From our side of the fence

Caden Hulstein

14 years old

Hull, Iowa

300 cows

Sioux County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. This year I exhibited one milking cow and two heifers at the Sioux County Fair. I also showed them in the open show at the Sibley County Fair.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cattle because I get to share the experience with my siblings and cousins. We have a lot of fun together, and it is rewarding to see all our hard work pay off.

What is your routine for preparing your animals? I keep them on a consistent feeding schedule and wash them every day. As show day gets closer, I clip their hair so they look their best in the show ring.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing dairy cattle has taught me responsibility, hard work and the importance of caring for animals every day.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? Even on days I am not showing, I spend just as much time caring for my animals and making sure they are comfortable and ready for the next show.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. One of the biggest highlights of my 4-H dairy career was this year when my milking cow was named overall grand champion at the Sioux County Fair.

Tell us about your family’s farm. At the end of 2021, our family transitioned from a double-6 milking parlor to four Lely robotic milkers. March 2024, we added a fifth robot. We also feed our own heifers and bottle calves. My dad and uncle are both hoof trimmers, so they are often away during the day. My grandpa usually feeds the cows. When he is gone, I get the opportunity to take over that job. Otherwise, I spend a lot of time bale shredding, greasing equipment, loading manure, power washing equipment and cleaning up anything else on the farm.

Kiley Kalthoff

13 years old

Albany,

Minnesota

70 cows

Stearns County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy project. I had a Holstein cow, a Brown Swiss spring yearling and a red-and-white winter calf. This was my third year showing.

What do you enjoy about showing dairy cattle? I really like spending time with them and being around them.

What was the routine for preparing your animal? It’s a lot of patience. I get the halter on them, get them used to being around people and walk them around. We used to use a comb and blow dryer to get the heifer’s topline, but now we use a topline brush, and that makes a world of difference. With the winter calf, it was our first year showing. A couple weeks before the fair, I did some finishing touches, and it was really quick, but we performed well. For my other two, they have been to the fair previously, so they were a lot easier.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? It’s helped me with patience, that’s for sure. It helped me understand how much work it takes to keep the animals clean and cared for.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I walk around with friends and look at the other cattle and livestock that are there. I played cards a lot this year, too.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. It definitely would be this year when my cow got into the blue auction ribbon; she’s going to the state fair.

Tell us about your family’s farm. We milk around 65 to 70 cows throughout the whole year. We have two Swiss heifers; those are the only Swiss we have because we bought them last spring for showing, so they were specifically bought for that. We also have some chickens.

Leroy
Elsenpeter

11 years old

Maple Lake,
Minnesota

220 cows

Wright County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. My calf's name is Maple. She is a Holstein fall calf. I got reserve champion on my dairy interview, but I didn't do very well in showmanship because my calf would not stand still.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cattle because it's fun and I am proud when my calf does well.

What was the routine for preparing your animal? First, I picked out my calf, got her on the halter, and trained her to the halter. I had to wash her, clip her and tag her. Then I got her on the trailer and brought her to the fair.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? It shapes what I like doing. I'm more interested in the cows and have made new friends.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I stayed around the cattle and helped maintain them. I fed and watered them and picked up their manure. I also walked around the other animal barns, went to the exhibit barn, watched the combine derby, went on some rides and walked around machinery hill.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. Showing animals last year was a highlight. I did really well showing and got good placings. I like seeing when our farm does well too.

Tell us about your family’s farm. Our farm milks 220 cows. They are Holsteins, crossbreds and three or four Jerseys. It is a partnership between my dad, Dan, and my uncle, Luke. Our milk goes to Organic Valley. It is a great experience living on a farm because I like to help drive a tractor, rake hay, bunch bales and merge hay. My favorite part of our operation is helping chop silage in the fall.

Adriana Swanson

14 years old

Litchfield, Minnesota

800 cows

Meeker County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. I have a Brown Swiss senior yearling named Wildflower, a Red & White Holstein named Aezley, and a Jersey-Holstein cross named Remi.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I like to show because it's fun to be at the fair with all my animals and see people I haven't seen in a while.

What was the routine for preparing your animal? Every day, I take them out for a walk and feed them their feed. Then, I rinse them off and put them back in their pens.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? It has helped me learn responsibility and how to take care of animals.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I hang out with my friends in the barn, and we talk and play games.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. A highlight of my career was when I bought my first show heifer, Aezley.

Tell us about your family’s farm. We milk a little over 800 cows and have about 100 bottle calves. I help feed grain to all the calves and also give hay, water and grain to all our fair heifers. I also help with baling hay and hauling bales. We chop corn for silage for the cows and cut alfalfa fields to make hay bales.

