Dairy
Each spring, numerous Quebec 4-H’ers head out to their own or a friend/neighbour’s barn to select a
dairy calf to work with through the spring and summer and into the fall. Learning to Do by Doing starts
with selecting and training the heifer (which can be as young as a few months old to a year and a half by
the end of the summer) to lead on a halter, through regular practice and commitment. Dairy is Quebec 4-H’s most popular project, with about 30% of our members completing this project.
Club Activities
Many clubs with dairy members will hold judging meetings to teach members what to look for in a cow, throughout the year. Clubs can also hold educational fitting or showmanship clinics, with invited guests who will explain how to raise, feed and prepare your calf for a show, or teach proper showmanship techniques to prepare 4-H’ers for their upcoming Achievement Day or local fairs.
Community Service
Members also complete community service as part of their project. In some clubs, members help
maintain their local fairgrounds by collecting garbage and painting buildings. Others contribute to the
global community by donating funds raised by members to non-profit organizations that do agricultural development work. For example, Ormstown 4-H donated money from their pancake supper in 2010 to Heifer International – to provide a third world family with a cow. As a province, Quebec 4-H held a Free the Children fundraising challenge in 2011 to encourage clubs to raise money for their Adopt-a-Village program, which included the purchase of farm animals for the community.
Innovative Ag Tour
Members interested in learning more about agribusinesses or dairy farming in particular can participating
in this provincial weekend-long activity hosted each year in March by a different Quebec 4-H club. Each
year, the tour includes at least 1 visit to a dairy farm, often 2. These agribusinesses demonstrate some
form of innovativeness, whether it is technological, genetic, or marketing-related. For more information
on Innovative Ag Tour click here.
Achievement Day
This special day is the culmination of a member’s 4-H project. It is an opportunity for all members in
a club to show off their animal or other projects to other members, parents and the public. For dairy
members, this day includes conformation and showmanship classes, and sometimes a judging class or
competition.
Fairs and Shows
Throughout the summer and early fall, the majority of dairy members will attend at least a few fairs or
shows in their area. Some members travel further afield to attend a fair. Similar to Achievement Day – but usually on a larger scale and lasting for more than one day, members prepare and feed their animals and complete conformation and showmanship classes. Members aspire to improve or maintain their standings throughout the show season.
Quebec 4-H Provincial Rally
Each year, the Quebec 4-H Provincial Rally is hosted by a different 4-H club in their local community.
Members with dairy calves compete in conformation and showmanship classes and have the opportunity
to represent their club in the team dairy fitting competition. Members practice their fitting skills again on
show day, as only participating members can clip and prepare animals for the show. For more info, click here.
Tout-Québec Jeunes Ruraux 2014
At the end of each year, members can enter this contest which evaluates 4-H and AJRQ members based on their heifer’s performance throughout the entire season, and awards the most successful members. 2015’s nominations from Quebec 4-H were: Jérémy Patry, Savannah Crack, Joshua McOuat, Alana McKinven, Monica Parnell, Kevin Parnell, Matthew Baillon, Kevin Macfarlane.
TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic
Many 4-Hers dream of taking their calf to the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic held annually at the
beginning of November at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. Hard work and dedication
throughout the summer can earn them the right to be one of the 8 participants selected from their region
based on their standings during the show season. Over 350 4-H members from across Canada compete
in the Classic, making it the largest 4-H dairy show in the country. Members must be aged 12-21 to
register for the Classic, and they must participate in a minimum number of 4-H and open shows to qualify.
Members are selected to represent the region based either on their heifer’s conformation or their own
showmanship skills.
Holstein Quebec École de Preparation
Holstein Quebec École de Preparation is three days of theoretical and practical workshops about exhibit displays, fitting and clipping, nutritional needs during shows, and showmanship skills. Julie MacFarlane of Howick 4-H had a winning streak at École de Preparation this year, first winning a CIAQ contest that paid her registration fee, then getting an honorable mention for her showmanship skills and winning second place for topline and clip job. Ultimately, on Monday, May 23, Julie achieved the highest score of individual points, an accomplishment that earned her a prize of a roundtrip to Belgium to represent Canada at the European Young Breeders School this September courtesy of Holstein Québec.
