State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest

Event Details:

Location: Lambert Run Farm (166 Sandy River Rd. Norridgewock, ME 04957)

Date: May 10, 2025

The 2025 Maine 4-H Dairy Judging Contest is scheduled for May 10th at Lambert Run Farm in Norridgewock, Maine.  The event is open to all enrolled 4-H dairy members and will serve as the official tryouts for the 2025 Maine 4-H Eastern States Dairy Judging Team.

All participants should plan on arriving for registration at 9:30am and come equipped with a writing utensil and notepaper.

Please plan to bring a bagged lunch as lunch will not be provided. There are limited stores in the area.

Schedule: 

9:30am- Registration & Refreshments
10:00am- Introductions
10:15am- Class #1
10:35am- Class #2
10:55am- Class #3
11:15am- Class #4
11:35am- Class #5
11:55am- Lunch (Please plan to bring a bagged lunch as lunch will not be provided)
12:25pm- Reasons start
Awards will begin following the completion of oral reasons.

Eligibility:

The Maine 4-H Dairy Judging contest is open to all enrolled 4-H dairy members ages 9-18. Youth will be divided into two age categories, Jr. ages 9-11 and Sr. ages 12-18. Members who meet the ESE dairy team participation requirements are eligible to compete for a spot on the 2025 Maine 4-H Eastern States Dairy Judging Team. Four team members and two team alternates will be selected.

In order to be eligible for participation on the Maine 4-H Eastern States Dairy Judging Team, 4-H members must meet the following requirements:

  1. Completed at least one year in the 4-H dairy program
  2. Submitted their county 4-H re-enrollment by December 31st of the current 4-H year (4-H staff will verify this with your county office)
  3. Submitted an ESE intent to participate form by March 1st, 2025

4-H members who are not eligible for the ESE dairy judging team are still encouraged to participate in the contest.

Contest Rules:

  • Participants in the judging contest will be asked to judge five classes of cattle, 2 of which will be reasons classes.
  • Official cuts will be determined by the contest judge. The total cuts will be no more than 15 points, with no more than 5 points on the middle cut.
  • Sr. members must give reasons on each of the two reasons classes and can earn up to 50 points per set of reasons.
  • In the case of a tie, the tie is broken by the total reason’s score. If contestants are tied there as well, it will be considered a tie.
  • All juniors are encouraged to attempt oral reasons. Juniors are eligible to receive 15 points per set of reasons for a total of 30 points. 5 points per set of reasons will be awarded to each junior that goes in to talk to the judge. If they give reasons, juniors are eligible to earn up to 10 additional points per set of reasons.
  • The high-scoring Sr. and high-scoring Jr. will be named the winners of each division.

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation please contact Sadee Mehuren at sadee.mehuren@maine.edu or 207.342.5971.