Each year the Wayne County Dairy Service Unit (DSU) presents an Outstanding Dairy Youth Award ($250) at its annual meeting.  The recipient of this award must be nominated by a FFA or 4-H advisor who has some knowledge of the individual and their work with a dairy project and/or contribution to the dairy industry.

The award nomination form should be returned to the Wayne County Extension office by February 17, 2015.   Award forms are available on the Wayne County Extension web site at: http://go.osu.edu/vU7 and at the Wayne County Extension office.  Forms can be mailed in or filled out on line and submitted electronically.

The Wayne County Dairy Service Unit offers a scholarship to provide financial assistance to students in Wayne County that intend to go on to post-high school education in the field of agriculture, with a special interest in the dairy industry.  At least one scholarship of $1000 will be awarded to qualified applicants.

Applicants for the scholarship must be a resident of Wayne County at the time of application, have graduated from an accredited high school program or be in their senior year, and have an agricultural background with interest towards continuing in agriculture.  Special consideration is given to those applicants with a dairy background, involvement in a 4-H or FFA dairy project or having employment in a dairy based business.  Applications for the scholarship are due to the Wayne County Extension office by February 17, 2015.

Scholarship applications are available on the Wayne County Extension web site at: http://go.osu.edu/vU5.

Scholarship applications can also be obtained from FFA advisors and the Wayne County Extension office located in the upper level of the county administration building at 428 West Liberty Street in Wooster, phone:  330-264-8722.

Dairy Committee member Lisa Gress prepared the following sample letter that 4-H and FFA members can customize to to send to potential Dairy Products Auction Buyers.  Inviting buyers is a key step in ensuring that we have a successful auction which in turn directly affects how much financial support 4-H and FFA members receive back from the auction.  Click the link below to access the sample dairy products letter.

sample dairy products letter

Pop Quiz!

1. What is the first milk a cow produces called? Colostrum

2. What condition is the result of a deficiency of vitamin E and selenium? White Muscle Disease

3. Under which category on the PDCA Dairy Cow Unified Scorecard is ‘rump’ located? Frame

4. Name two symptoms of laminitis (founder). Swelling, smelling, or lameness

5. Why aren’t you in dairy quiz bowl? I don’t know! 

Quiz bowl isn’t just memorizing questions and answers to recite – it’s learning more about the topics that interest you most, and gaining practical knowledge to use when working with cattle and around the farm. Quiz bowl topics cover nutrition, reproduction, genetics, management, diseases, and welfare, and you’re guaranteed to learn something new at each practice.

While competing at the state contest is the end goal, the result is so much more than a medal. You’ll learn skills and take away knowledge that you can use when showing your animals at the fair or when you’re at home in the barn. Quiz bowl helps build knowledge bases that can be used in biology courses, science classes, and veterinary fields.

Three past Wayne county quiz bowl teams have gone on to win at the NAILE Dairy Quiz Bowl contest, and many others have been winners at the state level in both junior and senior contests. Wayne county has a reputation for excellence in dairy quiz bowl, and we hope that you’ll be a part of building that reputation even more.

Our practices are held every Sunday at 1:30 p.m., in the Ohio Holstein office on Heyl Road in Wooster, and the state contest will be held on June 17, 2014 in Columbus. Come ready to learn, and leave with knowledge you can use every day.

Contact Lisa Gress with questions, for more information, or to let her know if you’re planning to attend! We hope to see you next Sunday.

Lisa Gress

330-231-0284

randroliver@aol.com