The contest recognizes outstanding achievement by junior Jersey owners in four areas: work with Registered Jerseys™, related dairy activities, relative progress, and future goals. They were selected from 15 outstanding youth nominated by state Jersey associations, based on their cumulative record through December 31, 2018.

The American Jersey Cattle Association will present cash awards totaling $4,500, including $750 to the contest winner, at the Junior Banquet held in conjunction with The All American Junior Jersey Show.

The Top Three Honorees

Ranked first was Catherine Savage of Dickerson, Md., a dairy science major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in her junior year. She has plans to make her career in the dairy industry while continuing to breed, manage and show her own Registered Jersey herd. At school she is involved with numerous dairy activities, and was awarded the AJCA’s Cedarcrest Farm Scholarship for her educational endeavors. She is active with the Maryland Jersey Cattle Club, having served as both Maryland Jersey Queen and Princess. Catherine was also a member of Class V of Jersey Youth Academy.

Gracie Krahn of Albany, Ore., placed second in the contest. She owns and manages a herd of 20 Registered Jerseys on her family’s operation, Royal Riverside Farms, which includes on-farm milk processing and bottling. Currently a senior at Santiam Christian High School, Adair Village, Ore., Gracie has plans to attend Oklahoma State University and pursue a degree in dairy science and ag communications. She was last year’s Premier Dairy Exhibitor at the Oregon State Fair and the Western Oregon’s Junior Jersey Show Champion Advanced Showman.

Third place was awarded to Katarina Emerich, Mooers, N.Y. She attends Purdue University studying agribusiness. Last year she placed second in the National Jersey Youth Production Contest with a homebred entry. She has also received the AJCA’s William A. Russell Memorial Scholarship and was a member of the fifth class of Jersey Youth Academy. Additionally, Katarina has also won the New England Jersey Breeder’s Association youth production contest. She is also an avid showman on the regional, state and national levels having exhibited the 2015 Reserve Junior All American Intermediate Heifer.

Rounding Out The Top 10

Ranking fourth through tenth in the contest were:

• Allison Foster of Portage, Wis., a dairy science major at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville who has received multiple AJCA scholarships and was a member of Class III of Jersey Youth Academy;
• Samantha Schuessler, Antigo, Wis., a student at California Polytechnic State University who is studying dairy science and ag communications and earned many awards in dairy judging, production contests and the showring and was a member of the fifth class of Jersey Youth Academy;
• Colin Wussow, Cecil, Wis., attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, who placed third in the 2018 Pot O’Gold Production Contest, earned several state production awards and participated in Class VI of Jersey Youth Academy;
• Erin Leach, Linwood, Kan., who has exhibited champion animal as the All American Jersey Shows, was a member of the fifth class of Jersey Youth Academy and now atttends Oklahoma State University where she works on the school’s Ferguson Family Dairy Center;
• Kylie Lehr, Canastota, N.Y., who has earned multiple production awards from her state breed association and placed among the top 10 in the 2018 National Jersey Youth Production Contest and is a sophomore at Cornell University; and
• Grace Howe of Waukon, Iowa, who served as the 2017 Iowa Jersey Princess, received the AJCA’s Anne E. Perchard Challenge Award and is an agricultural business major at Iowa State University.
• Hannah Diehl of McVeytown, Pa., a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University involved with the school’s dairy science club, on the Penn State Reproductive Research Team, and a member of Class VI of Jersey Youth Academy;

The National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest has been sponsored annually since 1957 by the American Jersey Cattle Association.

About the National Jersey Youth Programs

Organized in 1868, the Jersey association has sponsored educational programs and activities for young people interested in the Jersey breed since 1917. Junior members have the same registration privileges as Lifetime Members, and also the incentives of a comprehensive program leading to national recognition for their achievements with Jersey cattle.

These programs include:

• Free membership in the association until the youth’s 21st birthday (upon application to the association);
• The All American Junior Jersey Show in Louisville, Ky., providing the thrill of competition in the largest show of Registered Jerseys™ in the world and introductions to lifelong friends from across the United States;
• the National Jersey Youth Production Contest and Pot O’Gold sales, which create incentives for keeping production and management records;
• national scholarships that help pay for hands-on work experiences and college educations;
• the National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest, the ultimate recognition for Jersey youth between the ages of 16 and 20; and
• Jersey Youth Academy, an intensive educational program that will be conducted in 2021 in Columbus, Ohio.

The annual National Heifer Sale is the primary source of funding for the AJCA’s youth program. The 2019 sale on June 28 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., set new records with 35 lots averaging $10,308.57 and raising over $36,000 for Jersey youth programs. Additional funds are available from the Maurice E. Core Jersey Youth Fund, the Charlene Nardone National Jersey Queen Fund and scholarship funds managed by the American Jersey Cattle Association.

For More Information

For more information about the American Jersey Cattle Association’s youth programs, contact the Communications Department at 614/322-4451, or visit the USJersey web site at www.USJersey.com.