Posted on by CALS Communications

4-H Bonanza Showcases Student Passion for All Things Bovine

A big group of 4-H students are talking with an instructor in a dairy milking parlor.
4-H students learning about milking parlor process during the Bovine Bonanza. Photo credit: Dawn Livingston

Seventy-two 4-H members from across Vermont participated in the 4-H Bovine Bonanza, held at the University of Vermont’s Paul R. Miller Research & Education Center on November 5, 2022. The instructors for the event were the Cooperative for Real Education in Agriculture Management (CREAM) students. With the farm hosting the event, it brings 4-H members to UVM and it gives the CREAM students a chance to showcase their passion and knowledge.

Several 4-H students are standing together in a barn talking about livestock biosecurity.
During the Bovine Bonzanza, 4-Hr’s learned about livestock biosecurity and zoonotic diseases. Photo credit: Dawn Livingston

All 4-H student participants rotated through five different sessions set up at the event to learn about biosecurity and zoonotic diseases; bovine nutrition and fistulated cows; breeding, lineages and genetics; calving and calf care; and milking parlors. The following CREAM students volunteered their time and taught the sessions:

  • Erica Bergendahl and Natalie Erstad – Milking Parlors
  • Melanie Hoffman and Hannah Penkacik – Nutrition and Fistulated Cows
  • Emily Gareri and Michael Grega – Calving & Calf Care
  • Amelia Lucas and Heidi Helf – Biosecurity & Zoonotic Diseases
  • Emily Frost and Halsy McLaen – Breeding, Lineages & Genetics
  • Riley Ochs served as an overall coordinator

Thank you to Dr. Stephen Wadsworth, CREAM advisor, for working with State 4-H Livestock Educator Wendy Sorrell and the CREAM students to make this event happen! See the full list of 4-H student participants in this story from UVM Extension.