Kamrie Mauer

17 years old

Brownton, Minnesota

35 cows

McLeod County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy project. I show registered Holsteins, Jerseys, Ayrshires and Brown Swiss. Throughout the year, I care for my animals by feeding, washing, clipping, training and preparing them for the show ring. I enjoy learning about genetics, herd management and proper care while continually working to improve my skills as a dairy herdswoman and exhibitor.

What do you enjoy about showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cattle because every animal teaches me something new. I love the friendships I’ve made through the dairy industry and the opportunity to work towards goals with animals I’ve spent countless hours caring for. Seeing the hard work pay off in the show ring makes it even more rewarding.

What was the routine for preparing your animal? Preparation starts months before the fair with daily leading, feeding and keeping my animals in good condition. As the fair gets closer, I wash them regularly, work on training, clip them and make sure they’re healthy and ready to look their best. At the fair, they are washed, bedded, exercised and cared for several times each day.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing dairy cattle has taught me responsibility, patience, time management and perseverance. It has also helped me become more confident, develop leadership skills and build friendships with people who share the same passion for agriculture.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I enjoy spending time with friends and family, helping other exhibitors, watching livestock shows, exploring the fair and taking care of the cattle. I also like visiting with fairgoers and answering questions about the dairy industry.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. I’ve been blessed to grow up in one of the most competitive counties for dairy showmanship. For years, I always seemed to finish just short of my goal — always the bridesmaid, never the bride. A few years ago, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to win the Minnesota State Fair 4-H Showmanship.

       The summer before, a Jersey heifer was born on the Fourth of July. From the moment she arrived, I knew she was special. I named her American Pride, and she quickly became one of my favorite heifers. That winter, I poured my heart into preparing her. We spent countless hours working together, growing her hair, practicing every detail and building an unbreakable bond based on trust.

     When we arrived at the Minnesota State Fair, American Pride earned a purple ribbon and honorable mention in the Jersey show. Then came the class we had truly been preparing for — showmanship. Advancing through the first heat was an incredible feeling, but standing in the finals was something I’ll never forget. I was nervous, but I trusted my heifer, trusted the work we had put in and simply focused on doing my best. Looking back, that experience taught me that showing isn’t really about the banners or medals. It’s about setting meaningful goals, putting in the work to achieve them and gaining incredible mentors and friendships along the way.

       My state fair showmanship journey isn’t just one of my greatest 4-H highlights because of the result — it’s one of my greatest highlights because of the lessons, relationships and memories that continue to shape who I am today.

Tell us about your family’s farm. My family raises registered Holstein and Jersey cattle in Minnesota. We work together every day caring for the animals, and I have the opportunity to be involved in everything from feeding and breeding to preparing cattle for shows. Our farm has taught me the value of hard work while shaping my passion for the dairy industry and my future career goals.

Dalton O’Rourke

15 years old

Tomah, Wisconsin

120 cows

Monroe County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy project. This year I showed one Holstein winter yearling. This is my seventh year in the dairy project.

What do you enjoy about showing dairy cattle? I have met a lot of friends attending the fairs and have learned a lot of knowledge about dairy cattle.

What was the routine for preparing your animal? This year I showed the same calf as last year, so it was a little easier as she was already trained to lead. I walked and washed her frequently. I fed lots of grassy hay and adjusted the diet as necessary. I did clipping before the fair and worked the topline.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? I have gained knowledge about the dairy industry. Showing dairy is a lot of work at the fair and has helped me develop a hard work ethic.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I hang out with friends, watch the other livestock shows and attend the tractor pulls.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. One of my favorite heifers that I showed for two years recently went Excellent as a cow.

Tell us about your family’s farm. My family’s farm is located in Elroy where we milk Holsteins in a 107-cow tiestall barn. We plant and harvest all of our crops ourselves, along with maintaining equipment. I enjoy hauling manure and haylage. We are a true family farm with everyone helping out when they can. I enjoy working with my uncle, Kip, and am glad I have the opportunity to experience the farm life even though I do not live on the farm.

Ava Larrabee

12 years old

Elroy, Wisconsin

120 cows

Juneau County

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. I trained six Holstein heifers and one cow this year.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy bonding with the animals and showing them to their best potential. I get to meet new people and make new friends.

What was the routine for preparing your animals? I walked them morning and night and washed them every other day. A few months before the fair and a few days before the fair, I clip them.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing has helped teach me responsibility and dedication. I have learned that things don’t always go as planned, but you have to make the best of it.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I help watch the 4-H club’s animals and hang out with friends. I try to watch the other species show just to see if I would be interested in showing something besides dairy.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. I have worked hard in showmanship and got first place this year. This made me eligible to show in round robin, where I got to show other species.

