Harrisburg, PA – Eight individuals got the nod to place the 14 open and junior shows during the All-American Dairy Show, set for September 17-22, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.
Mary Creek of Hagerstown, Maryland, will place the Premier National Junior Guernsey Show on Monday, September 19, and the All-American Ayrshire Show on Tuesday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 21. Creek, along with husband Mike, their four adult children Mark, Michael, Evan and Jordan, and brother and sister-in-law Ralph and Terrie Shank, operate Palmyra Farm, LLC. The 300-acre farm is home to 103 Ayrshires and 96 Holsteins, and has earned more than 130 All-American Ayrshire nominations and 44 All-American titles. Creek and son Michael also operate Palmyra Farm Cheese, LLC, a direct market cheese business using the farm’s milk. A trailblazer for women in the dairy industry, Creek has judged in Australia, Columbia, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa, among many other local, state and national level shows, in addition to serving as president of the National Dairy Shrine and World Ayrshire Federation, among other leadership roles. She was also named the 2012 World Dairy Expo Dairy Woman of the Year.
Ted DeMent of Kenney, Illinois, will return to Harrisburg to judge the All-American National Guernsey Show on Wednesday, September 21. He manages a 120-acre dairy and raises heifers for Kilgus Family Dairy and milks a few select cows. DeMent was an appraiser for the American Jersey Cattle Association, and over the past 15 years judged various breeds in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Washington, and in internationally in Ecuador and Guatemala. He has also served on the All-American judges panel for Ayrshire, Guernsey, Milking Shorthorn and Jersey All Breed Access.
Lynn Harbaugh of Marion, Wisconsin, will pull double-duty by judging the Premier National Junior Holstein Show on Monday, September 19, and the All-American Red and White Show on Wednesday, September 21. An area sales representative with NorthStar Select Sires, Harbaugh also operates Bella-View Holsteins, a small herd of elite registered Holsteins with wife Sara and children Jacob, Logan and Madison. Many Red and White and Holstein animals carrying the Bella-View prefix have earned Jr. and All-American nominations. He has judged in more than 20 states at the state and national levels, including Red and Whites, Guernseys, Ayrshires and Milking Shorthorns at World Dairy Expo, in addition to judging at Eastern States Exposition, the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, and the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Canada, among many regional shows, and a show in Mexico.
Callum McKinven of Canton de Hatley, Quebec, is set to judge the Premier National Junior Jersey Show on Monday, September 19, as well as the open Brown Swiss show on Wednesday, September 21, and Thursday, September 22. McKinven co-owns and operates Lookout Holsteins and Jerseys with wife Katherine and daughters Tara, Brooke and Alana, where they raise more than 200 head and milk 30 cows. The farm has garnered many All-Canadian and All-American awards, as well as several champions at the Canadian Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. McKinven has judged all seven breeds in more than 28 countries, including being a nine-time judge at World Dairy Expo, and also has officiated many national showmanship competitions. He joined ABS Global in 2015, and is a member of the company’s Judge’s Choice™ panel.
Chad Ryan of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, will place the Premier National Junior Red and White Show on Monday, September 19, and the All-American Jersey show on Tuesday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 21. Along with wife Amy and sons Dylan and Cameron, Ryan farms with his parents on their 100-cow Registered Holstein farm, Ryan-Vu, where they have bred or developed 15 Junior and All-American nominations. The Ryans were recognized as National Distinguished Youth Holstein Breeders by Holstein Association U.S.A., and he serves as vice president of Wisconsin Holstein Board. Ryan has judged in Mexico, as well as state and national shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, including the Holstein show at the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, and the International Junior Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. He has also served on the Red and White and Holstein All-American nominating committees.
Brian Schnebly of Hagerstown, Maryland, will place the All-American Milking Shorthorn Show on Tuesday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 21. He serves as the American Guernsey Association’s Executive Secretary, after serving as the association’s programs coordinator. Schnebly was also involved in the joint appraisal program with the Brown Swiss Association within which he classified Ayrshires, Brown Swiss, Guernseys, Milking Shorthorns and Red and Whites. His family still operates Crown Stone Farm in Clear Spring, Maryland, where they milk 40 Guernseys and 85 Holsteins. Judging experiences include Brown Swiss associate at World Dairy Expo, placing Guernseys in Australia and Canada, shows at county and state fairs in Iowa, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He has two daughters – Grace and Claire – with wife Heidi.
Jenna Smith of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, will make her All-American judging debut by placing the Premier National Junior Ayrshire and Milking Shorthorn shows on Monday, September 19. She is assistant herdsman and calf manager on her family farm, Smith-Hollow Farms, and has bred and developed several All-American Brown Swiss nominees under her prefix, Peach Kist Swiss. An animal science major at Cornell University, Smith was a member of the 2009 Cornell dairy judging team. She has placed classes at many local and regional Pennsylvania shows, as well as the Holstein and Red and White breeds at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Smith is also a member of the 2015 Red and White All-American and Junior All-American judging panel.
Eric Topp of Wapakoneta, Ohio, will return to Harrisburg to sort the Premier National Junior Brown Swiss Show on Monday, September 19, and the All-American Holstein Show on Wednesday, September 21, and Thursday, September 22. His family farm, Topp-View Farms has produced champions at the Ohio State Fair and Spring Dairy Expo, World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, and at the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. He has judged in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, and heads to Madison, Wisconsin, next to place the World Dairy Expo’s International Milking Shorthorn Show. He is a dairy nutritionist for Maria Stein Grain, and he and wife Mary have two daughters, Madelyn and Mackenzie.
The All-American Dairy Show The All-American Dairy Show features 22 shows in six days in addition to the nation’s only all-dairy antiques show. Last year’s show featured nearly 3,000 animals and 1,500 exhibitors from around the country.