Next to the ball dropping in Times Square in New York on New Year's Eve, the next sure sign of a new year is the Brown Swiss class appearing on the year's first cover of Hoard's Dairyman magazine. For 85 years, Hoard's has presented its cow judging contest. This year's contest closes this Thursday on March 19.
With our long-standing history, Hoard's Dairyman added a digital twist this year. Participants can enter electronically. Using a home computer, tablet or a smartphone, participants can evaluate the classes, make their selections and submit their placings. Anyone over the age of 8 years old can enter the contest (a Hoard's Dairyman subscription is not required).
Entrants can judge as a member of a family unit, 4-H club, FFA chapter, university or ag board. And, if you are a member of many organizations, you can be on multiple teams. You enter just once, but add the group code or codes from your leader to your registration page and you are automatically added to those groups. Check out judging.hoards.com to register, and start placing the classes.
All mail-in and digital entries received will be combined, and the highest scores will be announced in the May 10 issue of Hoard's Dairyman.
Emerging as the overall winner from the thousands of entries submitted is a statistical long shot, but the fun and enjoyment of judging the cows with friends and family is the real prize everyone receives from entering the contest. Remember, you can't win if you don't enter! The deadline is midnight (CDT) Thursday, March 19, 2015.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
March 16, 2015
