FFA Participates in District 4 Dairy Judging Contest

September 29, 2009

Lynndsy Hauger and Emily Anderson between judging classes of cows.

Brandon Lawyer, Ty Alexander, Kash Poppe, Trent Johnson, Nick Nagengast, and Tyler Smith waiting for the contest to start.

On Sept 23 students from Bloomfield, Niobrara and Wausa traveled to Hartington to participate in the annual District 4 Dairy Judging contest. Although the day started out to be wet and foggy, it turned out to be a beautiful day for the contest.

In the Senior division (juniors and seniors in high school) Bloomfield's team of Ali Gieselman, Whitney Goeden, Samantha Goeden and Lynndsy Hauger placed 4th, only a few points out of 1^st place. Bloomfield’s other team placed 11^th. Wausa’s two teams placed 14^th and 17^th, while Niobrara’s team placed 8^th. Individually Ali placed 5^th, Samantha placed 12^th, Whitney placed 16^th and Tanner Schumacher placed 17^th. There were 79 participants in this division.

In the Junior division, (9^th and 10^th graders), the Niobrara team of Jacob Bathke, Alan Ruda, Clayton Hanzlik and Wade Foner placed 3^rd. Right behind them in 4^th place was the Bloomfield team consisting of Austin Hamm, Becca Broders, Emmalea Johnson, and Kylie Abbenhaus. Wausa’s freshmen team of Alex Cunningham, Samantha Key, Trevor Wakeley, and Adam Kleinschmit placed 6^th. Bloomfield's freshmen placed 8^th, while Niobrara and Wausa’s second teams placed 20 & 21. Individually Clayton Hanzlik placed 9^th, Jacob Bathke placed 12^th, Kylie Abbenhaus placed 17^th and Austin Hamm placed 23rd. There were 92 participants.

This year we added a junior high division. The Bloomfield team of Anna Moles, Lexi Hauger, Lilly Nagengast, and Kenna Fiedler proved to be the winners of this division. Niobrara’s team of Nick Castillo, Trenton Guenther, McKayla Eisenhauer, and Shane Hrbek placed 4^th. Niobrara’s second team placed 11^th, while Bloomfield’s second team placed 5^th. Several Bloomfield individuals also placed in the top twenty.

Over-all, the day proved to be a very educational experience for all students who chose to participate. All of them need to be congratulated for representing themselves and the chapter very well.