Penn State ’s Dairy Expo offers showing , fitting and fun UNIVERSITY PARK - Champion fitting and showing were on display at Penn State’s 60th annual Dairy Exposition on April 27. The Expo is a senes of contests and special events that give Penn State students practical experience with University dairy cattle. Sponsored by the Dairy Science Club, the Expo featured 75 students competing for honors in fitting, (cleaning, grooming, clipping and brushing) and showmanship (how well the students control their animals in the ring). Professional division winners were: Stephen P. Shaw, a junior in dairy production from Oley, who captured the all-around champion award He also was named grand champion showman and reserve champion fitter, Marcia J. Minor a senior in agriculture business management from Washington, won the reserve all-around champion award, and was named reserve champion showman David J Detrick, a third-year student in agriculture from Bradford County, won the grand champion fitter award. In the amateur division, John J. Mattiho, a junior in agriculture from Rural Valley, was the champion fitter Glendon H. Harris, a junior in horticulture from Egg Harbor, was the reserve champion fitter. Kerry Wagner, a sophomore from Selinsgrove, was named champion showman. Richard T. Bowers a junior in agriculture business management from Mansfield, was reserve champion showman In breed competitions, champion and reserve champion showmen in the Ayrshire division were Cynthia Miller of Franklin County, and Lynn A. Stelts of Center Valley Stelts also captured the champion fitter award In the Brown Swiss division, Dorothy M Meyer of I Lancaster County was named champion showman, and Lolly Long of Huntingdon County was named reserve champion showman and champion fitter Richard T Bowers of Mansfield won reserve champion fitter Champion showman and fitter in Guernsey competition was Elizabeth A Heald of Spring Mills Diane S Sheckler of Palmerton and Greg Harding of Jefferson County were named reserve showman and reserve fitter, respectively Jersey champion showman and fitter honors went to Jody Jeamne Minor of Washington. Troy L. Mest of Montgomery County captured reserve showman and fitter. In the Holstein division, champion showman was Stephen Shaw and the reserve champion showman was Marcia Minor. Shaw was also named the reserve champion fitter, while David Detrick was named champion fitter. Each year the Dairy Expo features special events at noon, which pit the students’ skills BY SUZANNE KEENE WASHINGTON - The dairy industry is plagued by a gigantic surplus and dairy producers are seeking a farm bill that will work to reduce, and eventually solve, this problem. Of the many farm bills under consideration, most address the overproduction problem. “Most of these bills feel they are designed to reduce production,” said Charlie Shaw, ASCS, during an informational session at a USDA Farm Women Forum here last week The difference between them is in their approach Some suggest controlling the surplus by ad justing price, while others recommend a strict, government- against alumni and faculty abilities Art Nesbitt of Fort Atkinson, Wise ,was honored by the Expo dedication, and Donald Ace, professor emeritus of Dairy Science Extension and 1985 distinguished dairy science alumnus, teamed up to win first place in the celebrity milking contest over Penn State Lion basketball players Kahadeejah Herbert and Jane Gilpin, and Penn State wrestlers Greg Elinsky and Chris Bevilacqua Brian S Zerbey, a junior in dairy production and an assistant at the Penn State dairy barn, and Harold Harpster, assistant professor of animal science, won the in dependent milking contest Delta Theta Sigma won the fraternity milk chugging contest, and members of the Penn State Block and Bridle Club won the in dependent milk chugging contest At the awards banquet following the Expo, Jonele A. Reese of Guys Mills, manager of the Holstein division, was voted the most helpful student throughout the Exposition, and Catherine A Carr of Pittsburgh was named the hardest working student This competitor carefully washes her animal in preparation for her chance in the showring at Saturday's Dairy Expo. Two students demonstrate their expertise in the fine art of milking at the Dairy Expo’s milking contest. Dairymen seek surplus solution in farm bill controlled base quota. “They all are attempting to get at the production problem,” he stressed Some dairy producers pointed out that in their local areas they don’t produce any surplus, and suggested a regional program to solve the overproduction problem But Shaw disagreed. “I don’t think any farm bill can set up a regional program,” he said “The dairy industry is a national industry,” he stressed, adding that milk flows freely across state lines. However, he acknowledged, the production differences in various regions are responsible for the dairymen’s inability to agree on one reduction program ' The government purchases Seventy-five Penn State students competed for top fitting and showing honors at the University s annual Dairy Expo last Saturday. much of the surplus milk through the Commodity Credit Cor poration, and distributes nearly 3 1 2 billion pounds of dairy products through the school lunch and domestic feeding programs. Donations and give-away programs also contribute to reducing the nearly nine billion pound surplus It’s getting to the point where some people think the government give-aways are interfering with the dairy market, said Bill Pad dock, Foreign Ag Service With U S. dairymen producing much more milk than domestic consumers will buy and the government spending billions of dollars to purchase, process and store the surplus, why do we im ' f * N. _njoying pos. jt the rail, these young spectators take some mental notes on fitting and showing. With practiced patience and skill this student shows her animal's best qualities for the judge. port any dairy products, the women queried. Six to seven percent of the total amount of cheese consumed in the United States is imported, mostly in the form of specialty cheeses. Paddock reminded them that the imported dairy products are just a small part of the larger world trade picture. “We get something for giving them something,” he explained By allowing foreign countries to ship some dairy products into the United States, we gain some trade concessions in return. “It’s a give and’take in international trade," he said The dairymen have taken their own measures to reduce their surplus problem A mandatory 15- w«rv, cent checkoff per hundredweight of milk provides funds for a massive promotion effort Five cents of that checkoff goes to the National Dairy Board, whose purpose is to sell more milk Preliminary reports of the National Board’s promotion program’s effectiveness, have been quite good, Barbara Curti of the National Dairy Board repor ted Much of the advertising focuses on the calcium content of milk and its place in a balanced diet “The calcium issue is going to sell us a lot of milk,” Curti said, noting that milk is in direct competition with soft drinks “Wc can make milk an attractive alternative "
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers