Livin' on the edge

This morning, we awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (okay, we may have resembled zombies for most of the morning) and boarded the coach heading to our first stop of the morning, the Gow family's dairy farm. On the way, we stopped in a small town, where we explored a small church, examined the thatched roofs on nearby buildings, and purchased a souvenir key chain, which somehow went missing approximately 3.5 seconds after it was purchased. At the Gow's farm, we discovered that, similarly to several other farms we have visited this week, they use a pasture-based feeding system, seasonal milking and dry periods, and crossbred animals to increase fertility. 

After our tour of the farm, a local pub valiantly attempted to serve the 47 of us lunch with only minutes of advance warning. While we waited for our food, we visited several major local attractions including the mysterious upstairs of the pub and the playground next door (life lesson: never turn down swings, especially not if they are several feet too short for comfort and you are constantly at risk of beheading yourself on its frame).

Once we had acquired more emergency provisions including but not limited to strawberry bon-bons and Curly Whirlies, we were prepared for our journey to the Cliffs of Moher, a beautiful and historic Irish landmark. At the cliffs, we succeeded in climbing the 600-foot-high paths, causing Kiera to have heart palpitations on multiple occasions (unintentionally, of course), and cross-country jogging back down to make it to the coach on time. Actually, Courtney, Julia, and Ian, out of breath from their run and clutching cramps, were outraged to find that Kiera, Anne, and Cassidy had somehow made it back to the bottom first, despite being spotted far behind only moments before. 

Having heroically made it to the coach with minutes to spare, we settled in for our ride to tonight's hotel in Galway City, where Julia and Courtney broke their vow to never take the stairs with their luggage ever again, and were strongly reminded why they had made said vow in the first place. At dinner, we tried lamb ribs and carrot/ginger soup, managed to spill sugar all over the table, and somehow ended up outside in an alley while looking for the bathroom. 

Quote of the day, courtesy of George as we drove through the town of Limerick:

"There once was a woman from Rubat,

Who had triplets named Nat, Pat, and Tat,

It was fun with the breeding,

But hell with the feeding,

When she found she had no tit for tat."

The Ring of Kerry

                The morning started out much later than previous mornings this week, and with a hodgepodge of various types of foods. Then it was off to the coach where we were to spend a large portion of the day as we drove around the famous Ring of Kerry.

                Our first stop was in Moriarty’s, a well-known retail store with a vast array items spanning from clothing and jewelry to crystal and pewter. It was here that we were greeted with waitresses carrying glasses of Irish coffee, which most of the team did not find too appealing. They did, however, smell like pretzels. We then rallied back to the coach for the next round of our scenic drive, which took us past some rocks that dated back to the Neolithic age and the highest peaks in Ireland, before emerging out onto the western coast of Ireland, where we made our next stop in a town along the Atlantic Ocean.  

                We worked our way down the beach and waded into the water, ignoring as much as possible the slimy films of algae and seaweed covering the sea floor. The water was astonishingly clear and very cold. This also proved a great venue for another photo op, which also included our friends from Minnesota. Then the more daring of the team waded out further onto an outcropping of rocks where we took a combined photo with people from other states that were likewise willing to risk the potential loss of appendages due to frightfully sharp rocks and angry crabs, and wet clothing for the remainder of the day. After we reached land and bandages were applied to those in need, we hastened back to the coach where we would have only a few minutes of driving until we reached our next destination. At this small roadside stopping-area we took more photos and held some very cute Irish kittens. Then it was on to lunch where we enjoyed authentic Irish cuisine while overlooking the ocean and appreciating how lucky we were to be touring the Circle of Kerry on such a beautiful day. At our final stop we appreciated the beautiful mountains and lakes in a view known as Ladies View, because that’s the view that was most appealing to the Queens of England when they were in town. Upon attempting to use the bathroom at the restaurant, Julia tragically lost her water bottle as it rolled into an occupied cubicle.

