Youth Dairy Day has new look

Over the past several years, Penn State Extension has organized Youth Dairy Day events in 3 counties across Pennsylvania. These free events have provided over 200 youth each year the opportunity to engage in hands-on activities and educational sessions related to the dairy industry. We are excited to announce that these events are back to their day-long format. One of the biggest changes is that we have added some livestock sessions to the event, creating the new Youth Dairy and Livestock Day workshops.  Also, the Shippensburg location has been moved to the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds with the Huntingdon and Indiana locations remaining the same. Thanks to many gracious sponsons, all 3 events are free and open to youth ages 8-18, with no prior experience or 4-H involvement necessary. Parents are invited to attend but will need to register for accurate lunch counts. All workshops will take place from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM.

The first event will take place on Monday, June 27 at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds located at 900 E. High Street Elizabethtown, PA17022. The registration deadline is June 24. The second event will be offered on Wednesday, June 29 at the Indiana County Fairgrounds located at 803 Hospital Road Indiana, PA 15701. The third event will be offered on Thursday, June 30 at the Huntingdon County Fairgrounds located at 10455 Fairgrounds Access Road Huntingdon, PA 16652. Registration deadline for both the Indiana and Huntingdon locations is June 27. To register, visit https://extension.psu.edu/youth-dairy-and-livestock-day and select your desired location. When registering youth, please follow the directions provided to create a unique email code for those youth attending. You can also register via phone by calling 877-345-0691.

Popular to this event are the hands-on educational stations that are offered throughout the day. The Dairy topics that will be focused on this year are bedding choices, body condition scoring, feed ingredient processing, and genetic selections for beef on dairy. The livestock topics that will be covered will include reading medication labels and tagging and castrating demonstrations. If you are interested in learning more about dairy and livestock management practices, then Youth Dairy and Livestock Day is the event for you!

Also returning this year will be the Amazing Dairy Race to conclude the event. This activity will involve those in attendance to utilize the knowledge and skills they have learned to complete various activities in a competition with the youth of the event. A prize will be awarded for the first team to successfully complete the competition.

Youth Dairy and Livestock Day is an annual event where the Penn State Extension Dairy and Livestock Team members strive to provide dairy and livestock education to youth of various ages in a fun and engaging manner. If you are interested in attending, select the location that is most convenient for you. For any questions, contact the Franklin County Extension office at 717-263-9226 or email Dairy Extension Educator Cassie Yost at clm275@psu.edu. We look forward to your participation in the 2022 Youth Dairy and Livestock Day events.