state fair

Press release:

Genesee County 4-H members Bing Zuber, Tate Zuber and Annalise Sybertz competed at the 4-H Dairy Judging Contest at the New York State Fair on Aug. 26.  Their team placed third in the Junior Division of the contest.  Individually, Annalise also placed in the top ten juniors.

Dairy Judging contests teach youth to critically evaluate dairy animals based on breed standards and gain an understanding of how form affects function. Youth participating in these competitions learn the anatomy and physiology of the dairy animal and gain the capability to choose the proper animal to take in the show ring or keep for breeding on the farm. They also learn confidence and public speaking skills while defending the reasoning for their placements to the judges.

The Genesee County 4-H Program is a youth development program for youth ages 5-18.  New 4-H youth members, adult volunteers and clubs are always welcome to join.  For information about how to join the Genesee County 4-H Program, please contact the 4-H Office at genesee4h@cornell.edu or (585) 343-3040 ext. 131.  Enrollment information is also available on our website at http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth-development/how-to-join-4-h

Submitted photo.  Tate Zuber, Bing Zuber, Annalise Sybertz.

Press release:

More than 800 pounds of butter has arrived at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y., as construction of one of Central New York’s best-kept secrets and most beloved attractions gets underway – the 54^th Annual American Dairy Association North East Butter Sculpture, sponsored by Wegmans.

Sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton unpacked the butter and their tools and have begun work on the sculpture. The butter comes from Batavia, N.Y.-based producer O-AT-KA Milk Products.

The butter used for the sculpture is out of specification for retail sale for a variety of reasons, so American Dairy Association North East works with the sculptors to put it to good use by creating a beautiful piece of art that thousands enjoy.

Even after the Fair, the butter doesn’t go to waste. Instead, it will be sent to Noblehurst Farms, a dairy farm in Pavilion, N.Y., where it will be recycled into renewable energy in a digester along with other food waste.

“I really love that this iconic attraction repurposes butter not just once, but twice – first by turning unusable product into an artistic sculpture, and then after the fair, by recycling it into renewable energy on a dairy farm,” says John Chrisman, CEO, American Dairy Association North East. “I encourage fairgoers to visit the Dairy Products Building and see the annual Butter Sculpture that always pays tribute to our hardworking dairy farm families who work 365 days a year to sustainably and responsibly produce milk.”

American Dairy Association North East will unveil the 54^th Annual Butter Sculpture to the media and live on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AmericanDairyNE/ on Tuesday, August 23^rd, the day before the Fair officially opens. It will then be on display in the Dairy Products Building for the duration of the 13-day Fair.

Photo, from left: Melissa Keller, Chase Zuber and Ben Kron.

Submitted photos and press release:

Members of the Genesee County 4-H Swine Club competed in the Youth Swine Competitions at the 2018 New York State Fair.

Melissa Keller, Ben Kron, and Chase Zuber each exhibited Market Hogs and Breeding Hogs in the 4-H/youth swine competitions.

In addition to competing with their hogs, youth members were also able to participate in many other knowledge contests and public presentations.

Each contest awards points to the youth’s overall score, those points were then used to award Empire Youth Swine Scholarships.

The scholarships were presented by the New York Pork Producers.

The following Genesee County youth participated in the contest: Cheyanne Isaman, Melissa Keller, Ben Kron, and Chase Zuber.

Genesee County’s own senior 4-H member, Melissa Keller capped off her 11 year 4-H career by winning Grand Champion -- Empire Youth Swine Scholarship Winner.

There were 40 youth from across New York competing in the contest and Genesee County 4-H Swine members won several top-five placings in the different contest areas. 

