In December 1974, Hoard's Dairyman published, "How do you score in dairy knowledge?" on its Young Dairymen page. The quiz featured 51 questions based on articles that had appeared in the magazine during that calendar year. Since that first quiz, the December Young Dairymen tradition has remained strong.
In introducing the quiz, the editors at the time noted: "We are often asked what it will take to become a successful dairyman. While we don't have all the answers, it is quite obvious that tomorrow's dairyman will have to be intelligent. He will need to understand the many areas that affect his business. If you are considering a career in the dairy industry, there is no better time to start learning than now."
"Hopefully, you will have fun working through this exercise. In addition, it may help you determine in which of the dairy areas you have the greatest "expertise" or lack of it."
The quiz featured general knowledge, cows, crops, feeds and feeding, milk marketing, breeding, buildings and equipment and herd health sections. In studying this early quiz, while many of the overall categories continue to remain the same, the changes in the questions reflect the breadth of knowledge we have gained since that time.
This year's quiz, the 40th annual Young Dairymen Quiz, features questions from articles that appeared throughout 2014. And we're inviting you to take part in an online quiz contest. Starting December 10, these same questions will be available online at www.hoards.com/2014quiz. After creating a log in, take the quiz and submit your answers. The contest is open to those 18 years old and younger and will close on December 31.
Each individual earning a perfect score will have his or her name entered to win a Foster Mothers of the Human Race print. One winner will be chosen. Quiz answers will appear on the Farm Flash page in our January 10, 2015, issue.
The author, Amana Smith, is an associate editor and an animal science graduate of Cornell University. Smith covers feeding, milk quality and heads up the World Dairy Expo Supplement. She grew up on a Medina, N.Y., dairy, and interned at a 1,700-cow western New York dairy, a large New York calf and heifer farm, and studied in New Zealand for one semester.