                After returning to the hotel, we went on a quick jaunty (carriage) ride through the national park with our guide, John and his noble steed Nancy. After we were delivered back to the hotel and said our goodbyes to Nancy, we departed for dinner in town and then stopped by a small pub for a taste of Irish music at its finest. We briefly stopped by the local grocery store for emergency provisions of chocolate and tic-tacs, then headed back to the hotel.

Quotes of the day: “Hurling is a combination of hockey and second degree murder.” –George (our coach driver)

“I couldn’t find my blue pen and my soul was crushed.” –Julia

Don't forget to check out our pictures from the Ring of Kerry! https://www.flickr.com/photos/marylanddairy2008/sets/72157645015178630/ 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

After our early breakfast and coach ride to Charleville, most of the day was spent judging classes at their dairy show, which resembled a county fair complete with open-air grass show rings and deliciously flaccid french fries. In a series of several interesting plot twists, the extremely classy porta-potty flushed, we were served tea and scones before the contest began, and we were allowed to work together in our teams to judge classes ranging in size from one animal to fourteen.

Although we were intrigued and excited at the chance to pool our brainpower, we were kept on our toes (literally) running around the ring pursuing the ever-elusive and sometimes nonexistent identification numbers for the animals, as well as by Ian's ill-timed decision to become a mute in the middle of the contest. We also faced the challenge of speaking quietly or remaining silent for five hours straight, which we only endured by doodling dragons and unicorns between classes and with the help of an emergency delivery of chicken nuggets by Anne and Kiera.

Winner of the 3 year old Futurity and best udder in the show

After the contest, we had almost an hour left on the fairgrounds to explore, during which we got matching glittery unicorn tattoos (we decided that they are our team mascot). Though Cassidy opted out, Ian decided on a very stylish lavender color and Julia and Courtney stuck to classic blue. We then noticed a bungee-jumping-trampoline ride thingy on the midway and obviously had to try it. The fact that we got to do backflips twenty feet in the air while attached to giant bungee cords made the corresponding lack of circulation to our legs from the harnesses completely worth it.

To top off our thrilling day, we learned on the bus that we had won the judging contest, with Missouri 4-H in second and Kaskaskia Junior College in third. Even better, we got to the hotel with enough time for a trip to the pool, which was artfully adorned with Grecian statues suffering from wardrobe malfunctions, and for some sauna experimentation. By the way, we all chose the chicken for dinner tonight, hence the title of tonight's blog.

Quote of the day: "My reasons were totally baloney." --Abby Hopp (our friend from Minnesota FFA)
Also "My, my, my; would you look at those drapes." --Julia and Abby

Also, don't forget to check out our pictures as we travel around!  Here are the newest additions from Ireland: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marylanddairy2008/sets/72157644959573497/

The Gift of Gab

This morning, after we reconvened on the bus from our respective Bed and Breakfasts, we started up the road to Blarney Castle.

What separates Blarney Castle from every other castle in Ireland in is the Blarney Stone. The legend of the Blarney stone is quite simple. An Irish lord of sorts went and prayed to a goddess for good luck and eloquence, for a court case he was facing, and the goddess responded by telling him to kiss the first stone he saw. The lord was so overjoyed by the luck said stone brought (he won the case) that he built the stone into to the foundation of his castle. The Blarney stone is said to give the gift of Gab.

When we arrived to the township of Blarney, it was raining quite heavily, so we stopped and shopped in the Blarney Woolen Mills, which had a nice assortment of woolen sweaters and Guinness T-shirts. After an hour spent shopping, half of us (Anne, Courtney, Julia, and Ian) headed up to Blarney Castle, while Kiera and Cassidy stayed behind to finish shopping and grab lunch for the group. At the castle we proceeded to climb the castle tower up the quickly narrowing spiral staircase (much to Ian and Courtney’s dismay), to the very top. To kiss the Blarney stone, one has to lean backwards over the precipice of the tower floor, while being held up by an assistant to prevent falling (pictures will explain it all). After watching Ian almost reluctantly kiss the stone as he leaned over the edge, we had to traipse back down another narrow staircase and race back to the bus before departure.

