World Dairy Expo birthday

We take our kids on a solo trip of their choice for their birthday every seven years. They’ve chosen places like Washington, D.C., Yosemite and the Oregon Coast. This year, Hannah turned 14, which is divisible by seven, so we asked her to pick a destination to visit within the bounds of not draining our checking account. Of all the many, many options of places to go and things to do, she chose: show an animal at World Dairy Expo.

We hadn’t been to Expo for probably eight years. Emily and I used to go every year for fun and to see friends. Then, for a couple of years, I worked the trade show when I was a sales rep for Udder Comfort. Since then, we’ve been busy with the farm or kids’ activities that week.

That’s changing this year. Hannah and I booked a room at the hotel across the street from the Expo grounds. Why not splurge a little on the accommodations if we aren’t spending more than $100 to get there? Plus, we get a free night every year at that hotel chain but rarely stay in hotels. It will be nice to be walking distance from the Expo grounds. Of all the years we attended, I don’t think we’ve ever stayed closer than a 15-minute drive away. It takes us at least five hours to get to Expo from our farm, so that doesn’t seem bad by comparison. The option to roll out of bed and be at the grounds in 10 minutes seemed like a nice birthday trip treat to give her.

Hannah really wants to show one of her Brown Swiss heifers or cows at Expo. We don’t currently have the quality of cattle or time required to be competitive at World Dairy Expo this year. We most likely would have needed to be planning the logistics and submitting paperwork and entry fees a while ago, which we did not do.

However, I found out by looking at the schedule that there was a youth showmanship contest the weekend before Expo officially opened. Hannah said that would be close enough to consider it a birthday dream trip. So, I signed her up for the youth showmanship contest after we called her super awesome 4-H dairy judging coaches to see if they had a heifer going to Expo that she could use for the contest. They didn’t just have a couple of cattle going; they were part of a 30-plus animal show string and said Hannah could help with the care of the animals and hang out with the crew. She was very excited by the opportunity to be an Expo crew member.

I remember when I was just a bit older than her, I wanted to show at World Dairy Expo, too. Showing cattle in 4-H and winning a trip to the state fair got me hooked on exhibiting cattle for quite a few years. I showed cattle in the open show at the state fair and some regional Holstein shows. Emily and I were even once part of a team running a show string of Normande cattle at the Minnesota State Fair.

The other day, when we were discussing our Expo trip, Hannah asked me whether I wanted to show there. I told her that it sure would be fun, but I never did. She now has big plans that next year we’ll bring our own string of cattle and we can both show. I think she may be getting ahead of herself, but if this trip goes how I imagine it will, it’s going to be hard to tell her no next year. When she really wants something, she has a way of making it happen one way or another.

Until next time, keep living the dream, and if you see us at World Dairy Expo, wish Hannah a happy birthday even though it was months ago. It will most likely both embarrass her and make her happy inside while scowling outwardly, which is the job of every teenage girl’s dad.

Tim Zweber farms with his wife, Emily, their three children and his parents, Jon and Lisa, near Elko, Minnesota.