Buddenberg and Iowa State Dairy Judging team place first at Viroqua judging contest

2016 Sep 26

Cassidy Buddenberg, of Decorah, and the Iowa State University Dairy Judging team placed first overall at the 23rd Annual Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest in Viroqua, WI.

Students on 15-teams from across the United States evaluated dairy cattle based on visual appearance to determine which best exemplified the ideal dairy cow in at least one of six dairy breeds.

At the competition, ten classes of four cattle each were placed based on mammary system, dairy strength, rear feet and legs, and frame. Then, Buddenberg, majoring in dairy science, and the other contestents gave five sets of oral reasons in a two-minute presentation consisting of the rationale for placing the class. Placings and reasons scores were tabulated and combined together in order to create each contestant's overall score. Individual scores are compiled together to get a team score.

Contributing to the final team score for Iowa State was 5th place High Team Overall in Guernseys, 2nd in Holsteins, 2nd High Team Overall in Jerseys, 1st place in Milking Shorthorns, and 2nd place High Team Overall in reasons.

Iowa State has a long history of judging teams and has been sending teams of undergraduate students to this competition for more than five years. Competition is sponsored by Accelerated Genetics. The 2016 team from Iowa States was coached by Christen Burgett, lecturer in animal science.