Dairy, spice, and everything nice

BY LOUISA SMITH, AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATION & MARKETING, BS '25

The UMN Dairy Judging Team, now known by their nickname “The Powerpuff Girls,” placed first in the team competition at the National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest, held at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Composed of CFANS students Megan Meyer, Sarah Hagenow, and Megan Ratka, the students each placed in the top ten in the individual competition, which contributed to their overall team high score. The team is coached by Dr. Les Hansen, Dr. Isaac Haagen, Eric Houdek, and Gabriella Houdek.

Dairy judging is a program that teaches students to evaluate and place different breeds of dairy cattle into classes based upon their physical characteristics. Alongside the educational aspect, this program can also take a competition-based format. In competition, participants work to properly evaluate the cattle and defend their choices.

Getting their start

Each of the girls had a different start to their dairy judging career, beginning in third through seventh grade. Hagenow and Ratka were inspired to start from their fathers who were both dairy judging coaches at the time. Meyer grew up on a dairy farm, but didn’t start judging right away. 

“[Seventh grade] was my second year showing dairy cattle, and my parents wanted me to learn how to pick out my own cattle in the future,” Meyer said. “At the time, an employee on our dairy farm that was a UMN judging team alum really pushed me to get involved as well.” 

Since then, each team member has developed their favorite part of dairy judging. Meyer enjoys judging jersey cattle and Ratka enjoys the “reasons" category. For Hagenow, it’s classifying cows. 

“It’s like a puzzle to me," Hagenow said. “I like the challenge of attempting to place them close to the officials and putting myself in the mindset of what an experienced judge would do.”

Teamwork makes the dream work

Dressed in bright pink, periwinkle, and green judging suits, the team departed for a competition in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. These bright colors drew comparisons to the cartoon team of superheroes The Powerpuff Girls. 

“The Powerpuff Girls really fit with our theme of girl power throughout the fall and we definitely carried that with us into the contest at World Dairy Expo,” Ratka said.

The three students started practicing together in the fall of 2022 and began competing in the following fall. Typically, teams compete with four members, with the lowest score being dropped from the team score. This fall, with only three members of the team, there was extra pressure on each teammate to perform well.

Over the past two years, their teamwork has evolved into a sisterhood. The girls help each other through ups and downs, and sharing laughs over team dinners together.

“There is nothing better than traveling with your friends, evaluating beautiful cattle,” Meyer said. “There are simply too many memories to count. I will say, at a football game, instead of watching the game, we were giving words of encouragement and mentally preparing ourselves for World Dairy Expo. Some special moments came out of that day.”

Building their skills

Each of the members agreed dairy judging has been an important part of developing their skills both inside and outside of the dairy industry. 

“Dairy judging has taught me how to evaluate cattle for production and aesthetic traits as well as important life skills like decision making, critical thinking, and public speaking,” Ratka said. “This prepares students to work within the agricultural industry both because of the experience working with dairy cattle and the skills it teaches us.”

Dairy judging is an integral part of the industry. Hagenow will take these skills to develop her cattle breeding program. For Meyer, it's her start to judging county, state and national shows.

Get involved!

For those interested, there are a wide variety of opportunities for people of all ages to get involved with dairy judging and the industry as a whole.

“Judging is a lot like a sport, so it takes time to build skills and develop your abilities,” Hagenow said. “For those that are young and are curious about it, I recommend getting involved early to see if it’s an activity you’d like to stick with. For some of the older folks, it’s so easy to get involved in the industry through volunteering, outreach events, or perhaps owning your own cattle. Additionally, just talking with dairy farmers or dairy community members is a great way to get exposure, learn about the industry, and discover opportunities to participate or mentor youth.”

Many county 4-H programs and FFA chapters offer youth dairy judging programs. State breed associations and county dairy princess programs also offer opportunities to get involved with the dairy industry. For current students, the University of Minnesota Gopher Dairy Club is a great place to learn more.