New Haven--The Addison County 4-H Beef and Dairy Clinic was held May 13 at the Addison County Fair and Field Days grounds in New Haven.
The purpose of the event was to provide 4-H club members with hands-on experience for preparing their animals for the show season. Twenty-nine youths took part to learn about clipping and showmanship from experts from Vermont, Rhode Island and New York.
4-H'ers enrolled in the beef project heard from Sophia Romani about what it takes to get a beef animal ready for show day from fitting and prep to nutrition, washing and clipping. Romani is a Middlebury College student and herd manager for Harmony Meadows Farm in Chepachet, Rhode Island, her family's registered belted galloway operation.
The dairy members heard from two presenters. Justine Kelsey from Canastota, New York, discussed showmanship and nutrition. Cole Goodhue, a former Vermont 4-H'er from Franklin, demonstrated clipping. After the presentations, the 4-H'ers worked with their own heifers to practice clipping and showing. Goodhue, 4-H leaders and older 4-H members helped the younger ones clip their animals.
Participants were:
- ADDISON: Paige Chamberlain, Torrey Hanna, Logan Kirkpatrich
- BRIDPORT: Colten Butler, Rowdy Pope
- BRISTOL: Hailey and Mackenzie Chase
- FERRISBURGH: Roxanne Griffin, Lola Rollins, Eleianna Venables-Vogel
- NEW HAVEN: Lacey Barber, Christopher Brown, Brailey Livingston, Bella Roell
- ORWELL: Emma and Claira Lucas, Boston and Isabella Wilbur
- PANTON: Caroline and Tom Allen, Jayden Ploof, Kylee and Sophee Shepard
- SHOREHAM: Gabby Ellis, Ella Pope
- VERGENNES: Poet Dole
- WHITING: Taryn Burns; Sutton and Tenly Chittenden
The clinic was organized by Martha Seifert, University of Vermont Extension 4-H educator for Addison County. She can be contacted at (802) 656-7547 or martha.seifert@uvm.edu to learn more about the county's 4-H beef and dairy programs.