Five Goodhue County Junior Holstein members were among 100 youth that participated in the 2023 Minnesota Junior All-Breeds Dairy Convention. The convention is open to dairy enthusiasts through age 21 and was held at the Empire Event Center/Best Western hotel in Rochester March 17-19. Those attending from the county were Evelyn, Matthew and Ben Scheffler (Zumbrota), Connor McGowan (Pine Island), and Brianna Fitzgerald (Goodhue).
The convention is a very hands-on, interactive event where youth from across the state gather and get to know each other and learn about the dairy industry. The weekend activities included dairy knowledge bowl, jeopardy and other competitions, educational workshops, and free time for swimming and games. Kids were bused in two groups to Sheeknoll farm South of Rochester where they learned more about dairy nutrition and showmanship in addition to viewing the animals.
Saturday night’s highlight was a banquet featuring keynote speaker, Donna Moenning of Midwest Dairy Association. Winners of the weekend’s competitions were announced and each breed organization presented special awards including scholarships. Evie Scheffler was awarded a Holstein scholarship and was also on the second place senior dairy bowl team along with Brianna Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald also placed third in the senior Jeopardy competition. Matt Scheffler was a member of the second place junior dairy bowl team. A DJ provided music for the dance that followed the banquet.
The convention concluded on Sunday following the business meeting, committee reports and election of officers. Evie Scheffler was voted onto the junior Holstein board and will serve as the organization’s secretary for the coming year.
See all the convention photos on the Minnesota Junior Holstein Facebook page. For more information on the organization visit www.mnholstein.com under the Juniors tab. For questions about the Goodhue County club, contact advisor, Beth Brekke at thecowchick@yahoo.com.
