1. Dairy Judging Training Charles F. Hutchison, Ph.D. LSU AgCenter March 23 & 24, 2010

2. Objectives of Training a Dairy Judging Team  Gain a better understanding of what makes a productive and functional dairy cow  Improve observation & evaluation skills  Improve decision making skills and organizational skills  Improve critical thinking skills

3. Objectives of Training a Dairy Judging Team  Improve communication skills  Public Speaking  Speaking concisely  Taking Notes  Organizing thoughts  Being a team member  Build Self Confidence

4. Fundamentals Recognize the different breeds of dairy cattle Learn the parts of the dairy cow Learn what traits and parts are important Evaluate and compare to the ideal Learn comparative terminology Evaluate and make a decision. Prepare and organize their thoughts and decisions; and present them in a logical, clear, concise and convincing manner both orally and written.

5. State Contest Conducted at LSU AgCenter Dairy Farm on Campus All classes will be Holsteins 3 Classes of lactating cows 3 Classes of heifers Placing on all 6 classes Oral reasons on the 3 classes of cows at the 4-H Mini-farm building

6. RESOURCES www.holsteinfoundation.org CEV – videos and DVDs Other Agents Live animal training sessions

7. Breeds of Dairy Cattle 7 Major Breeds and Several Minor or Rare Breeds

8. Dairy Cattle Facts -Most were imported from Europe -Most do better in temperate climates: Milk production goes down in extreme hot weather -Most have horns: Physically removed (de-horned) when calves Few polled (born with no horns) bulls available

9. Dairy Cattle Terms ábull - Mature male dairy animal ácow - Mature female dairy; shows evidence of having produced one or more calves áheifer - female dairy animal that has not borne a calf ácalf - male or female dairy animal under one year of age áspringer – cow or heifer showing signs of pregnancy ábreed characteristics - physical traits that differentiate one breed from another

10. Dairy Cattle Terms ádairy herd improvement records (DHI) production records kept on producing dairy cattle ámammary system - parts of the cow directly responsible for producing and storing milk ádisposition - manner in which an animal acts; quiet, docile, vicious ápedigree - register of lines of ancestry

11. Dairy Cattle Terms ádairy character - characteristics indicating the animal will be useful in the dairy industry ábutterfat - percent of fat in the milk ámilk production - amount in pounds of milk that a cow produces during a lactation period álactation - span of time that a cow is giving milk áDry Cow – mature cow that is not lactating but is in late gestation.

12. Holstein Origin: Netherlands Second oldest of the pure dairy breeds Color: Black and white or red and white with markings clearly defined. Head: Clean cut proportionate to body; forehead broad and moderately dished Size: 1500 lb

13. Holstein -Largest of all U.S. Dairy Breeds -Highest Milk Producer -Lowest breed for milk components -Account for 93% of all dairy breeds in the U.S.

14. Jersey Origin: Isle of Jersey Color: usually a shade of fawn with or without white markings. Muzzle is black encircled by a light colored ring. Tongue and switch can be black, white or both. Head: clean cut proportionate to stature showing refinement; Face slightly double dished Size: 900 – 1,000 lb

15. Guernsey Origin: Isle of Guernsey Color: Shade of fawn with white markings clearly defined; a clear (buff) muzzle is preferred over a smoky or black muzzle Head: clean cut, forehead broad and slightly dished Size: 1100 – 1150 lb

16. Ayrshire Origin: Scotland Color: Light to deep cherry red, mahogany, brown or a combination of any of these colors with white or white alone Head: Clean cut, proportionate to body; forehead broad and moderately dished Size: 1200 lb

17. Brown Swiss Origin: Switzerland Color: Solid brown varying from very light to dark; muzzle is black encircled by a mealy colored ring Head: Clean cut, proportionate to body; forehead broad and slightly dished Size: 1400 lb

18. Milking Shorthorn Origin: England Color: Either red, red and white or roan Head: Clean cut proportionate to body; forehead broad and moderately dished Size: 1250 – 1350 lb

19. Red & White Origin: Holland Color: red and white Head: Clean cut proportionate to body; forehead broad and slightly dished Size: 1400 lb

20. Dairy Breeds Milk Production Facts BreedPercent ButterfatPounds ButterfatPounds Milk Prod Holstein3.6670319,185 Ayrshire3.9556914,398 Jersey4.7561813,020 Brown Swiss4.0360615,062 Guernsey4.5761113,363 Think about this? 1. Which breed produced the most total pounds of milk? Why do think this is so? 2. Why would butterfat be important to milk? 3. What breed produced the lowest total pounds of butterfat? 4. What would you think the most popular breed of Dairy cattle would be judging from this data? Why? 5. What is the definition of milk production? Why would a cow be lactating?

21. Identify the Breed(s)

28. Identify the Breed

29. Identify the Breed(s)

30. Minor Dairy Breed Dexter Origin: obscure could be cross between Devon and Kerry Native home is southern part of Ireland Mature cow weighs less than 750 lb and 36” – 42” tall

31. Minor Dairy Breed Danish Red Origin: Islands off the coast of Denmark Mature cow will weigh about 1,400 lb and gives about 12,000 lb milk

32. Minor Dairy Breed Dutch Belted (Lakenvelder) Origin: Holland The Dutch Belted breed flourished in the U.S. as a dairy breed from around 1815-1940. Today they are one of the rare breeds of livestock in North America, with fewer than 200 registered cattle in the country.

33. Minor Dairy Breed The Swedish Red-and- White is the most common dairy breed found in Sweden. It is red with small white markings.. The cows weigh around 1200 lb, and they give about 16,500 lb milk in one year. The SRB is a resilient breed of cattle and they are also used for meat production.

34. Minor Dairy Breed Milking Devon Origin: Devonshire England First imported to the U.S. in 1623 to Plymouth Colony. Triple purpose breed

35. Minor Dairy Breed Gir Origin: Southwest India Mature cow weighs about 900 lb and produces about 3,500 lb. Dual purpose breed

36. Dairy Breeds Parts of a Dairy Cow

37. Dairy Breeds Parts of a Dairy Cow Quiz

38. Parts of the Cow

39. Lets Practice!  Look at each cow and think about the parts of the Unified Scorecard.  Then write down several things that you like or dislike about that cow.  Finally, write down how you would place the pair of cows

40. Dairy Cattle Judging “Use What you have learned”  Which animal would be considered desirable?  What terms would you use to describe the differences?  Which animal shows the best general appearance?  Are these cows or heifers? Why?

41. Dairy Cattle Judging “Use What you have learned” 2Which animal would be considered desirable? 2What terms would you use to describe the differences? 2Which shows more dairy character? What are the indicators? 2What about the udder?