Senior Project Records:

• Melissa Keller -- 1^st
• Ben Kron – 3^rd

Senior Interviews:

• Melissa Keller -- 1^st

Knowledge Swine Review/ Quiz:

• Senior Division -- Melissa Keller -- 1^st
• Junior Divisions -- Cheyanne Isaman -- 3^rd

Public Presentations:

• Senior Division -- Melissa Keller -- 1^st
• Junior Division -- Chase Zuber -- 5^th

Senior Swine Judging:

• Senior Division -- Melissa Keller -- 1^st
• Junior Division -- Chase Zuber -- 3^rd

Senior Skillathon:

• Melissa Keller -- 2^nd  

Educational Poster:

• Senior Division- Melissa Keller -- 1^st
• Junior Division- Chase Zuber -- 5^th

Top 10 in Each Division:

• Division A:  Melissa Keller – 1^st, Grand Champion
• Division B:  Cheyanne Isaman -- 6^th place

Congratulations Genesee County 4-H Swine Club Members on Doing your Best at the 2018 New York State Fair!  To learn more about Genesee County 4-H visit: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/

Photo: Emily Mikel and her cow, Bingo, received the award for 2018 4-H Holstein Master Showman at the New York State Fair in Syracuse.

Submitted photo and press release:

Genesee County 4-H’er Emily Mikel, of Pavilion, finished her 4-H career with top honors at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse.

This year marks Emily Mikel’s 11th and final year in the Genesee County 4-H program.

Emily has been active in both the 4-H Dairy Club and 4-H Swine Club. She has shown great leadership and passion for both 4-H and the dairy industry. Her honors also include being named Genesee County Dairy Queen in 2015.

She is a prime example of the leaders that the 4-H program annually graduates.

In her final season of 4-H, Emily exhibited her quality Holsteins at the 2018 New York State Fair. She won many awards with her animals including Grand Champion.

Emily competed against more than 40 4-H’ers from across the state for title of 2018 4-H Holstein Master Showman. After facing tough competition, Emily and her cow, Mikelholm Dempsy Bingo,won it all.

Congratulations to Emily as the 2018 4-H Holstein Master Showman at the New York State Fair.

To learn more about Genesee County 4-H visit: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/

Dairy Challenge Team (from left): Jillian Brewer, Renee Uberty, Maggie Winsper, Amelia Brewer.

Submitted photos and press release:

Several youth from the Genesee County 4-H Dairy Club competed at two dairy events held at the New York State Fair in Syracuse.

The Dairy Challenge contest was held on Aug. 23 and is a contest in which youth are quizzed at stations on different dairy topics such as: nutrition, anatomy, physiology, and product/equipment knowledge.

Genesee County 4-H Junior Team participants were: Amelia Brewer, Jillian Brewer, Maggie Winspear and Renee Uberty.

The Dairy Judging Contest was held on Aug. 24 and allowed youth to be the judge; scoring animals on dairy character and functionality and structural correctness of the animals.

The following youth represented Genesee County 4-H:

Novice Teams 

Genesee Team 1: Caroline Luft, Maggie Winspear, Bing Zuber -- Second Place

Genesee Team 2: Adison Norton, Renee Uberty -- Fifth Place

Novice Individuals

Bing Zuber -- Fourth Place

Adison Norton -- Sixth Place

Caroline Luft -- Seventh Place

Maggie Winspear – 12th Place

Renee Uberty – 14th Place

Junior Team

Amelia Brewer, Georgia Luft, Mason Werth, Claire Mathes, Jillian Brewer) – Eighth Place

Junior Individuals

Amelia Brewer -- 21st Place

Georgia Luft -- 24th Place

Mason Werth -- 34th Place

Claire Mathes -- 41st Place

Jillian Brewer -- 49th Place

Senior Individual

Mary Sweeney -- Sixth Place -- Individual and Fourth Place -- Reasons.

Mary will return with the top 25 contestants, for a second round of the contest on Sept. 1. She will be competing for a spot on the New York State 4-H Dairy Judging team to represent New York at a National Competition in Madison, Wis., World Dairy Expo.

We are very proud of all the our youth for competing at the state level and look forward to going back for next year’s competition. Thank you to our 4-H Dairy Club Volunteers who helped make this opportunity possible.

Dairy Judging Team -- back row: Amelia Brewer, Maggie Winspear, Renee Uberty, Jillian Brewer, Mason Werth, Adison Norton; Front row -- Georgia Luft, Bing Zuber, Caroline Luft.