Keep the crowds coming

Many of us have been to the local county or state fair and know that the cattle barn aisles are always filled with people of all ages. And, if you’re trying to get a cow ready on show day, these people might seem like the biggest nuisance in the world. But think twice before getting angry with or rude to these people. The public walking through the dairy barns to see cows and displays is a great way to promote our industry. Many of these visitors don’t come from a farm background and don’t have the opportunity to see or touch cattle on a day-to-day basis, and if you’re rude to them, even once, it’s likely that they won’t ever come back to the barns again and will leave with a negative opinion of the dairy industry.

For instance, this past week I was trying to get my cow ready for our county futurity when an older man came up with a group of people and stood around the cow I was trying to prepare. Instead of being rude and telling them to get out of the way, I told them they should stand back and explained what I was getting her ready for. The group took interest in the concept of a futurity and how to get a cow ready and began asking questions. Again, I took the time to answer them and told them when and where the futurity was taking place. Later, I noticed the same group watch the entire 29-head class, which lasted nearly two hours.

Showing cattle is such a small aspect of a very large industry, but it’s important for us to advertise our families, farms, and our great industry every chance we get. Those people walking through the barns once or twice a year are the ones buying milk, butter, ice cream, and other dairy products off the shelves on a daily basis.

Summertime is finally here

Summertime is finally here which means warm weather, barbeques, baseball games . . . and county fairs. The Hoard's Farm wastes no time in getting involved in its community where it leases out several Guernsey animals to local 4-H youth as dairy projects each year for their annual county fair.

The Hoard's Farm was well represented as nine Guernsey heifers were exhibited last weekend at the Jefferson County Fair. Six young people, including Jason Yurs's (the Hoard's farm manager) two children, each showed their animals at the Jefferson County 4-H show. Preparation for the county fair started early in the summer where the animals were selected and separated to be put on their show cow diet which consisted of hay, grain, beet pulp, and water.

The 4-H'ers took turns each day feeding, watering, and bedding these show heifers to make sure they were in prime condition for show day. The month of June was a busy time at the Hoard's Farm as there was always someone feeding or leading their heifer around outside.

In recent year's, the Hoard's Dairyman Farm has a tradition of showing registered cattle at the local level. Each year, several kids from around the county come to the farm hoping to lease an animal as a dairy project for the summer. The farm strongly believes in getting young people involved in the dairy industry.

"Showing animals is a great way to get kids involved and to show them what the dairy industry is like," says Jason Yurs. "They quickly learn the meaning of responsibility, hard work, and patience when they agree to take on a 4-H dairy project, while having fun in the process."

With another successful summer fair come and gone, the Hoard's farm is already looking ahead for more to come in the future.