“If you thought you’ve seen a big cow, you haven’t seen anything yet,” said Mitchell Coleman, co-owner of Valley Jem Genetics in Hilmar.
Coleman will be one of the many people showing cows this week at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock as part of the 2023 California State Holstein Show and the Western Spring National Jersey Show. The event is considered one of the biggest cattle competitions in the western region of the United States.
Festivities will kick off on Thursday, with the Youth Challenge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to the California Holstein Association, the challenge is designed to recognize young dairy enthusiasts in their work with showing cattle, encourage participation, promote friendly competition while also improving industry skills and knowledge. Preregistered participants will judge cattle, take a knowledge exam and present their own animals to Judge Jenny Thomas of Triple-T Holsteins of Ohio. At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the similar peewee showmanship will take place, giving younger children an opportunity to get an up-close look at the cattle showing experience.
Friday at 9 a.m. will be the start of the Western Spring National Jersey Show, which will welcome Judge Lynn Lee. After the jersey cattle, it’s time for the big boys on Saturday at 9 a.m. for the start of the State Holstein Show, judged this year by Tyler Reynolds of Reyncrest Farm of New York.
This year won’t be first time that the city of Turlock has played host to the state show, though it is returning to the fairgrounds a bit sooner than expected. The event venue rotates between Turlock and Tulare every two years. It was scheduled to return to Tulare for the second consecutive year this week, but the Tulare Agri-Center is currently being used as an operations command center for CalFire, coordinating and assisting with emergency operations due to flooding in the south valley.
Admission to this week’s events are entirely free of charge. For more information on this year’s show, head to www.caholstein.com. Photos of each showing and all competition results will be available at www.cowsmo.com/upcoming-events.
