Nontraditional Knowledge-Based Dairy Youth Activities and Events

Abstract

Knowledge quiz bowls have been utilized in various youth programs for over 20 yr. Dairy 4-H quiz bowls have been offered at local, state, and national levels since the late 1970s. The national contest for 4-H members started in 1980 with participation by only seven states, but grew rapidly to a maximum of 22 state teams in the 1993 contest at Louisville, Kentucky. Junior associations of several dairy breeds include quiz bowls as part of their state and national convention agendas, and participation is largest in the Junior Holstein programs. Recent developments in Ohio have led to incorporating “Skillathons” in the Junior Livestock Shows at the Ohio State Fair. The purpose of the dairy cattle skillathon is to provide a learning laboratory that enhances knowledge of the dairy industry and supports the learning that occurs in the youth project work. In 1995, 1141 youths participated in skillathons in seven species areas; 93 youths were in the dairy cattle area. All skillathons are organized around four or five work stations, each emphasizing a different area of knowledge. Participants perform tasks that relate to a specific area, providing a challenging, experiential activity that promotes development of life skills and reinforces the project learning. Each activity is geared by age group to the level of development appropriate for the participant (junior, intermediate, or senior). Individual excellence is recognized as well as overall superiority within each age group. Dairy youth conferences have been utilized to attract dairy interested students to the sciences applied to dairy cattle as well as to further study in higher education.