Eight junior members of the American Jersey Cattle Association displayed impressive depth of breed knowledge and engaging presentation styles during the sixth national Jersey youth public speaking contest, TalkJersey.
The contest, offering cash awards sponsored by ABS Global Inc., De Forest, Wis. Contestants could speak about any topic related to Jersey cattle or Jersey milk, including current affairs and dairy industry trends. Presentations were scored on content and organization (25 points), language and voice (10 points), presentation (5 points), and total effectiveness (5 points). Each contestant received written evaluations from each member of the judging panel.
Rankings in each division were as follows.
Division I (7-10 years)
1. Katarina Emerich, Mooers, N.Y., “The Importance of Animal ID”
Division II (11-13 years)
1. Allison Foster, Portage, Wis., “Why Jerseys”
2. Gerret Boer, Dalhart, Texas, “Heat Stress and the Brown Cow”
Division III (14-16 years)
1. Sydney Endres, Lodi, Wis., “The Queen of Cows: Jerseys”
2. Meghan Skiba, Cambridge, Minn., “Jerseys: A Dairy Good Fortune”
3. Ben Grammer, Sebring, Ohio, “Why Go With Jerseys”
Division IV (17-20 years)
1. Kara A. Maxwell, Donahue, Iowa, “Sexed Semen”
2. Kaitlyn Riley, Gays Mills, Wis., “Spreading Word about the Farming Industry”