The dairy industry isn’t just about farming and making food, but also about education. Kids who grow up in the dairy industry learn everything from making dairy-rich foods to proper nutrition and health for cows to how to care for the farmland. This past weekend, I was at the Virginia Junior Holstein Association Winter Retreat. The image above is VJHA officer team for this year.
On Saturday at this retreat, kids in my age group participated in workshops that taught us about cow reproductive tracts and how they work. Meanwhile kids in a younger age group participated in workshops about how to take care of newborn and young calves. Following the educational workshops, we conducted a business meeting to talk about the upcoming National Holstein Convention that will be held in South Dakota this summer. Our group is super excited to travel to the midwest to meet “dairy kids” from other states, compete to win competitions, and learn about how farming is different in the midwest from here.
On Sunday, we had mini versions of the contest to see who will qualify to compete in which contests. I participated in the Dairy Jeopardy Contest. This is run similar to Jeopardy on TV, but all of the questions pertain to the dairy industry. I like this contest the best because it is a good way to show off how much I know about various topics within the dairy industry, and it is fun to buzz-in. There were also kids who presented prepared speeches on a dairy-related topic of their choice. It is so rewarding to see young kids try contests that I have been competing in since I was 9 years old because they were inspired by the success that I have had. We don’t just work at these retreats, we also have fun! This year we went to an escape room and bonded over figuring out the tricky clues.
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