BURLINGTON – Several Vermont 4-H’ers competed on state teams in the quiz bowl, clipping and dairy judging contests at Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, September 15 and 16.
The Vermont dairy quiz bowl team captured first place in “Big E” competition on September 15, edging ahead of teams from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Two Vermont teams took part in the 4-H dairy judging competition on September 16, competing against teams from four other New England states. Team rankings were determined by combining individual scores of all members of each team, based on scores from judging a dozen breed classes and providing oral reasons for two of those classes.
Members of the Vermont A Team were Erica Goodhue, Fairfield; Gabriel Michaud, East Hardwick; and Natalie Michaud, Greensboro Bend. The team came in second overall of seven teams, ranking first in judging Holsteins; second in Ayrshires, Guernseys, Jerseys and oral reasons; fourth in Brown Swiss and seventh in Milking Shorthorns.
Gabriel Michaud was the second-highest individual scorer and placed first in judging Guernseys, second in Ayrshires, third in Holsteins and oral reasons, fourth in Jerseys, tenth in Milking Shorthorns and twelfth in Brown Swiss.
Placing tenth overall in the judging competition was Natalie Michaud. Her class placements were third in Guernseys, eighth in Holsteins, tenth in Jerseys, sixteenth in Brown Swiss, twentieth in Ayrshires, twenty-first in Milking Shorthorns and fifteenth in oral reasons.
Emma Deering, Middlebury; Samuel Luis, Whiting; and Morgan Michaud, East Hardwick comprised the Vermont B Team, which ranked fourth both for overall score and oral reasons. For breeds, they came in second for judging Brown Swiss, third for Jerseys, fourth for Guernseys and Milking Shorthorns, sixth for Holsteins and seventh for Ayrshires.
The fifth-highest overall scorer at the event was Morgan Michaud. He came in first for judging Jerseys, second in Brown Swiss, fifth in Ayrshires and oral reasons, eleventh in Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns and twentieth in Guernseys.
