Waukon FFA earns 2009 State Champion Title in Dairy Cattle Evaluation

The 2009 Iowa FFA Dairy Cattle Career Development Event was held in conjunction with the Blue Ribbon Dairy Classic in West Union Saturday, September 19. Twenty-four teams and 87 individuals participated in this year’s Career Development Event designed to provide students an opportunity to display their knowledge and skills in the area of dairy cattle selection and management.
The Little Switzerland FFA Chapter at Waukon High School took home overall honors as the winner of the 2009 State Championship.  Team members included Morgan Miller, Patricia Melcher, Amanda Meder and Lars Sivesind. Meder placed well individually with a fifth-place finish, while Morgan Miller placed ninth to earn top-ten honors. Patricia Melcher was named state champion on the dairy management test.
The team also earned honors as the overall champion team in the linear evaluation portion of the contest. The team would like to express its appreciation to Dan Sivesind for his help in preparing for this event.
Winning the state championship also earns the team the opportunity to represent the state of Iowa at the National FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation Career Development Event in Indianapolis, IN October 20-23. Fifty state champion teams are invited to participate in this event from over 7,200 total FFA chapters from across the country.
Several organizations sponsored awards through the Iowa FFA Foundation. Midwest Dairy Association sponsored rosettes for the top ten teams, members of the top ten teams, and top ten individuals. Midwest Dairy Association sponsored trophies for the high team and individuals in the following categories: Dairy Cattle Classes, Oral Reasons, Production Management Test, and Pedigree Evaluation.
The Little Switzerland Chapter had earned qualification for the State event by topping 24 teams at the 2009 Northeast District FFA Dairy Cattle Career Development Event held in West Union Saturday, September 12. Activities which students participated in at the event included dairy cattle placing classes, oral reasons, linear evaluation, and the dairy management team.
A second team from Waukon High School's Little Switzerland Chapter competing at the September 12 District event included Derrick Nelsen, Matt Schulte, Tony Hammel and Ben Kerndt. That team finished 10th overall.