Tyler Quilling of Menomonie, Wisconsin is advancing to the 2024 State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest as an Individual after scoring well at the 2024 Area Animal Science Days dairy judging competition in Shawano County. The State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest will be held on August 18th in Madison.
“I was never without my notepad and pencil when the Dunn County Dairy Judging team showed up to our farm for a practice.”
-Tyler Quilling
According to -Jill A. Jorgensen, WI Youth Development 4-H Animal Science and Agriculture Outreach Specialist University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The activity of dairy judging affords young people the opportunity to develop communication and decision-making skills they will use for a lifetime.”
Tyler has been involved in the 4-H Dairy Judging Project since he was nine years old, but according to Tyler, he would ‘judge’ with the dairy judging teams that had scheduled practices at his parents’ farm years prior until he was officially old enough to be on the Junior Team. Tyler said, “I was never without my notepad and pencil when the Dunn County Dairy Judging team showed up to our farm for a practice.”
What Tyler finds most enjoyable about dairy judging is getting to see and learn about the different types of dairy cows, but he does find things challenging at times especially when it comes to the placings. “It is really is based on opinion. The judges determine the placings and the participants decide how we see the animals and place them,” said Tyler.
This past year, Tyler has been learning how to give oral reasons during the dairy judging. At the contest in Shawano, the Juniors have the opportunity to give oral reasons. Most often, the competitors give these oral reasons with their teammates in groups of two or three. “I told the coaches I wanted to give oral reasons by myself. Of all the Juniors that participated in oral reasons, I was the only participant to give oral reasons solo,” says Tyler. In doing so, he received the championship ribbon in oral reasons for Juniors.
