this month!

08/30/2024

PA Junior Dairy Show entries due September 3
We are looking forward to the 2024 Pennsylvania Junior Dairy Show in Harrisburg on September 13 and 14. There are a couple of important changes to note for this year. One is that the show will pay transportation allowances for each animal that is exhibited. These will range from $50-100 per animal, depending on the exhibitor's county location. Additionally, milking cows (excluding dry cows) will receive an additional $50 in addition to the transportation allowance. The other major change is that lactating cows need to be tested for HPIA no more than seven days before arrival. Details of both of these changes and other entry and health testing requirements can be found on Fair Entry. Because of these changes, the entry deadline has been extended to Tuesday, September 3, for exhibitors to enter animals or to modify entries. For more complete information or to register for the show, please visit http://2024pajrdairyshow.fairentry.com. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Dale Olver at [email protected].

08/30/2023

PA JUNIOR DAIRY SHOW ENTRIES AND ALL-AMERICAN SHOWMANSHIP CONTEST ENTRIES DUE

We are looking forward to the 2023 Pennsylvania Junior Dairy. As a reminder, entries are due by 11:59 tonight, August 30. Here is the site to enter: http://2023pajrdairyshow.fairentry.com. If you have difficulty entering or cannot meet this deadline for some reason, please contact Dale Olver at [email protected]. Be sure to include a phone number with your email. As a reminder, youth must register separately for the Junior Dairy Show on Saturday, September 16, and for the All-American Showmanship Contest to be held on Sunday, September 17. Entries for the All-American Showmanship Contest will only be accepted online through the end of August. You will not be able to register for the contest at the show; this must be done before the show. The link to register for the All-American Showmanship Contest is https://allamericandairyshow.com/youth-showmanship-contest. We look forward to seeing everyone in Harrisburg.

08/09/2023

Pennsylvania Junior Dairy Show Entries Due August 30
The 2023 Pennsylvania Junior Dairy Show will be held on Saturday, September 16, at the PA Farm Show Complex. All Pennsylvania 4-H and FFA members in good standing are invited to participate. Entries must be owned or leased by the exhibitor by June 1, 2023, and partnership animals are not eligible unless the partnership is with a 4-H club or FFA chapter. Each exhibitor can enter a maximum of five entries. All entries can be made online at http://2023pajrdairyshow.fairentry.com.
Families who previously created a FairEntry account for their local fair or state dairy show may use this to sign up, and all other exhibitors will need to create a new FairEntry account. All animals and exhibitors must meet eligibility and animal health guidelines found in the rules. These can be accessed from the Fair Entry show link above. Show orders and ring assignments will be announced once entries have closed. Entries are due online by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 30. There will be special awards for the overall best bred and owned heifer and overall best bred and owned cow in each breed. Please email [email protected] with questions about the show and [email protected] for online entry questions.
One change this year affecting some PA Junior Dairy Show exhibitors is that entries for the All-American Showmanship Contest to be held on Sunday, September 17, will only be accepted online through the end of August. The link to register for the All-American Showmanship Contest is https://allamericandairyshow.com/youth-showmanship-contest.

05/17/2023

The 2023 PA 4-H Dairy Judging Contest will be held on Tuesday, June 20, and is open to 4-H dairy members from ages 10-18. The contest is divided into junior and senior divisions based on 4-H age. Results from the senior division help determine Pennsylvania's representatives to the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in Madison, the All-American Invitational in Harrisburg, and the North American Dairy Judging Contest in Louisville. As you probably realize, last year Pennsylvania was the high team at the National 4-H Contest. Registrations are due by next Tuesday, May 23. Here is the registration link: https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/18988. Complete rules can be found at https://tinyurl.com/5fdn7xfv. If you have registration questions or issues, please contact Kirsten Dubbs at [email protected].

07/26/2022

This is just a reminder that applications to represent Pennsylvania at the National 4-H Dairy Conference are due by Monday, August 8, at 4 p.m. This event attracts young dairy enthusiasts from across the United States for a variety of workshops and tours. The conference includes workshops and visits to sites such as Hoard's Dairyman and National Dairy Shrine. Applicants MUST be entering grades 10, 11, or 12 this September. The Pennsylvania delegation will most likely leave on Saturday, October 1, and return on October 6 or 7. Please contact your local 4-H educator or email Molly Martin at [email protected] for an application or more information. A selection committee will interview selected applicants and determine Pennsylvania's delegation for 2022.

