Virginia 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Team wins contest for third time in five years

The Virginia team for the Invitational 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl took home the top honors at a competition at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 4. This is the third time the Virginia team has won first place in the past five years.

The four-member team was one of 18 teams participating in the event. Team members included Paul Craun of Bridgewater, Va.; Erica Davis of Chatham, Va.; Karl Paulson of Port Republic, Va.; and Rachel Smith of McGaheysville, Va. The team coaches were David Winston of Blacksburg, Va., and Ellen Davis of Chatham, Va.

“The Dairy Quiz Bowl gives youth a broad background of the dairy industry,” said David Winston, a dairy scientist for Virginia Cooperative Extension who has been coaching the team since 1994. “They learn information about the dairy industry from farm to table.”

Practice for the competition began earlier this fall. According to Winston, each member must complete a significant amount of individual study to be successful, but the team members also meet to quiz each other and discuss strategies. Winston hopes this victory will help team members continue their involvement with the dairy industry.

“The best part of this event is the satisfaction of seeing the kids do well,” he added. “I hope this will make them want to learn more about the dairy industry and stick with it in the future.”

Virginia Cooperative Extension brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.