NHC Dairy Bowl Champions share experience

National Dairy Bowl Champions share on their experiences

A four-some from Polk County won the senior division of the National Holstein Dairy Bowl Contest at the National Convention held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The team’s victory was just the third national title for Wisconsin in the 40 years the contest has been held. Wisconsin had a national champion senior team in 2003 and 2002. The national finals in 2021 pitted the “Women of Wisconsin” against the “California Girls” in an all-female final round.

The team won its first match, but in the next round, lost on the final question – sending them into the consolation bracket. After the defeat, their momentum started to surge and each team they faced soon fell to defeat and elimination. The team outscored their opponents 1120 to 452 over eight matches and earned several bonus questions when multiple team members correctly answered toss-up questions. The team from Wisconsin included four members of the same county Holstein association, while California selects the top four individuals in their state to form their state team. That makes it even more impressive to have a county team win a national contest.

Polk County qualified for the National Convention contest after going undefeated in district and state contests held in March and April.

This was not the first time this combination of four was on the same team. They also participated in the Cream of the Crop Management contest in 2018, where they were the top team, amassing the most points in this multi-state contest’s 10-year history.

Grace, Katherine, and Courtney were all team members on the winning National 4-H Dairy Bowl team in 2019 and the winning national team for the 4-H North American Dairy Educational Experience in 2020. Grace served as team captain in 2019 and Marie was team captain of the 2018 Reserve National Champion 4-H Dairy Bowl Team and earned the highest score on the written test.

The team was coached by Gwen Dado and Patti Hurtgen. Dado began working with the Osceola and Amery FFA dairy judging team in the summer of 2017. Hurtgen began preparing them for the state Holstein Dairy Bowl Contest that fall. In their first year competing, the senior team won and the junior team placed third out of 40 teams.

Please give a brief bio of yourself.

Marie: I grew up on a 500-cow dairy farm in Somerset, Wis. being actively involved as the sixth generation. I currently attend the University of Wisconsin-River Falls studying Dairy Science with a minor in Agriculture Business. At UWRF I am currently serving as the President of the UWRF Dairy Club. In the future I hope to work in the dairy industry.

Katherine: I grew up on a small family run dairy and crop farm in Amery, Wisconsin. We milk around 45 cows and run between 800 and 900 acres of cash crops. I have been an active 4-H member for 13 years and have been an active FFA member for five years. I have shown cattle and hogs at both the county and state fair level. Dairy quiz bowl has been a huge part of my life for the last five years and I have competed in many contests through 4-H and the Junior

Holstein Association. I recently graduated from Amery High School in May and will be attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in September to major in Crop and Soil Science. Grace: I am a sophomore at the University of WisconsinRiver Falls, majoring in Dairy Science. I was recently elected Secretary The winning senior team of the National Holstein Dairy Bowl Contest - Polk County: Marie Haase, of the college’s dairy club. Courtney Glenna, Grace Haase and Katherine Elwood In addition to working on the home operation, I milk cows at a neighboring dairy during the school year. I placed 5th at the All-American Dairy Show’s FFA Dairy Judging Contest and won the calf portion in the National Junior Dairy Management Contest in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I own a small herd of Registered Holstein cattle that I exhibit at the Polk County Fair, District 1 Holstein Show, Wisconsin State Fair, and World Dairy Expo. I plan to have a career as a calf and heifer specialist upon graduation. Courtney: I’m the 17-year-old daughter of Randy and Charlotte Glenna and heading into my senior year at Amery High School. I live and work on my family’s dairy farm outside of Amery, where we milk 120 Holsteins, including my own registered herd. The farm is a huge part of my life, as it has led me to find my passion for dairy cattle and allowed me to participate in Junior Holstein activities, where I have met outstanding people, especially my teammates. I’ve put numerous proud hours into milking, feeding, calf rearing, and making breeding decisions. In addition, I’m involved in 4-H and FFA with dairy judging, dairy bowl, showing, and speaking contests, where I’ve competed at the local, state, and national levels. My future plans include attending University of Wisconsin-River Falls for Dairy Science in the fall of 2022. Career wise, dairy genetics and reproduction interest me, and I look forward to staying a part of the dairy industry.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Marie: I am proud of winning the National 4-H Dairy Judging competition in 2018 and being the top individual in oral reasons after nearly quitting dairy judging because oral reasons= scared me as a 14-year-old. I stepped outside of my comfort zone, practiced oral reasons for four years, and my hard work paid off. Katherine: The accomplishment that I cherish most is winning the North American International Livestock Exposition Dairy Quiz Bowl contest in 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. This was my first national quiz bowl contest that I had the opportunity to compete at. At this contest we dethroned the reigning champion team from New York as they had won five years in a row before we competed. Grace: My two greatest accomplishments are my two national dairy quiz bowl wins (4-H in 2019 and Junior Holstein in 2021) and starting my own herd of Registered Holsteins. I am also honored to be the UWRF dairy club secretary this year! Courtney: I am most proud of my team accomplishments. Winning dairy bowl at the National Convention was a crown jewel moment for us, especially by giving our coaches their first win in

this contest after years of dedication and hours we poured into it. There are also many memories that come from these team awards as opposed to individual ones. It means a lot more when you counted on other people, they counted on you, and you worked together to achieve it. Additionally, the National FFA Dairy Judging contest holds a special place for me, even though we placed third, as it was a large contest, earning us a trip to Scotland, and I placed first individually on the exam. Individually, I cherish my championship in the Intermediate division of the National Holstein Jeopardy contest in 2019, being my first award of that kind and in our home state.

