The Brown Swiss Association has selected five youth to compete for the youth achievement title at the Brown Swiss National Convention held in Peoria, Ill., June 25-27.The National Youth Achievement Winner is an individual who does outstanding work in the Brown Swiss breed.

C AchenpixtChristy Achen, Warner, S.D., is the 17-year-old daughter of Craig and Cindy Achen. She and her family milk 1,200 cows and Christy is very involved on the farm. Christy says, "My involvement with the Brown Swiss breed started with my first 4-H project and has developed into a passion." She has been involved in both her state and the national association for 8 years. Christy also owns Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns. Her future plans include attending a four year college and running a dairy of her own.



S Harn pixtSara Harn, Brooklyn, Wis. is the 19-year-old daughter of Darrin and Michele Harn. She is double majoring in Dairy Science and Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sara shows her Brown Swiss cattle under the Kalos prefix. In the past, Sara has been very involved in Dairy Judging through 4-H and has been on National Championship teams. Sara is currently the 2013 National Brown Swiss Youth Ambassador; a role she says has only confirmed her passion for the Brown Swiss breed. After graduation, Sara plans to have a career marketing dairy cattle genetics internationally.



E Regusci pixtElise Regusci, Modesto, Calif., is the 16-year-old daughter of John and Carol Regusci. She is a junior at Ripon Christian School and is very involved in FFA, the California Holstein Association, and her family farm, Top diMark Brown Swiss. She says, "I have always loved working and being around cows." This is shown in her involvement on the family farm, milking, feeding, working with show cows, registering, and record keeping. Elise has a twin sister, Elisabeth, and an older brother, John. After completing high school, Elise plans to attend a 4-year college to major in Agriculture Communications.



C Skidmore pixtChelsea Skidmore, Union City, Ohio, is the 18-year-old daughter of Sandy Skidmore and the step-daughter of John Powell. She is involved in North Lane Farm, breeding, raising, showing, and selling Brown Swiss cattle. She enjoys dairy judging, soils judging, public speaking, and farm-business management contests in FFA and considers showing cows as her main hobby. Chelsea won the 2013 National FFA Dairy Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award. In the future, Chelsea hopes to attend the Ohio State University or the Ohio State University Technical Institute for an animal science or dairy science degree.



N Wright pixtNicole Wright, Watertown, Wis., is the 18-year-old daughter of Mark and Linda Wright. She resides on her family farm, Mar-Linda-K Holsteins and shows her Brown Swiss under the Nik Nak prefix. Nicole will be graduating from Watertown High School where she was very involved in FFA Dairy Judging and has held leadership positions. She was the 2013 Wisconsin Brown Swiss Queen. This fall, Nicole will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course program. Nicole says that she has a passion for the dairy industry and she would like to continue to develop her Brown Swiss herd in the future.


To participate in the Youth Achievement contest, a youth must be a Brown Swiss National Junior member as defined by owning or leasing a registered Brown Swiss animal and 9-21 years of age by Jan. 1 of the current year. For more information contact Junior Advisor Charlotte Muenzenberger at cmuenzenberger@brownswissusa.com, call the Brown Swiss Association at 608-365-4474 or visit the website: www.brownswissusa.com.

The Brown Swiss Association was established in 1880, registers about 10,000 animals per year and serves about 1800 combined Adult and Junior Members.
BSCBA * 800 Pleasant Street * Beloit, WI 53511
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5.29.2014