Tell us about your family’s farm. Our family farm is a true family effort. My uncle and cousin do most of the milking and my mom takes care of the calves. My aunt, cousins and I help wherever needed.

Whitney Lundgren

15 years old

Cushing, Wisconsin

Polk County

90 cows

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. This year I took six dairy animals to our county fair. I took a summer yearling, Marshland Bulls Bel-Air, who took fourth place in her class. I also took a winter yearling, Marshland Bullseye Bagnoli, that took first place in her class. Next, I showed a fall yearling, Marshland Bullseye Bugatti, that placed first. For milking cows, I took a senior 2-year-old, Marshland Haniko BagNag, that placed first in her class. She was also the senior and grand champion Holstein and was selected as the reserve supreme champion. My Brown Swiss senior 2-year-old, Acacia Design Pepper, won her class and was the senior and grand champion for the Brown Swiss show. She was named the overall supreme champion for the dairy show. I also showed a 4-year-old Holstein, Marshland Jordy Black Country, that was fifth place in her class.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cows because it keeps me busy and I love cows. I do not sit around all summer. I also enjoy showing because I like winning or even just doing well in my classes. I love meeting new people. I have so many friends from showing dairy, even from just the fair. Showing dairy is my favorite part of the whole summer.

What was the routine for preparing your animals? We start preparing for our fair in late May or early June by picking out what animals I will be taking. Then in mid-June, all the way up to the fair, I try to walk my cows every day or every other day and wash them twice a week. When I wash my cows, I scrub everywhere with soap and get all the manure off. On Sunday or Monday before the fair, I clip all their hair off to make them look nice. When we get to the fair, we wash them all every day. On show day, I touch up the clipping, blow up their toplines using a special spray to get the hair to stay up and fluff up their tails to add a little pizzazz. The last thing I do is add final mist all over them to make them shiny. Then I show them.

How has showing dairy helped shape you? Showing dairy has taught me responsibility. It has shown me that to do good in life you have to put effort in; everything is not handed to you. It has also helped teach me more patience. Sometimes I get stuck with a crazy cow and I have to be patient with her because if I start getting upset, she will act out more. Showing dairy has definitely helped shape me into the person I am today.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? I show three of the four days at the fair, so on Friday, the one day I am open, I clip udders and do any other touch-ups that need to be done and hang out with my friends.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. A highlight of my dairy career took place this year. It started by winning senior champion of the purebred Brown Swiss show and the grand champion. Another highlight was showing my Holstein senior 2-year-old that was named senior and grand champion of the purebred Holstein show. The next thing I knew, I was in the ring with my Brown Swiss and Holstein senior 2-year-olds going up against each other for supreme champion — and they both won. My Brown Swiss was supreme champion and my Holstein was reserve supreme. This is the biggest highlight of my dairy career, and I hope one day I might be able to do this again.

Tell us about your family's farm. I live on Marshland Farms Inc. in Cushing. I am the fifth generation of our family on the farm. My great-great-grandfather built our farm in 1919. We have a freestall barn, built in 1976, and we milk about 90 cows. We raise all our own calves and heifers here at the farm too. I hope our farm continues forever.

Tyler Quilling

15 years old

Menomonie, Wisconsin

Dunn County

52 cows

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. My 4-H dairy projects included showing two cows and three heifers at the Dunn County Fair. My 4-year-old cow placed first, my 2-year-old cow placed third, my fall yearling placed second, my winter yearling placed second and my fall calf placed sixth.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cattle because I get the opportunity to work with my animals every day. One of the most rewarding parts is earning an animal’s trust.

What was the routine for preparing your animals? On show morning, I get up early and head to the barn by 5 a.m. I washed all five of my cattle, then fed them hay and grain while they dried. Once they were dry, I started preparing the toplines on my heifers. For my cows, I finish by applying baby oil gel to their udders so they shine and are ready for the show ring.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing dairy animals has helped shape me by teaching me that hard work pays off in the end. Even the jobs I may not always want to do, like washing or clipping, are worth it because I feel proud once the work is finished and my animal is ready to show.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? On non-show days at the fair, I like hanging out with my friends, walking around the fairgrounds and enjoying some fair food.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. A highlight of my 4-H dairy career was winning the junior show at the Dunn County Fair in 2024 with my fall yearling, Reign. Another special moment was winning senior showmanship at the Dunn County Fair in 2026. Both accomplishments mean a lot to me because they show the hard work and time I have put into my dairy project.