What is your training regimen like for Dairy Bowl?

Marie: I have been competing in dairy bowl for five years and have been studying on and off over those five years for both the 4-H and Holstein competitions. My college courses have extended my knowledge beyond the typical dairy bowl sources. In addition, working on my family’s dairy farm has given me hands-on experience and practical knowledge.

Katherine: Our training regimen for dairy bowl is average. Before COVID times, we met twice a week for a two-hour practice. We practiced this way for over a year and the consistent studying brought us great success.

Grace: We take quizzes, read questions, go out to the barn, and get hands on connections, and listen to questions.

Courtney: For our training, it’s always important to start early. You’re never going to learn if you’re cramming information. Reading over the source list is crucial as well, so you don’t waste time studying information you’ll never get asked. Practicing together as a team is important, but it may be even more so to do it on your own. You can only meet and cover so much, that there is much more out there if you’re looking on your own. We always make sure that everyone understands the concept behind a question as well and isn’t just memorizing the question or the words in it. Using buzzers at a practice with your teammates will help for the actual contest. Sometimes you should read questions to your teammates, while other times you should be read to and answering, whichever way you learn best.

How often and for how long do you study?

Marie: I study dairy bowl by working on my family’s farm, through my college courses, and by reading dairy related articles, along with studying the material which our coach sends us.

Katherine: I studied for dairy bowl on my own often, about every other day, sometimes more sometimes less. I never timed my study sessions as I just did whatever felt right to me; I learn better when I am interested in learning. When I did study on my own, I used the study method that worked best for me, which is to have someone read a question out loud to me. If I didn’t know the answer to the question, I would write it down and go over it the next time I practiced.

Grace: We’ve trained every week for 2-3 hours for the past three years. We try to get together once a month and practice for a whole weekend. However, 2021 was different. Due to COVID we all practiced on our own time apart from two weekend-long practices.

Courtney: As a team, since 2016, we’ve practiced twice a week, for two hours each practice. Of course, with COVID, things changed. It was more critical than ever to study on your own. I never had a set time I would study, as that can sometimes make it seem more like a chore, when it shouldn’t be. It’s hard to retain information if you’re forcing yourself to read it. I study when I have free time at school, after chores at night, or at any time really. Sometimes it could be for 15 minutes, sometimes two hours, just whenever there’s a chance. Getting closer to contest time, we will take a couple weekends of the month to practice. Like, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, come and go as you can.

What is your favorite part of dairy bowl?

Marie: My favorite part of dairy bowl is growing my knowledge of the dairy industry and showcasing it along with my teammates’ knowledge at various competitions. I also enjoy applying my knowledge on my family’s dairy farm.

Katherine: My absolute favorite part of dairy bowl is the friends and memories you make. The people on your team are lifelong friends who you get to have so many amazing experiences with. Every accomplishment we earned brought my teammates and I closer together.

Grace: I love learning about cows. I love making connections as I’m working on the farm and really putting my knowledge to work as I’m caring for my cattle.

Courtney: The ladies I spend those hours with every practice make it the best. You grow close when spending that much time together, share a passion for dairy, and travel across the country together. It’s building friendships that are going to last a lifetime and creating memories that you’ll hold close. The people and memories are really the best part. The people we meet at the contests from across our state and nation make it outstanding, too. It’s a great way to find those that share the same cow-crazy interests. With that, the knowledge you gain – about dairy and life – is phenomenal. I’ve learned an incredible amount about the industry that can be applied to the farm. It’s a great way to better your knowledge of the industry.

What advice would you give to fellow and or future dairy bowlers?

Marie: I would give future dairy bowlers the advice of learning as much as you can and having fun with it. Some ways to do this are reading dairy magazines, taking a dairy class at school, joining dairy judging, working on a farm, or talking with people working in the dairy industry.

Katherine: I would recommend to any person wanting to get involved in dairy bowl to go out onto the farm and observe. Yes, you can always memorize your questions and call it a day, but it is way easier to learn questions and is more beneficial to your own knowledge, if you simply go out into the barn and learn everything you can.

Grace: The time you put in will affect the outcome of each match, so try your hardest because it will pay off!

Courtney: The first thing that comes to mind is just to have fun with it. It’s good to be intense and have that competitive spirit, honestly that’s really what drives me, but it’s a whole lot more to have a good time with it. You don’t have to win the first time you compete in a contest. Go in the contest room and into practice with a positive attitude, be ready to learn, and make it fun. In your studying process, though, the most important thing is to understand the concept behind everything. Have something to connect what you learned to. When I’m doing chores at the farm, I’m always thinking, “What dairy bowl question relates to this?” I think of questions that relate to the task at hand, like thinking of the benefits of forestripping while I’m milking. Finally, it’s okay to be nervous.

How has the Polk County Dairy Bowl team impacted you?

Marie: The Polk County Dairy Bowl team has given me lifelong ties in the dairy industry with my teammates.

Grace: Dairy Bowl has helped me learn so much over the past three years. It has fueled my passion for the dairy industry and has helped me choose a career path in this great industry.

Courtney: Overall, the Polk County Dairy Bowl team has made