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Brennan Topp, Orrville, Ohio, and Abigail Grimm, Milaca, Minn., have been selected as the 2019 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 two paid internships each year, one on-farm and the other with Jersey Marketing Service.

JMS Internship Recipient: Brennan Topp

Brennan Topp will begin his internship with Jersey Marketing Service on May 22. He will assist with the preparation, staging and wrap-up work for the company’s public auctions, online and private treat sales including the 62nd National Heifer Sale, June 28 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Brennan is a student at the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (OSU-ATI) and will graduate in 2020 with an associate of applied science degree in dairy production and management. He actively works with registered dairy cattle on his family’s dairy, Toppglen Farms, and others while being at school. His responsibilities include assisting with the daily chores, management, feeding, milking and fitting show stock.

Since his youth, Brennan has participated in the show ring and dairy judging activities on the local, state and national levels. In 2018, he placed among the overall top 10 in the Post-Secondary Dairy Judging Contest at World Dairy Expo.

Farm Experience Recipient: Abigail Grimm

Abigail Grimm’s internship supported by the Fred Stout Experience Fund will be at Broumley Dairy, Hico, Texas with a focus on herd management, something she hopes to pursue in her professional career.

Abigail is a freshman at Ridgewater College majoring in dairy management. Since 2012, she has worked as an assistant herd manager at Brickton Genetics where she oversees the herd’s feeding, youngstock records and reproduction. Over the years Abigail has had the opportunity to work with different crews at a national Jersey shows and sales. She has also exhibited her own Registered Jerseys at local, state and national levels. At the 2017 World Dairy Expo she placed third in the Youth Fitting Contest.

An active FFA member, Abigail received her Minnesota State Degree in 2018. That same year she placed second in the state’s Dairy Placement Proficiency. She helped restart Minnesota’s Parish IV Jersey Association and ran for state Jersey Queen, an experience she plans to repeat.

Abigail is a member of the upcoming Class VI of Jersey Youth Academy which will be held July 14-19 in Columbus, Ohio.

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); Amy Maxwell, Iowa, and Joseph Fjarlie, Wisconsin (2011); Robert McGarry, Vermont, and Lyman Rudgers, New York (2012); Meagan Bolen, Ohio, and Wyatt Smith, Minnesota (2013); Meagan Chittenden, New York, and Olivia Pearson, North Carolina (2014); Gerret Boer, Texas, and Tyler Stiles French, South Carolina (2015); and Laura Bell, Tennessee, and Austin Woods, Wisconsin (2016); Tyler Kirchdoerfer, Missouri and Blake Koehn, Oklahoma (2017); and Amanda LoRusso, Connecticut (2018).

The Fred Stout Experience Fund is among 13 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 2019-20 academic scholarships will be available May 1 on the USJersey website and are due July 1, 2019. Applications for the 2020 Stout Experience Awards are accepted through December 1, 2019. For more information, visit USJersey.com, or contact the AJCA Communications Department at (614) 861-3636 or email info@usjersey.com.