On the bus we single-handedly ate an entire packet of Cadbury Digestive cookies (which are awesome, despite the name) and chocolate flakes.

Our first farm visit was to the O’Leary’s, which keep a herd with a mixture of purebred Friesians and Jersey crosses. We increased our knowledge of Irish Milk Co-ops, the crops of Ireland (primarily grass), and the breeding goals of Irish cattle men. Before we departed our hosts shared with us a lovely table of scones, jam, and tea, which was appreciated by all members of the group.

Our next farm stop was at John Murphy’s, who breeds purebred Friesians on his grass-feeding base farm, with his wife and three daughters. Unfortunately, because of the rain and wet ground, we did not get a complete tour of his facilities, but we did learn more about breeding goals of cattle, specifically for purebreds, and the laws that regulate the farmland in Ireland.

Our day concluded, and headed back to a hotel in the city of Cork, where we all enjoyed our dinner, except for Ian, who, because of scattered seating, ended up eating alone (oops).

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Do you hear that?”

 (Cows chewing grass quietly in the background)

 “That’s the sound of money.”

--Tim O’Leary

Away at our farm stays

Hi all,

Kiera and Anne here.  Just a quick check in to let you all know that we are doing quite well here in Ireland.  Our hosts have been so very gracious from the livestock market to the two dairy farms we have visited, we've been welcomed again and again.  Currently we are all staying at Farm stay bed and breakfast type locations in the Kilkenny County.  Have no fear, the team will return to blogging tomorrow and I'm sure they will have many stories to tell.  Cheers!

Ferry Burns

The morning started off with a five o'clock wake up call and an excessive amount of cheese and bread in our boxed breakfasts. We then boarded the bus where everyone attempted to fall asleep, leading to a mess of tangled arms and legs, Courtney flopping all over the place, and ending in Ian singing the opening of Lion King in his sleep. We also took an ungodly number of bathroom stops, much appreciated by Julia who boasts a bladder the size of a walnut and who was having to ration liquids at that.

We arrived at the Fishguard boat docks at around 1:30 after a very scenic drive through Wales that was witnessed by few on the bus. Though the terminal was not very clean, the boat was immaculate, with a handsome array of dining areas, arcades, and of course, the top deck overlooking the Irish Sea. It was on the top deck that we spent most of our time, writing post cards to all of our supporters at home and bantering about various topics. Julia and Courtney took great pleasure in crushing Ian psychologically and, while Cassidy's comments were much less frequent, they were much more hurtful (these are some of our favorite exchanges though, don't be fooled!). During these assaults, Ian's personal pride was assailed by Courtney, causing Ian to vow silence against Courtney for the rest of the day, which unfortunately only lasted for about two minutes. On a high note nobody got sea-sick on the three hour crossing. 

Our Minnesota FFA friends with us on the ferry boat.  That is Wales in the background!

After landing in Ireland, we boarded a very nice coach that took us cross-country and the driver spoke about various things for almost the entire hour and a half journey. The hotel also proved to be much more luxurious than the hotel in London, most notably including bathrooms that could be entered without extreme difficulty. We sat down for a delicious Irish dinner in which we witnessed Courtney especially fail at removing chicken from the bones with a fork. Then the team went up to write the blog while Kiera and Anne went to run errands. Let it be known that this was written by an extremely bitter Ian.

Quote of the day: "In China you can be arrested for indecent pinky exposure."

