photo by Leslie Michaud
Northeast Kingdom 4-Hers (left to right) Morgan and Gabriel Michaud, East Hardwick; and Natalie Michaud, Greensboro Bend; represented Vermont at the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in Louisville, Ky., on November 4.
BURLINGTON – The National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest, November 4, fielded 17 teams with 56 participants from across the country, including a three-member team from Vermont.
The annual contest was held at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. Competing on the state team were Gabriel and Morgan Michaud, East Hardwick, and Natalie Michaud, Greensboro Bend. They were coached by Joanna Lidback, Barton.
The team placed seventh overall and eleventh in oral reasons. Team placements for breeds were Guernseys (second); Ayrshires (seventh); Brown Swiss and Holstein (both eighth); and Jersey (fourteenth).
photo by Leslie Michaud
East Hardwick 4-Her Gabriel Michaud (front) judges a class of Holsteins at the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in Louisville, Ky., on November 4.
Gabriel Michaud finished thirteenth overall in the judging competition and fourteenth for oral reasons. He placed sixth in Guernseys, thirteenth in Brown Swiss, twenty-second in Ayrshires; twenty-sixth in Jerseys and thirty-fourth in Holsteins.
His brother Morgan Michaud was thirty-third for overall individual score with a forty-eighth place finish in oral reasons. He placed twenty-second in Guernseys, twenty-sixth in Holsteins, twenty-ninth in Brown Swiss, fortieth in Ayrshires and forty-first in Jerseys.
Their cousin Natalie Michaud had a Top 10 finish in the Ayrshire judging classes, taking eighth place. She was fourteenth in Guernseys, twenty-second in Holsteins, forty-first in Brown Swiss and fifty-second in Jerseys. Overall, she placed twenty-seventh with a forty-fourth placing for oral reasons.
The National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest is one of several national events that qualified Vermont 4-H’ers have an opportunity to attend every year.
