The Scotland Adventure ~ Go Team!

Dominic just returned from a quick 5 day trip to Scotland late last night, where the Petaluma FFA Dairy Judging Team he coaches just finished competing in the Dairy Evaluation Competition at the Royal Highland Show.

The team of four consists of, Sam Cheda, Rocco Cunningham, Mandy Brazil and Kelli Carstensen.  Dominic has coached this team all throughout their high school careers.  Last year the team won the California State FFA Championship for Dairy Evaluation at Cal Poly and then moved on to compete nationally in Indianapolis where they came in second.  As a result of their national results, they were invited to compete at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland.

This is a HUGE accomplishment!  No other Petaluma FFA team has ever made it this far in competition.   The entire community is extremely proud of them.  And I'm very proud of Dominic for volunteering his time to coach these kids. 

Here they are in front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

They were able to take in some sites before the competition. 

The Caledonian, a famous hotel in Edinburgh.  Such beautiful architecture.

When they arrived in Scotland, since it was 8 a.m., they dove right in to touring and their first tour stop was the National Museum of Rural Life located just outside of Glasgow.

The museum displays exhibits which gives one an idea of how farming has developed over the years in Scotland.

A short visit was made to the Scottish Agriculture College, Ayr Campus where they were shown the dairy facilities.  The grass is so green most of the year, the dairy cattle are able to graze on pasture well into September.  The winter is very wet and the cows are kept in free stall barns, just as they are here at home.

The cows are fed beet pulp, distillers dried grains and cereal grains (such as wheat), along with silage.

More sites to see.

Scott Monument.

Edinburgh Castle.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen in Scotland.

The next few photos are random landscape shots taken while touring. 

Just Beautiful!

Stopping for dinner at a quaint little outdoor cafe.  Dominic ordered lasagna.

Pictured from left: Jody (Mandy's Mom), Kelli, Kim Arntz (Petaluma High School Ag Advisor), Dominic, Mandy, Sam & Rocco. Thanks Lynn (Rocco's Mom) for snapping the photo!

The next day, Dominic and the Team toured the Royal Highland fairgrounds.

This breed of cow (bull in this case) is called the Highland Cow.

Umm...the Scottish know how to pack a show box.....(the drinking age is 18)

In the afternoons at the fairgrounds they have what is called "The Parade of Champions." 

Here the champion horses and ponies are paraded beginning with the Draft horses and finishing with the little Shetlands.  How cute are they?!

One of the champion bulls.

A Highland Cow.

The parade of Champion Cows.

Competition Day arrives.  Sam, Mandy, Kelli and Rocco are ready to begin. Dressed in their official dress, a white lab coat (this is the way of the Scottish).

Competition begins.  Sam taking his notes.

Total concentration from Rocco.

Mandy taking her notes.

Kellie, sizing everything up.

The team of four was broken down to two teams of two.  They judged against the other two top U.S. FFA teams, the top U.S. 4-H teams from the national show in Madison, Wisconsin and the top three U.S. Jr. College teams as well. 

The U.S. teams do not compete against the Scottish teams for the fact that the Scottish teams also test on sheep, beef and take a written test on Scotland agriculture laws. But word has it, comparing the Dairy Evaluation portion scores of the Scottish teams to our team, U.S. would retain the top scores.

The Results:

U.S. Petaluma Team #1 ~ Mandy & Kelli came in 1st Place!!!

U.S. Petaluma Team #2 ~ Rocco & Sam came in 2nd Place!!!

In addition, Rocco was the 1st Place High Individual overall!  Mandy was 2nd Place High Individual and Kelli was 3rd High Individual! 

Way To Go Team!!!  An experience they will remember for a lifetime!

Here they are receiving their awards.

Dominic was in Scotland for the competition portion only.  The rest of the team and their families will continue on, touring parts of Europe for the next week and a half. 

Happy Monday!

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Scotland or Bust FFA Fundraiser

Last night the Scotland or Bust fundraiser for the Petaluma FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation State Championship Team was held.  This is the team that Dominic coaches and who came in 2nd place, overall on the National level.  They have been invited to compete at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland in June of this year.