**These blogs are brought to you by Courtney, Julia, Ian, and Cassidy with editing by Kiera and Anne

The Circle of Life

We met downstairs anxious to begin our day touring London, but were immediately sabotaged by Ian's map reading failures in the park. After Kiera and Bruce righted our wandering, we happened across a group of trainee palace guards, almost were trampled by a runaway horse, and considered continuing Maryland's legacy of skinny dipping in the Serpentine River, but eventually made it to the area of Big Ben and the London Eye. From the top of the London Eye, four hundred and fifty feet above the Thames River, we had plenty of photo opportunities of the city and were able to spot a building-sized, upside-down purple cow below.

When we - against all odds, had survived the ride - we grabbed lunch and headed to Piccadilly Circus where we shopped for souvenirs and watched Courtney's graceful dismount from a lion statue (yes, she did fall). There we saw a four-ton gold carriage and a Jaguar limousinein addition to several of the Cleveland Bays and Windsor Grays which are housed there.

Footsore and, in Anne's case, creaking on the right side, we stopped in the park to take a rest and watch Blake (our tour guide's nephew) attempt to catch pigeons. The birds were so tame that many would land on the hands and arms of people willing to feed them food and risk painful death by some pigeon carried disease.

After our rest, we gathered up the energy to go see the inspection of the Horse Guard, then head to dinner at Aberdeen Steakhouse,  where Ian unsuccessfully attempted to romance our Polish waitress. Enough said.

We then walked to the theatre to see the Lion King and witnessed three hours of African tribal chants, elaborate costuming, and highly chiseled abdominals. We left the theatre wishing we possessed just a fraction of the bodily coordination of the performers we had seen. It was epic.

Quote of the day: "You want sass? I'll give you sass. I'll put on my sassy pants." -Ian Doody.

Another day of sitting

This morning at the breakfast, Coventry style, we consumed at least 20 hash browns while Cassidy pulled a Courtney/Julia and didn't arrive until the bus was due to load. Then we spent the first of many hours on the bus before we stopped for the first time in Warwickshire where we saw a quaint little town with Tudor style housing. After our first failure at team photos in this town, we looked around a large cathedral complete with Latin script that only Julia could properly translate, soaring buttresses, and 500-year-old dead bodies.

Then we headed over to the castle where we divided and conquered. We climbed the towers and strolled across the ramparts--well all except Ian who ended up crawling. Inside the castle we encountered wax figures so realistic that Julia bumped into one and promptly apologized before realizing it was a lifeless figure. Then we watched an extremely animated bowman's demonstration in which we learned that the English longbow actually originated in Wales, while Courtney and Cassidy went off to look at the peacocks and birds of prey. Then we all reconvened at the trebuchet, which is basically a human sized hamster wheel connected to a very large catapult, and watched it throw a flaming rock. We then hastened back to the coach where we had another lovely drive to our lunch stop in Oxford.

By this time the girl's were beyond cranky due to near starvation, only made worse by the hour long wait in the Subway line. After lunch, we loaded back onto the bus where the extremely satisfied Courtney and Julia settled in for a hibernation as we finished our drive into London.

In London, we met our tour guide who spent about three hours with us showing us all around the city. Let it be known that our previously gentle bus driver suddenly turned extremely aggressive, which made it impossible for any further sleeping to take place. We saw many of the iconic features of London including Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Westminster Abbey. Then we off-loaded at the hotel and settled in before strolling down to a pub and devouring a delicious assortment of food. Then we frolicked in the rain in a park next to the hotel and were sadly denied the use of a playground and merry-go-round.

Quote of the day: "Are we walking on dead people?" --Cassidy

Sassy and salty

The morning began a bit too excitingly, considering that Julia and Courtney rolled out of bed 7 minutes before the bus departed. However, they managed to board the bus sporting the "we woke up like this" look, untoasted toast, and a package of butter.

On our first stop of the day and final one in Scotland, Moffat, we bought 50 plus postcards, Celtic necklaces, and other assorted souvenirs while also having the joy of seeing Ian try on a Scottish kilt. Ian bought a Scottish cap (see the picture below!).  After our shopping spree, we decided to stroll through the town, which we decided would be very unpleasant during a zombie apocalypse considering its gigantic graveyard and old, slightly mysterious buildings.