European Young Breeders School
The E.Y.B.S. has an international competition for the training of young people interested in the Holstein breed (preparation of show animals and learning about the breed). 3 days of training during which the young breeders are learned the steps of the animal preparation for the shows (washing, making up the bed, feeding, clipping, judging, showmanship and theoretical courses like marketing, professional pictures followed by 2 days of competition during which the young people put into practice what they have learned and compete against each other. The competition takes place in Battice, Belgium. In 2014, Emmanuel Brisson of Ormstown 4-H came in first in the seventh Class of Showmanship.
2015 notable achievements at the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic:
North West:
Matthew McOuat, 18th/119 Intermediate Showmanship
South West:
Jeremy Patry, 6th/111 Junior Showmanship
Alana McKinven, 2nd/123 Senior Showmanship; with Red Oak Fevers Secret Reserve Champion Calf
Matt Baillon with Arethusa Whisley Nordica Champion Ayrshire, Guernsay. Milking Shorthorn, Brown Swiss
Emmanuel Brisson, 3rd/123 Senior Showmanship
South East:
Monica Parnell, 21st/119 Intermediate Showmanship; with Arethuse Impression Veramonte Champion Jersey Yearling
Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week
Agriculture in the Classroom Quebec (AITC-Q), with the contribution of founding sponsor Farm Credit Canada, was proud to hold the first annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week (CALW) event in schools across the New Frontiers School board on March 12 2013. The goal of AITC is to simultaneously teach children about the importance of food production, respect for those who produce it, and to view agriculture as a viable career option. Through a variety of interactive learning tools, projects, speakers, and field trips AITC teaches students to make informed healthy food choices, innovate to create equitable food access and sustainable technologies, and recognize the importance of food sovereignty for Canada. Watch the video below for a sample of what the children got to experience at their first annual event.
Dairy Opportunities
2019 TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic
Pre-registration to the Quebec 4-H for the current year’s Classis taken place in June. Submit 2019 TD Classic Summer Placing Form to the Quebec 4-H Office no later than September 16. The form must be filled in an excel spreadsheet as the Quebec 4-H Office no longer accepts any handwritten, printed, scanned or faxed forms.
Refer to Qualification Selection Guidelines TD-Canadian-4-H Dairy Classic and Classic Rules and Regulations 2019 for further information.
2016 TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic
June 1st- deadline to pre-register to Quebec 4-H for the current year’s Classic.
Members can apply using the Registration Form Dairy 2016 by checking off the “YES” box beside the question: “Are you interested and eligible to participate in the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic?” Return form to Quebec 4-H no later than June 1.
Submit the 2016 Classic summer placings form to register for the Classic to the Quebec 4-H Office. The Summer placings must be printed, signed and mailed/faxed to Quebec 4-H by the September 26th deadline
Refer to Qualification Selection Guidelines TD-Canadian-4-H Dairy Classic for further information.
Agropur Bursary
In the spirit of encouraging young dairy farmers, Agropur Cooperative is granting $300 to 4-H clubs who hold a local dairy heifer expo. This award will be presented at your regional Agropur Members’ meeting, to which a club representative will be invited. In addition clubs can receive a donation of $55 worth in Agropur products.
Agropur must be contacted a minimum of 2 weeks before your event to be eligible to receive the $55 product donation. Deadline for application is September 1, 2016
CJR demande bourse extranet_VA English
For more information and to apply, contact :
Eastern Townships:
Marie-Claude Tessier-:1-800-290-9094
Western Quebec & Chateauguay Valley:
Marie-Eve Lepage: (450) 878-1852
Holstein Québec
- Breeder’s School: This event takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, and is a chance for participants to learn about marketing, animal housing and comfort, interpreting genetic evaluations, and analyzing dairy herd production.
- Dairy Cattle Fitting School: This event takes place on Victoria Day weekend. Learn how to set up a barn display, wash, feed, clip a heifer for a show, and much more!