05/12/2022

Registration deadline approaching for judging contest
Are you a 4-H member who is interested in dairy judging? Sign up now for the PA 4-H Dairy Judging Contest. Our state 4-H judging team that represents Pennsylvania at the All-American Dairy Show and National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest is selected from the high individuals in the senior division. There is also a junior division for younger members. The contest is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14. Registrations will be accepted through Monday, May 17. To register, just visit https://4h.zsuite.org/event-registrations/13012. If you have difficulty registering or have questions, please contact Kirstin Dubbs at [email protected].

08/26/2020

Youth Dairy Judging Webinar
There is still time to sign up for our second dairy judging webinar! This session will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (August 27) In this webinar session, youth will learn about notetaking and reasons terminology. They will then judge a class and develop oral reasons for their placings. This session will be led by Gregory Norris and Belle Dallam, members of the 2019 Penn State Dairy Cattle Judging Team that placed first for oral reasons at the Eastern States Exposition, Harrisburg, and National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest.
Although these sessions are primarily targeted towards Pennsylvania 4-H, FFA, and junior breed association members, the webinars are also open to other youth, dairy judging coaches, extension educators, teachers, and parents. The workshop is free, but preregistration is necessary. To register, please visit https://extension.psu.edu/4-h/dairy-judging.

Do you want to sharpen your dairy judging skills? The is a two-part webinar series designed to help young dairy judges develop effective techniques to judge classes and improve their oral reasons skills.

08/11/2020

Youth Dairy Judging Workshops

Are you interested in sharpening your dairy judging skills? Join us for a two-part webinar series at 7:30 p.m. on August 24 and on August 27 designed to help young dairy judges develop effective techniques to judge classes and improve their oral reasons skills. In the first session, Dr. Chad Dechow of Penn State will review the PDCA Dairy Cow Unified Scorecard and offer guidelines and suggestions to place animals of all breeds. Dr. Dechow coaches the Pennsylvania 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Team. Under his leadership, teams from Pennsylvania have consistently placed in the top ten at the National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, including one national championship and three runner-up finishes. In the second webinar session, youth will work to judge a class and develop oral reasons for their placings. This session will be led by Gregory Norris and Belle Dallam, members of the 2019 Penn State Dairy Cattle Judging Team that placed first for oral reasons at the Eastern States Exposition, Harrisburg, and National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest.
Although these sessions are primarily targeted towards Pennsylvania 4-H, FFA, and junior breed association members, the webinars are also open to other youth, dairy judging coaches, extension educators, teachers, and parents. The workshops are free, but preregistration is necessary. To register or to learn more about the workshops, please visit https://extension.psu.edu/4-h/dairy-judging.

Do you want to sharpen your dairy judging skills? The is a two-part webinar series designed to help young dairy judges develop effective techniques to judge classes and improve their oral reasons skills.

09/06/2019

We are looking forward to working with the Pennsylvania Junior Dairy Show next weekend. Over 800 animals have been entered, so we expect another great show. Information packets were mailed to all exhibitors yesterday, so youth should receive them by Monday if not earlier. Animals need to arrive at the Farm Show Building in Harrisburg by next Friday, September 13, by 5 p.m., and the show begins Saturday, September 14, at 9 a.m.

The show order is as follows: RING 1—Milking Shorthorn—9 a.m.; Holstein Cows—11 a.m.; Holstein Heifers—12:30 p.m. RING 2—Brown Swiss-- 9 a.m; Ayrshires—11:30 a.m..; Guernseys—2 p.m..; RING 3—Red and White, 9 a.m.; Jerseys- 12:30 p.m. All breeds begin with milking classes (either Fall Yearling in Milk or Junior 2 year olds). Heifers are shown in each breed after the cow classes are completed.

It should be a great weekend in Harrisburg! If you have questions, please email Dale Olver at [email protected].