After the next few hours on the bus, we stopped for lunch at a family-run deli restaurant and discussed the despicable nature of V-8 juice. When we were done eating, we explored the duck pond and observed 6 manic ducklings fighting over a piece of bread. Courtney and Julia then decided to frolic in the grass and forest behind the restaurant, until Cassidy was tragically lost. She was never found. She will be remembered. (Just kidding, we found her, but she refused to frolic).

Back on the bus for another umpteen hours, we discovered that Courtney is part rag doll when she sleeps and that Ian swoons at the scent of flowered perfume. Also thanks to Courtney, the sass level on the bus was extremely high.

We arrived at the Jones farm, then headed over to the Leedham family's farm for a pig roast dinner. They made sandwiches with sage stuffing and applesauce with the roast pork.  So good! Courtney took the bullet for Julia and ate her hairy piece of crispy pig skin, and we enjoyed some delicious strawberries with cream before heading back to the Jones' farm for an official tour. We were interested to learn that he feeds his cows parsnips and potatoes, in addition to the rest of his TMR. We also learned that, even though corn/maize cannot be grown in Scotland because of the climate, it is grown in northern England in roughly the same growing season as in the United States.

We moved on to the hotel, which has very nice bathrooms, and called it a night.

Quote of the day: "MAYBE SHE TOOK A SMALL NAP."

Red Hot Chili Pipers and Big-Butted Blues

This morning we received an even earlier wake up call, 6:00 (which is 1:00 AM at home), then headed downstairs for breakfast, where we may have accidentally eaten haggis. We decided that we might prefer not to know. Then we loaded up on the bus and, shockingly, Cassidy promptly fell asleep (followed shortly by Courtney, though she claims otherwise).

Chaos struck as soon as we hit the fairgrounds. From frantically hunting for the rare species of unstained lab coat to trying to avoid accidentally ending up in the beef judging ring, we had an interesting morning. We judged two classes of Holsteins, an Ayrshire class, and a Jersey class. The classes were fast, they said eight minutes, but we are sure they were no more than five, even for reasons.  This is also probably the only time any of us will be able to say that we gave reasons in a women's bathroom (which was somewhat awkward for Ian).

After we were finished, we enjoyed some very heavily toasted Toasties and our new favorite food, chocolate flakes, which are eaten dipped in ice cream and taste like heaven. We then won slap bracelets in the European Union tent. Obviously, slap bracelet wars between Ian and Julia ensued, much to Kiera's dismay. As we watched the Parade of Champions in the main ring, we were both impressed and horrified at the obscenely large and bodacious butts of the British Blues beef cattle (hopefully Kiera won't censor this part out). We also enjoyed seeing their champion dairy cattle, but Cassidy was outraged that there was not a single Brown Swiss to be seen. However, there were approximately 873201937859 beef cows, including Highlanders, Blondes, and Simmentals. The champion Highlander was owned by the Queen of England! After the parade, we learned that the average Grand Prix horse could clear Anne's head in a jump, and that Courtney enjoys ogling male world champion horse riders. Let the record show that, according to Courtney, a male's attractiveness is directly proportional to how many medals he's won in the horse arena.

At dinner with the Minnesota team, we managed to keep the waiter busy supplying us with water, and estimate that we emptied at least 17 pitchers between the 11 of us. However, our enormous water consumption didn't come without its cost. Ian was shamed into using the bus bathroom by lots of mockery and the playing of "Let it Go" over the bus's PA system. The rest of us managed to make it to the hotel. We were also serenaded by a group of kilt-wearing bagpipers, the Red Hot Chili Pipers.

