For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: June 3, 2025
Team takes top prize in Hoard’s Dairyman contest
Fennimore -
The top scores in this year’s Hoard’s Dairyman Cow Judging Contest have been tallied and a Southwest Wisconsin Technical College team came out on top. There were 7,494 entries, including 45 college teams, in a variety of categories.
Southwest Tech Team 1 won the college division category, besting 44 other teams. The team is coached by Ryan Weigel, agriculture instructor. Southwest Tech teams two and four earned honorable mention. The winning team was featured in the May issue of Hoard’s Dairyman.
“This year’s winning group is the second-year Animal Science students, all of whom recently graduated,” said Weigel. “Depending on the year, Southwest Tech enters four to eight, 10-person teams. Some of the students on this team have participated in the dairy judging team on campus, but many have not. The students do not receive assistance from me on the contest, but we do talk about dairy cattle confirmation in their Farm Animal Genetics class. Participating in dairy judging also helps. The biggest difference in this contest from ones that we annually attend, this contest is done solely from pictures that are published in the magazine, which makes it more challenging than seeing an animal ‘in-person.’
Members of Southwest Tech’s winning team include Emma Udelhofen, Janesville; Payton Gratz, Darlington; Addie DeMars, Cazenovia; Garrett Gildersleeve, Lancaster; Levi Wehrle, Bloomington; Kylie Schilling, Mt. Hope; Abbey Collins, Hazel Green; Emma Rood-Reutter, Benton; Sadie Weigel, Platteville; and Abby Foster, Juda.
During Weigel’s seven years at the college, Southwest Tech teams have placed in the top five, three times, also winning in 2000.
Southwest Tech offers both dairy and livestock judging. Anyone wanting to learn more about dairy judging at Southwest Tech, can reach out to Weigel at 608.822.2655.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named the winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |