9 minute read
A BALANCING ACT
Dairy judging coach, professor, mom, wife, business owner, and farmer are just a few of the words used to describe this multi-talented individual. Carrie Edsall, the dairy judging coach at SUNY Cobleskill, grew up on a generational dairy farm. In her youth, she could be seen as the little girl pulling around the calves she wished she could show, until she was 13 when she enrolled in 4-H. Edsall enjoyed showing her family’s registered Holsteins and Brown Swiss at her local shows and fairs. She gives credit to her interest in 4-H Dairy Judging that allowed her to go to so many places and helped her build confidence within herself and her opinions. Carrie Edsall resides in Cobleskill, New York where she owns and operates Black Willow Pond Farm, a diversified livestock farm that focuses on pasture-raised meats. Edsall is employed at SUNY Cobleskill as an Animal Science professor and has been coaching the Dairy Cattle Judging Team and advising the Dairy Cattle Club since 2015. She runs the farm with her husband, Dan, and her two sons, Luke and Jacob. Both of her sons participate in 4-H in a wide variety of projects. The main focus is dairy, but show pigs and show rabbits also make guest appearances! Luke has an intense interest in tractors, equipment, and welding. Jacob, whilst twisting Edsall’s arm, has acquired a few Guernseys to show. When it became time to choose what she would do after high school, it was with no shadow of a doubt that Edsall would choose to pursue a degree in Animal Science. She attended both SUNY Morrisville and Cornell University, which gave her a well-rounded exposure to the dairy industry in various different ways. “The connections I made in college continue to be so beneficial to this day. My lifelong friends came from my college days,” Edsall said, which many people in the industry can relate so closely to. Edsall made the judging teams at both colleges, which gave her the opportunity to travel, meet breeders, and compete in national contests.
Staying involved and encouraging the youth of the industry is something Edsall is passionate about and she continues to find ways to do just that. After her years at college, she was presented with a position as herd manager and then fell into Cooperative Extension. Edsall worked in Extension for both Cornell and North Carolina State. Within those years, she worked closely with farmers and niche marketing - farmers that were “thinking outside the box.”
In 2009, Edsall moved back to her home state of New York to “practice what she preached.” Her farm has concentrations in pasture-raised meats such as poultry, pork, meat rabbits, grass-fed lamb and laying hens. And in recent years, she has been working with her family’s dairy to raise beef, veal, and marketing of their dairy products including milk, cheese curds, and yogurt. Roughly 90% of the products marketed are sold as retail. Edsall attends weekly, year-round farmers markets in addition to shipping meats from their website (blackwillowpondfarm.com), and what they sell out of their farm store front. The wholesale products are marketed towards many local stores as well as local restaurants featuring specialty items. They are best known for their pastured chicken and Berkshire pork as well as their escalating flock of Katahdin hair sheep. The rabbit has always been unique and they hold a special spot for Edsall as she has been raising them since she was eight. The store has come a long way, starting out like many great companies in their former Carrie Edsall with her husband Dan, and sons Luke and Jacob.
garage. At first the store was used as a place to organize products for customer orders and to prepare for markets, but their small business has grown and is still growing! During the onset of Covid-19, Edsall and her family found it very important to help the farm store flourish. Their online sales of products grew immensely in a short period of time. Every business has its challenges, and with off-farm jobs, kids sports schedules, and the daily demands and unknowns of the farm, it became a balancing act. One of the biggest learning curves Edsall has hit along the way with the farm store is shipping products. She found that shipping the meats was a “gamechanger,” but rapidly became unpredictable and time consuming. A challenge people across the dairy industry seem to be quickly realizing is the bottling and sales of fluid milk. The harsh reality of how little money can be made from fluid milk sales is hard for any passionate dairy farmer to swallow, but Edsall believed it was important to support an industry that supported her. She wanted to get their fresh, local milk into consumers’ hands all while giving a friendly face behind the bottle. Fortunately, since the farm already had a large following with their meats, it made sense for customers to buy dairy products as well.
Circling back to Edsall’s role in the classroom, she has taught a variety of hands-on classes while at SUNY Cobleskill. To Edsall, hands-on learning is one of the most fundamental ways to learn something, and she has had the ability to teach a variety of them! Her handson approach is believed to be an asset to the college and her students will synonymously agree. Edsall’s students, while recognizing that she is always on the go and has a full plate, greatly appreciate her farm background. As well as understanding that she is running a day to day operation and business. “And in first place, SUNY Cobleskill,” was heard many times in past years at judging contests all over. The dairy judging team, coached by Edsall since July of 2015, has had quite the success story. Edsall was called into the Dean’s office, following the retirement of Dr. John Tryon, and was handed that year’s judging team. Uncertainty of what she got herself into quickly arose, but “things just seemed to click,” Edsall said. As a youth, Edsall hated reasons, as most do. She said she was terrified to give them and she didn’t want her students to feel that way. Edsall found herself finding ways to train the students to have an eye for cattle and being able to sort them, not to just pick the best one. Encouragement along the way and building a strong foundation proved to be an important factor of Edsall’s coaching methods. What Edsall enjoys the most is working with a student who has never judged before, molding them, and watching their success blossom in the contest season. Each judging contest is so widely different it’s hard to predict the animals you will see. With that unknown, Edsall works on finding the students’ voice, focusing on terminology that works for them and building their confidence. “I do my best to solidify them with self confidence and preparation to their best,” says Edsall. Any of Edsall’s teams will say how competitive she is, and that the mentality carries on through each of them. These coaching methods have proved successful, as Edsall has set a record and coached three consecutive team wins at World Dairy Expo in the Post-Secondary contest. The most rewarding part of coaching for Edsall was the students who never officially judged, but wanted to and being able to help them win contests or place in the top five at multiple. Her students are what makes coaching worthwhile. With 2022 moving along quickly, Edsall is looking forward to getting back to “normal” on the campus of Cobleskill. The SUNY Cobleskill Dairy Fashions Sale was held on April 30th after a two-year pandemic hiatus. And of course, Edsall is awaiting another successful dairy judging season! With Edsall’s passion for the youth in the industry, and seeing them succeed, her advice is to grab every opportunity available to you; learn and gain experience as much as life allows you to; be kind and respectful to everyone you meet; and to make a great first impression. By Katelyn Poitras
Carrie Edsall, top right, has successfully coached the SUNY Cobleskill Dairy Judging team to many wins since 2015.
April 29, 2022 · Tulare, CA · Judge Mike Deaver, AZ · 118 Head
SENIOR & GRAND CHAMPION
Stoney Point Joel Bailey (Joel), 1st 5-Year-Old, Vierra Dairy, CA
RESERVE SENIOR & GRAND CHAMPION
South Mountain Voltage Radiant-ET (Voltage), 1st Lifetime Cheese Production, Misty Meadow Dairy, OR
HM SENIOR CHAMPION
Ky-Hi Craze Crazefull-P-ET (Craze), 1st 4-YearOld, Kash-In Jerseys, CA
INTERMEDIATE & HM GRAND CHAMPION
Pacific Edge Gunman Deviant-ET (Gunman),1st Senior 3-Year-Old, Pacific Edge, OR Senior & Grand Champion Stoney Point Joel Bailey, Vierra Dairy, CA. Reserve Senior & Grand Champion South Mountain Voltage Radiant-ET, Misty Meadow Dairy, OR.
RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION
Arethusa Gentry Valley (Gentry), 1st Senior 2-Year-Old, Misty Meadow Dairy, OR
HM INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION
Pacific Edge Mark Me Patron (Mark Me), 1st Junior 2-Year-Old, Pacific Edge, OR
JUNIOR CHAMPION
Whitdale Colton Ginny (Colton), 1st Winter Yearling, Vierra Dairy and T&L Cattle, CA
RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION
Rapid Bay Miss Lady Grace 8396-ET (Premier), 1st Fall Calf, Pacific Edge and Frank & Diane Borba, OR Intermediate & HM Grand Champion Pacific Edge Gunman Deviant-ET, Pacific Edge, OR. Reserve Intermediate Champion Arethusa Gentry Valley, Misty Meadow Dairy, OR.
HM JUNIOR CHAMPION
Shots VIP Shot of Love (VIP), 1st Summer Yearling, Cherrylock Cattle Co, Victoria, AUS
PREMIER BREEDER
Pacific Edge, OR
PREMIER EXHIBITOR
Misty Meadow, OR Junior Champion Whitdale Colton Ginny, Vierra Dairy and T&L Cattle, CA. Reserve Junior Champion Rapid Bay Miss Lady Grace 8396-ET, Pacific Edge and Frank & Diane Borba, OR.
Senior & Grand Champion: SV Heaths Tequila Chloe-ET (Tequila), 2nd 4-year-Old, Kamryn Kasbergen, CA
Reserve Senior & Grand Champion: JX Cache Valley Gabrielle (Gilda), 3rd Aged Cow, Xander Harris, UT
Intermediate & HM Grand Champion:
Unique Victorious Lovely (Victorious), 3rd Senior 2-Year-Old, Mason Pires, CA
Junior Show Senior & Grand Champion SV Heaths Tequila ChloeResere Intermediate Champion: SSF Colton ET, Kamryn Kasbergen, CA. Lorelia (Colton), 4th Senior 2-Year-Old, Avery, Lauren, Grace, & Claire Starr, CA
Junior Show Reserve Senior & Grand Champion JX Cache Valley Gabrielle, Xander Harris, UT.
Top quality is in little things.
Junior Champion: J-Mor Engineer Maybeline (Engineer), 1st Fall Yearling, Finley Rosa, CA
Reserve Junior Champion: Kash-In Kid Rock 64740-ET (Kid Rock), 2nd Winter Yearling, Emma Hafliger, CA
Premier Junior Exhibitor: Avery, Lauren, Grace & Claire Starr, CA
Junior Show Intermediate & HM Grand Champion Unique Victorious Lovely, Mason Pires, CA. Junior Show Junior Champion J-Mor Engineer Maybeline, Finley Rosa, CA.
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