Afterward, we swam in the hotel pool for a while, during which Julia decided to check out the sauna, before screaming in the face of a Speedo-clad Scotsman, slamming the door in his face, and sprinting back to the pool. Let it be known that this emotional outburst from Julia received a matching shriek from the Scotsman.
Good thing we're leaving this hotel tomorrow morning.

Quote of the day: "So, how 'bout that weather?" --Anne

**Kiera wanted us to let you know that comments/posts are welcome!

Edinburgh and the Royal Highland Show

After a very very early wake up call, we headed down stairs to eat breakfast before our trip to Edinburgh and the Highland Show grounds. Before we managed to head out of the hotel, Ian stopped to eat the entire buffet.

On the bus, Cassidy fell asleep. Again.

In Edinburgh we met our tour guide, a spritely fellow, named Bill, blue and green tartan from head to toe. From Bill we learned three things:
1.) You MUST roll your R's if you're going to pretend to have a Scottish accent
2.) Scottish people have a weird rivalry with the British, and were actually quite happy that the English lost to Uruguay last night, even though Bill admitted to having no knowledge of Uruguay's location on a map.
3.) The proper way to wear a Scottish kilt as a man, is to wear only the kilt on your lower half... with nothing underneath...

Otherwise, the city of Edinburgh is truly a beautiful city. On our tour we stopped at the Holyrood house, learning that the official animal of Scotland is a unicorn and their flower is a thistle. Before we left, Ian attempted to buy Buckingham Palace china from the Queens gift shop. As we toured the streets further, we were told about the old city, the new city, and the architecture of the surrounding buildings. Interestingly enough, because of the use of coal chimneys back in the day, most of the buildings in the city were stained black, and any building that was not, was chemically treated. The problem with the chemical treating though, was that it wore away the protective coating on the stone the buildings were constructed of, and allowed water to leach into the stone pores. So now the buildings treated are turning green because of algae! Continuing on, we drove up the side of Edinburgh's extinct volcano to see the views. After stopping to see some extremely adorable signets and their swan parents, we climbed out of the bus to take group shots above the city skyline of Edinburgh, and learned about the rocks and the lakes, called lochs in Scotland, before piling back on the bus to venture to the Highland show.

Upon arrival at the Showgrounds, Ian was instantly captivated by a band of drummers and bagpipers. After splitting off after lunch and getting lost in the crowd after the Champions parade, we again reconvened at the Young Farmers building, and were given a tour of the cattle barns. We learned that tomorrow we will be judging our classes in under five minutes. Yay. But we also got to hear about the breed differences and the characteristics they favor in their cattle, such as milk content and body capacity (which will be useful for us tomorrow, fingers crossed). After that, we had about an hour left on the show grounds, so we toured the tents, and learned all about British Blues (basically Belgian Blues), and their breeding for literally an hour, while Anne stopped at the Semex tent. By then we had to hike back to the bus.

At the hotel, we were surprised to find a bagpiper greeting us at the door, but it was solely because there also happened to be a Scottish prom at our hotel, so at dinner we watched Scottish teens roll up in suped up Audis and antique automobiles wearing break-neck heels and of course, kilts. After dinner we went swimming, that is all but Cassidy who conveniently forgot her bathing suit, and Ian decided to visit the scottish teens, which just happened to include the bagpipe player from outside the hotel. Ian asked if he was following the scottish tradition, (see rule number 3) though the question as phrased was misunderstood by the scot resulting in quite the good laugh by his friends and international visitors.

Quote of the day: "Imagine King Georgie Porgie, 5 foot 2, 300 pounds, wearing pink tights and a mini kilt."  --Bill

Day 1

After an extremely long flight, some focused sleeping, and Ian excessively sweating on the plane, we successfully arrived at the airport in Glasgow, prepared for action. However, we had other business to attend to (i.e. waiting for other teams and giving Kiera the caffeine needed to put up with us). So, one trip to Starbucks and a Bacon Butty later (along with several kilt sightings) we were ready to roll.

