When the final points were tallied, the students from Kaskaskia College earned 78 points more than the next best team, netting them first-place honors in the International Post-Secondary Judging Contest held at World Dairy Expo. Their team stood second in oral reasons.
Kaskaskia was led by teammates Rosalee Zehr and Addison Raber, who finished second and third overall, respectively. The pair ended the day first and second in the Guernsey breed, and Zehr was also first in Holsteins while Raber won the Milking Shorthorn breed individually. Additionally, Zehr won the overall placings-only competition.
Kaskaskia teammate Zach Paul finished ninth overall and first individually in Ayrshires. Chloe Haas rounded out the team that was coached by Aaron Heinzmann.
The placing was much closer between second and third place, with The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI) sneaking ahead of SUNY Cobleskill by two points. Modesto Junior College finished in fourth place, while SUNY Morrisville was the fifth team overall. Ten teams competed in the contest this year.
Individually, SUNY Cobleskill’s Erin Curtis had an outstanding day. She won the overall contest, placing first in both the Brown Swiss and Red and White breeds and third overall in the placings-only portion. In addition, she talked her way to the top to become the winner of oral reasons, too. Her team from SUNY Cobleskill, coached by Carrie Edsall, earned top reasons honors. Kaskaskia was the second high reasons team, followed by The Ohio State University ATI in third, SUNY Morrisville in fourth, and Michigan State Ag Tech in fifth.
Earning third-place honors individually in reasons was Gracelyn Krahn, representing Linn Benton Community College in Oregon. The Ohio State University ATI’s Rachel Sherman was fourth in reasons, while Tesika Kilmer from SUNY Cobleskill captured fifth place.
Following Curtis, Zehr, and Raber as the top three individuals overall, in fourth place was Aspen Silva from Modesto Junior College. Marissa Topp of The Ohio State University ATI was fifth overall.
Kaskaskia College also led the way In the Post-Secondary Practical Contest, capturing first-place honors. Following in second place was The Ohio State University ATI Team #2, and Northeast Iowa Community College was third in the competition that was held the evening before the judging contest.
Hoard’s at Expo is sponsored by Agri-Plastics Group of Companies
The author is the senior associate editor and covers animal health, dairy housing and equipment, and nutrient management. She grew up on a dairy farm near Plymouth, Wis., and previously served as a University of Wisconsin agricultural extension agent. She received a master’s degree from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
