EAST LANSING, Mich.–The 2014 Michigan Dairy Expo got off to an exciting start last week when the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer, exhibited by Anna Moser of Dansville, Mich., topped the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-abration with a record-setting bid of $27,000. The buyer of the dairy lot of the livestock sale was a strong contingency of dairy industry supporters who pooled their money to purchase the winning lot.
In total, $49,500 was bid on four dairy lots: Supreme Champion Dairy Cow exhibited by Parker Hardy of Tipton, Mich; the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer, Supreme Dairy Showman Hayleigh Geurink, Allendale, Mich. and the Grand Champion Cheese exhibited by the Old Europe Cheese of Benton Harbor. The three dairy youth exhibitors each receive a $1,000. The remaining proceeds from the sale of the dairy lots goes into the statewide dairy youth fund of the Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund and is used to support scholarships and educational grants for youth in the dairy industry.
The buyers of the Supreme Champion Dairy Heifer were: American Farm Products, Calder Dairy, Caledonia Farmers Elevator, Class Construction, CoBank, Dairy Farmers of America, Farm Bureau Family of Companies Employees, Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., Hardy’s Holsteins, MilkSource, Michigan Milk Producers Association, NorthStar Cooperative, Inc., Roberts Dairy Service, The Kroger Co. of Michigan, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, VanBeek Nutrition, Vita Plus and Zeeland Farm Services, Inc.
The buyer of the Supreme Champion Dairy Cow exhibited by Parker Hardy was Michigan Milk Producers Association for $9,000.
The buyer of the Champion Dairy Showman exhibited Hayleigh Geurink was GreenStone Farm Credit Services for $5,500.
The buyer of the Grand Champion Cheese was Meijer for $8,000.
“The Michigan dairy industry is a vibrant and growing industry and we need to encourage these kids interested in our industry to stay involved, to stay excited about our industry and to stay here in Michigan,” says Ken Nobis, president of Michigan Milk Producers Association.
The Michigan Dairy Expo is a week-long education event featuring the State Dairy Days Youth Show, educational contests and state breed association dairy shows. This year over 300 dairy youth from around the state will participate in one or more of the events.
The Michigan Livestock Expo Sale is held each year following the Michigan Livestock Expo. The Michigan Livestock Expo is a statewide multi-species livestock event featuring over 700 youth exhibitors of beef, sheep, swine and goats that is designed to enhance the livestock industry, educate youth and showcase Michigan’s agriculture industry.