Robert McGarry, Lyman Rudgers Receive Fred Stout Experience Awards

Robert T. McGarry, Enosburg Falls, Vt., and Lyman Rudgers, Attica, N.Y., have been selected as the 2012 recipients of the Fred Stout Experience Awards. The fund supporting these awards was created in 2000 in memory of Fred J. Stout Sr., Mt. Carmel, Ill., a lifelong Jersey breeder and member of the Jersey Marketing Service staff from 1978 to 1997. Stout was instrumental in the growth of JMS marketing activities, and later added duties as a type evaluator and in customer field service for the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA). Stout believed that the best learning experiences happen in the everyday world. These awards honor that conviction by providing financial support for on-farm and JMS internship experiences. JMS Internship Recipient: Robert McGarry Robert McGarry begins his internship with Jersey Marketing Service on May 21. His experience will include working on the crews at the Cow Power Sale on June 23 in Byron, N.Y., and the 55th National Heifer Sale, June 30 in Fryeburg, Maine. McGarry combines strong practical experience in dairy herd management with a passion for working with and marketing registered cattle. Growing up on his family's Holstein dairy near Enosburg Falls, Vt., Robert purchased his first Registered Jersey(tm) at age 14, and increased his herd to nine cows enrolled on the AJCA REAP program. He worked the summer of 2010 at St. Pierre Dairy in Enosburg Falls, taking care of 1,000 calves, making sure vet clinics ran smoothly, and working as a relief milker. He has also prepared cattle for shows, sales and picture sessions at seven different operations in the Mid-Atlantic states, including Kingsmill Farms and Janney Holsteins. A junior at Virginia Tech majoring in dairy science with a minor in applied agricultural economics, Robert also works in the university's Mastitis and Immunology Lab, taking blood samples from calves and cows in addition to regular lab work. He is a member of the Virginia Tech Dairy Club and worked with the Showcase Sales held in 2010 and 2011. McGarry was a member of the Vermont state 4-H dairy cattle judging team, and received the John Knapp Award in 2005 for the highest score in the Vermont State 4-H Quiz Bowl. In 2011, he was a member of the Virginia Tech dairy judging team that won at Eastern States Exposition and placed fifth in Jerseys at the NAILE Dairy Cattle Judging Contest in Lousiville, Ky. Robert's long-term ambitions are to return to the family dairy farm and work as a type evaluator for a breed association. Farm Experience Recipient: Lyman Rudgers A lifelong breeder of Registered Jerseys(tm), Lyman Rudgers of Attica, N.Y., was selected for the on-farm experience this year. He is completing his first year of studies in dairy science at the State University of New York, Morrisville. Rudgers' early work experience in the dairy business came growing up on his family's 180-head Holstein and Jersey farm. The herd was dispersed in 2005, with eight Jerseys retained for the 4-H projects of Lyman and his three younger brothers. These cattle were housed at a nearby operation dairy and Rudgers Brothers Jerseys now has 16 cows and 18 replacements. Ten of them are owned by Lyman. In 4-H, Lyman has shown at the Wyoming County Fair for the past 10 years, and twice at the New York State Fair. He has competed in the county Dairy Quiz Bowl multiple times, as well as on the dairy judging team at county, district and state levels. He has also served as an officer of Attica FFA. Over the past five years, Lyman has developed his management skills working at a calf-raising operation and three dairies in the area. For more than two years, he was the wet calf feeder at Merle Heifers LLC, managing 90-plus calves on milk in individual stalls. He currently works at Boxler Dairy Farm at Varysburg, N.Y. Lyman is taking care of fresh cows and calves at this 2,000-cow operation, in addition to entering records in DairyCOMP 305. Rudgers' plans are to complete the two-year program at Morrisville, then transfer to Cornell University. His long-term goal is to establish a new Jersey dairy operation with his family. About Jersey Youth Programs Previous recipients of the Fred Stout Experience Award are Tara Bohnert, Illinois (2003), Allison Waggoner, South Carolina (2004), Dan Bauer, Wisconsin (2005), Aaron Horst, Pennsylvania (2006), Jacob Pieper, Maryland (2007); Katie Albaugh, Maryland (2008); Brady Core, Kentucky (2009); Ivy Roberts, Florida, and Kim Wilson, Missouri (2010); and Amy Maxwell, Iowa, and Joseph Fjarlie, Wisconsin (2011). The Fred Stout Experience Fund is one of nine educational awards for Jersey youth managed by the American Jersey Cattle Association, Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Contributions to these funds are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)(3) tax deductible charitable gifts and may be made at any time during the year. Applications for 2012-13 academic scholarships are posted online at USJersey.com and must be submitted no later than Monday, July 2, 2012. Deadline to apply for the 2013 Stout Experience Awards is February 1 of next year. For more information, visit USJersey.com, or contact Dr. Cherie L. Bayer, Director of Development, at (614) 322-4456 or email cbayer@usjersey.com. 04.20.2012