Tell us about your family’s farm. We operate a third-generation dairy farm on 255 acres in Dunn County. Our farm is home to a dairy herd of 52 milking cows and about 50 youngstock. We also raise alfalfa and corn to help feed our cattle.

Morgan Travis

16 years old

Belvidere, Illinois

Boone County

120-140 cows

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. I am showing eight animals this year: one dairy steer and seven dairy cows.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I enjoy showing dairy cattle because of the bond you can make with an animal. From spending time with them to feeding and grooming them, it is such a great feeling at the end of the day. Every day, you can see the hard work you have done paying off, which could be anything from a clean pen to a clean cow. No matter what, you see progress every day. One of my favorite things about showing dairy cattle will always be seeing how far I have come over the years and also the responsibility that comes with it at such a young age.

What was the routine for preparing your animals? Over the past few months, my routine has changed as we get closer to the fair. I will get all my animals out more often, washing and walking all of them. One of the things I like to do is make sure I know my animals won’t hurt anyone, so I get them out around kids, loud noises and big, moving machines, so when it comes time for the fair, nothing is new to them.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing dairy cattle has shaped me into the person I am today. It has taught me to be responsible because my animals depend on me every day, no matter the weather or how busy life gets. It has taught me that success comes from hard work and dedication, not just what happens in the show ring. Showing is also helping me become more confident when talking to judges, answering questions or competing against other exhibitors. I’ve learned to believe in myself and stay calm under pressure, and I’ve learned that every show is a chance to improve, even if I don’t win.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? A non-show day for me looks like this: me in the barn for most of the day, watching animals, taking care of them or sleeping.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. I think the highlight of my 4-H career is the showmanship class we have. I always work my best to be great at showmanship, and every year, it is displayed in the show ring when I get that champion showmanship banner hung above my animals.

Tell us about your family’s farm. My family milks around 120-140 cows with two milking Lely robots. We also run a huge farm stand all year round with sweet corn, many vegetables, beef and more small goods. We got milking robots two years ago; before that, my sister and I milked in a tiestall barn that held 38 head with 100 cows milking at the time. We spent hours milking before and after school, and when the fair came around, we spent even more time getting our animals ready.

Vivian Lichty

16 years old

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Dodge County

20 cows

Tell us about your 4-H dairy projects. I am very involved in the dairy project at the county, state and national levels. I started out with Holsteins and then invested in some Jerseys. Over the years, I’ve also shown Brown Swiss and Milking Shorthorns. This year, I’m showing four heifers at the county fair: a Jersey winter calf named In-style Victorious Mad Love, a Holstein winter calf named In-style Image SweetNSour, and a Holstein fall calf named In-style Pazzle Black Label that goes back to the very first calf my mom bought when she was 12, Hagemans Raider Bessa. I am also showing a Brown Swiss summer yearling named Edge View T Sassy ETV. In addition, I’m teaching two young girls who live near us how to show calves; they are showing heifers from our farm. Since we have our own hobby farm where we milk cows, I’m involved in the full lifespan of my dairy-project animals from breeding and birth to the milking herd and cull process. I really enjoy doing herd health on our farm and with my show animals because I want to be a large-animal veterinarian.

Why do you enjoy showing dairy cattle? I love good-looking dairy cattle. In addition, showing dairy cattle has connected me to a group of people from throughout the U.S. who share my same passion and have the same goals. It’s a wonderful network.

What was the routine for preparing your animals? At home, I spend almost every day, year-round, exercising and rinsing or washing my show heifers. In addition, I’ve recently been putting more effort into training myself about the nutrition part of raising show heifers. At shows, I help more with feeding and filling, while my friend, Sevanna Fairbank, is more involved with clipping and fitting.

How has showing dairy animals helped shape you? Showing dairy cattle has led me to the next level of responsibility because they’re live animals; they need to be cared for every day. It has also taught me to set goals and work toward achieving them. Both of these things help me in other aspects of life as well.

How do you pass the time at the fair on non-show days? On non-show days, I’m usually watching my show cattle so they stay clean, fed and hydrated. However, if I have free time at shows, I like to hang out with my friends and family, making new memories.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career. The highlight of my 4-H dairy career is seeing heifers I’ve bred, owned, leased, and/or boarded place in the top 10 at World Dairy Expo and going on to achieve All-American nominations.

Tell us about your family’s farm. My family milks 20 cows on our small dairy farm outside of Beaver Dam. We milk in a tiestall barn using DeLaval automatic take-offs. In addition, we raise around 30 youngstock, including our show herd and those we board for others in the industry.