Stephenson County 4-H member Ella Gunderson earned top honors at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 16, being named one of three statewide winners in the Superior Young Dairy Producer Award program.
Gunderson received a $1,000 scholarship, sponsored by Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., after excelling in the three-phase competition testing participants’ knowledge in the dairy industry. Gunderson was a top finisher in the dairy management test, which covered topics such as nutrition, health, reproduction, and milk marketing. She came in first in the skill-a-thon portion, where contestants identified dairy feeds, interpreted pedigree information and identified equipment. She also competed in the judging contest, evaluating four classes of dairy cows and two classes of heifers.
The competition, now in its 30th year, showcases outstanding Illinois 4-H dairy youth and helps prepare them for future careers in agriculture.
For more information about Stephenson County 4-H or how to get involved in future events, contact Jen Schultz at the University of Illinois Extension–Stephenson County office at (815) 235-4125 or js80@illinois.edu.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.