This is a remarkable accomplishment for this team of four, Kelli Carstensen, Mandy Brazil, Sam Cheda and Rocco Cunningham.  An accomplishment that the entire local Ag community is so very proud of.  And this was shown last night by the 300+ attendees to this fundraiser.

You can read more of the story on how the team accomplished their goal HERE.

The evening included a pasta feed which was served continuously through the event.  This allowed for guests to filter in anytime from 4:30 - 9:00p.m.

Here's Rocco working hard at the serving table and along side him is Kelli and Mandy.

Delicious pasta and salad was served throughout the evening.

Kelli serving the rolls.

There were many silent auction items to choose from.

Hand painted saw.

An entire table displayed the four team member's accomplishments throughout their FFA career thus far.

Time to visit the ice cream sunday bar.  I had to throw these in :)

Speaking of bar, here's another type of bar for grownups.  And along side this bar, you were able to purchase...........

raffle tickets (cards) for a chance to win either a 12 gauge shotgun and/or a 270 rifle.  The rifle and shotgun were donated by Legacy Sports out of Reno, NV who happen to be hunting buddies to Dominic and my father in law.  The rifle was donated completely and the shotgun was donated at cost.  Playing cards were sold for $20 each and a deck of cards was sold for each gun.  Not bad odds!

Logan, drawing a card.

And, the winner of the shotgun is........little Sammy with her Daddy, Frank!!

I'm happy to report the fundraiser was VERY successful!  It has allowed for each of the four team members and a FFA Advisor to travel to Scotland and back!   This couldn't have been accomplished without  GREAT community support.  I'm proud to be part of a community that is always there, giving their undying support to all programs related to agriculture.  This is what it takes to keep agriculture education going strong and ongoing in our community.

Happy Sunday!

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The Future of Dairy

We had such a busy and fun weekend! Saturday morning we headed over to Sonoma, CA to the Neles-Johnson Dairy where the Redwood Empire Holstein Association held it's annual Dairy Judging Day competition. Last year's Dairy Judging State Championship Team from Petaluma FFA (Future Farmers of America) along with Dominic (their coach) were asked to officiate at this weekend's event. Read more about the Dairy Judging State Championship Team that Dominic was and is so proud to coach and their invitation to compete in the Royal Highland Show in Scotland this coming June.....HERE. The Championship Team: Sam, Rocco, Mandy and Kelli - three of which presently attend Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA and one is a Senior in high school at the present time, gave their free time to volunteer for this event. This is what it's all about, helping, motivating and inspiring the younger kids to achieve......

The object of Dairy Cattle Judging or Dairy Cattle Evaluation is, to develop the student's skills in observation and analysis of dairy cattle.

Here, Rocco is showing the kids how it's done by explaining his reasons why he placed the four cows in a certain order - number one being the most favorable and number four being the least favorable....

The future of dairy.......... Here, Mandy is reciting her reasons for the placement of cows......

Bryce and Paige were inspired to try judging themselves. Here they are looking at udder placement.......

Dominic and Tony Neles explaining to the younger of the kids the placement of the cows and the reasoning behind it........

Mandy, Dominic and Kelli working on the 'Official' placings for the calf and heifer class.....

The calf class (near) and the heifer class (far).........

Alex and Sam placing the calves............

This is the Judging Card that the participants use. There are 24 different placement choices for each set of four cows, heifers or calves. Competitors assess things such as, udder, frame, dairy strength, and feet and legs for mobility. After the competitor places them, they must then give a "set of reasons" to the officials as to why they have placed them in that particular order.

Cute calves.........

After Bryce completed his placements, he got a little crazy with the pen.....all over his face....

A nice barbecue lunch was served after the competition.......

Trophies to be won.........

A participation medal for Bryce in the 'Pee Wee' division. He was also high in placings for his division......thanks for helping him Rocco!

Paige also received a participant medal. Bryce and Paige were just along for the ride today but what they saw at this event really motivated them to participate. A great experience for them both and for all the kids involved.

To join the FaceBook group 'Petaluma FFA Dairy Judging Team' click HERE.

Happy Sunday!

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