What is it All About?
The 4-H Dairy Project allows you to learn about breeds, selection, grooming, production, management, showmanship, marketing, and careers through a dairy animal.
Grow in Your Project
Starting Out
- Identify different dairy breeds
- Learn proper feeding of dairy cows
- Prepare a project animal for show by leading and caring for it.
- Learning how to properly exhibit your dairy animal and in showmanship
- Identify how a healthy calf and cow looks and acts
Learning More
- Learn the appropriate handling techniques and housing for a dairy animal
- Exploring different opportunities within the project
- Learning the difference between each of the breeds
- Exploring how the dairy cows body works
Going Further
- Balance a dairy cows ration
- Learn how to manage a cow and a new born calf
- Take a calf ang follow it to a cow
- Learn how to read a pedigree
- Properly identify and learn how to treat common diseases
- Learn how to properly fill and get your animal ready for the ring
Resources
- PDCA Dairy Showmanship Resources
- Dairy Judging Resources
- Cowabunga!, Level 1 (08161)*
- Mooving Ahead, Level 2 (08162)*
- Rising to the Top, Level 3 (08163)*
- Dairy Cattle Helper’s Guide (08164)*
*Resources available at your local Extension office or shop4-H.org.
Video Resources
- Holstein USA Showring Ready: Appearance of Your Animal and Proper Equipment
- Holstein USA Showring Ready: What to Wear and How to Act
- Holstein USA Showring Ready: Entering the Line and Posing your Animal
- Holstein USA Showring Ready: Entering the Showring and On Parade
- Holstein USA Showring Ready: Clipping Your Dairy Show Animal
Take Your Project Further!
- Tour a local dairy farm
- Visit show dairy farm
- Interview a local dairy farmer in your area
- Learn more about different dairy brands in Wisconsin
- Job shadow with a local dairy producer or veterinarian to learn more about animal management and health
- Attend a dairy show to listen to the judges oral reasons and witness different judging styles
- Participate in a dairy project workshop or be on your counties 4-H Dairy Judging or Dairy Bowl Team
- Discover different diary products and by-products
- Exhibit or attend a local, district, state, national or international shows and conferences
Applying the Dairy Project Skills to Life
Enhance Your Communications Skills
- Creating a poster about a dairy specific breed, disease or body system and talking the judge through your poster
- Having and helping out at your counties or neighboring counties Showing and Fitting Workshop
- Demonstrate show to properly put up a topline, or fit an animal
- Helping to putting together your counties educational display at Wisconsin State Fair
- Talking to the judge about your animal in the ring
- Giving oral reasons to the judge at Area Animal Science Days, State Judging contest or other judging contests
Get Involved in Citizenship and Service
- Complete a dairy presentation during June, June Dairy Month
- Volunteer at a dairy promotional event, either during or not June Dairy Month
- Your County’s Breakfast on the Farm
- Start a dairy bowl or dairy judging team with the help of an adult volunteer
- Before county far, lead a Showing and Fitting Workshop with different topics such as…
- How to put up a topline, How to fit your own animal, How to get your animal showring ready, How to properly fill your animal
- Work and Mentor a younger youth in the dairy project and teach them the ins and outs of the project
- Become Herdsmen for your county at state fair
- Advocate for the dairy industry
Learn about Leadership
- Lead other 4-H members in participating in local dairy producer events
- Arrange a dairy farm tour at your farm or another farm in the area
- Work with your animal and create a bond with them
- Become involved in state and local breed associations, and hold different leadership positions
Showing What You’ve Learned
- Participate in the 4-H dairy show at your county fair or the Wisconsin State Fair
- Create a dairy show kit (show box)
- Consider an exhibit, notebook, scrapbook or display on what you’ve learned in a dairy-related topic
- Nutritive value of cows milk
- Feeding rations
- Preventative vaccinations
- Photos of different dairy breeds
- Daily routine in caring for your animals
- Grooming techniques
- Developing a foundation for a dairy herd
- Best care of newborns
- Dairy by-products
- Impact of local foods on local economy
- Display of feeds or ration contents and analysis
- Joining a dairy bowl or judging team
- Taking on leadership roles within the dairy project or breed associations
- Video on fitting a dairy calf/cow
- Filling out the James W. Crowley Dairy Leadership Award