Ten minutes later, every person on the coach was asleep.

When we arrived at the Museum of Rural Life, we immediately learned several important things, such as the fact that 7-up is available in the United States (Ian, we're looking at you) and that paisley patterns originated in the Scottish town of Paisley. We hiked to the museum's demo farm, where we met Jim the calf and got to see a wild piglet escape attempt. After we looked around the museum and Julia came within inches of beginning her novelty pencil sharpener collection, we were shuffled back to the bus for our next stop.

Ten minutes later, we were all asleep again, despite our best efforts.

After several "detours," we eventually made it to Alex Park and Sons' dairy farm, Patterson Holsteins. Upon meeting the farmer and hearing his Scottish accent, we promptly decided that he would be our first souvenir, with his tiny, rock-obsessed Jack Russell terrier as our fallback option. He showed us around his 250-cow dairy, which houses all his stock, from calves to dry cows, in one building. We found it interesting that he only needs about 50 replacement heifers per year because his pasture-feeding operation is so self-sufficient. He also keeps his silage trenches inside a building due to the strong winds that come from his close proximity to the coast.

We then proceeded to the hotel, where we relaxed for several hours before dinner, where we tried several dishes that we can neither spell nor pronounce and learned that Courtney gags in the presence of discolored carrots. We had an intense debate about Oreos, then called it a day, even though it stays light until 11:00pm here.

--Dysfunctional, but it works

Landed!

I am happy to report that the judging team is safe and sound in Scotland where the weather is a glorious 50 degrees at 7am. It is uneventful so far but we will update more tonight.

One week until take-off!

When it comes to dairy judging, Maryland 4-H is known as quite the powerhouse, churning out teams that perform consistently well at state, regional and national competitions. Earlier this month, the Maryland 4-H dairy judging team netted its 31st national championship since 1919 at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. The team from Maryland has taken home first place at the World Dairy Expo three out of the last five years.

“We have a lot of support at the state, county and farm level for this program and it’s neat to see because we do have quite a tradition of doing very well in this contest,” said Kiera Finucane, coordinator of dairy and beef Extension activities for the University of Maryland.

Maryland’s 2013 4-H Dairy Judging Team consists of 17-year-old Ian Doody from Damascus, Md.; 17-year-old Julia Doody from Damascus, Md.; 17-year-old Courtney Hoff from New Windsor, Md. and 18-year-old Cassidy Schirmer from Galena, Md. Finucane served as the team’s coach alongside Anne Davis of Union Bridge, Md.

In order to represent Maryland 4-H at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, the members had to earn a spot on the team by going through a series of dairy judging competitions held throughout the 11 days of the Maryland State Fair in August.

Dairy judging is rooted in rich tradition in the state of Maryland with many of the youth competing in today’s contests following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. Yet not all students involved in the Maryland 4-H dairy program come from farming backgrounds. Many are exposed to the dairy industry through the state’s animal leasing program which allows youth to use animals owned by farmers for various 4-H projects. “Our farmers continue to open their doors and allow these kids to come in and see their cattle and their operations,” says Finucane. “Our students are going to leave the program with this appreciation and understanding for the dairy industry and it really opens doors for careers in agricultural fields.”

For finishing in the top three at the World Dairy Expo, the Maryland 4-H Dairy Judging Team will be invited to compete in the international Royal Highland Show held in Scotland next summer. The team will spend roughly two weeks in Europe traveling through England, Ireland and Scotland. “We do a lot during the trip to expose the students to agriculture as well as just culture internationally,” says Finucane. “Hopefully they come away with a lot of life lessons from it.”

The big day is rapidly approaching for this crew! We head to the United Kingdom and Ireland on Wednesday June 18th! Please check back often for trip updates and photos!

- See more at: http://agnr.umd.edu/news/maryland-4-h-dairy-judging-team-wins-national-championship#sthash.6C2b2rIs.dpuf