Emma Vos, Maribel, Wis., has been named the winner of the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. The contest recognizes Jersey youth for their leadership, activities and participation in Jersey functions, as well as success in breeding and managing their own Jersey cattle.
Applications received by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) were evaluated and ranked by a committee of judges to determine this year’s top 10 individuals. These 10 youth will receive cash awards totaling $4,500 at the Youth Awards Ceremony on Sunday morning, November 9, 2024, during All American festivities in Louisville, Ky.
First Emma Vos, Maribel, Wis.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Emma Vos swept the competition her first year applying to the contest. She hails from Maribel, Wis., where she resides with her parents, Ben and Amy, and her three siblings on their farm, Proud Heritage Jerseys.
Vos has been involved with Jersey activities the past seven years as part of the Wisconsin Junior Jersey Breeders Association, most recently serving as the organization’s president. She has been involved in many local and student organizations, as well as her local and collegiate judging teams where she claimed many team and individual accolades.
Her Jersey herd consists of 13 cows and 10 heifers, which are managed as part of her family’s rotational grazing operation. Her herd has an average appraisal score of Very Good-85.3%, with an average production record of 15,028 lbs. milk, 781 lbs. fat, and 558 lbs. protein. A showring highlight for Vos was exhibiting the 2022 Premier Performance Cow at the All American Junior Jersey Show.
Vos was a recipient of the 2023 Fred Stout Award where she completed her internship with Jersey Marketing Service. She has also participated in the Pot O’Gold sale and contest, as well as was a member of Jersey Youth Academy Class VII. Vos is a past Wisconsin Jersey Queen and has competed in the National Jersey Queen contest.
Vos will graduate from UW-Madison with a degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics. After continuing her education, Vos hopes to work within the industry for several years before returning to her family’s farm.
Second Tyler Seals, Tillamook, Ore.
Sunny Ridge Dairy
Second place of the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest goes to Tyler Seals. He jumped to this spot after placing 4th last year. Tyler’s parents are Dave and Kim Seals of Sunny Ridge Dairy, Tillamook, Ore.
Seals has participated in a variety of Jersey activities. An AJCA member for the past 16 years, he has participated in the National Youth Production Contest, Pot O’Gold Production Contest and 2021 Jersey Youth Academy. Seals credits Jersey Youth Academy for igniting an internal fire within himself to accelerate his involvement with the Jersey breed.
“It motivated me to keep wanting to breed the next great bull or female,” Seals wrote. “It also helped me connect with young people from around the country that will be friends, as well as business colleagues, for many years to come.
Seals is also active in the showring. He has claimed multiple accolades at the Tillamook County Fair, Oregon State Fair and Western National Jersey Show. A 2022 recipient of the American FFA Degree, Seals has also been involved throughout his youth in both FFA and 4-H.
At Sunny Ridge Dairy, Seals is responsible for aiding in daily operations and doing all the maintenance work around the farm. His personal herd consists of 50 heifers and 58 cows. Seals aims to breed more females that will find spots on the Top 300 GJPI list. His goal is to make the most efficient and profitable cows possible.
Third Sara Reed, Columbia Cross Roads, Pa.
Penn State University
Taking third place in both the 2023 and 2022 National Jersey Youth Achievement contests is Sara Reed, Columbia Cross Roads, Pa. She is the daughter of Leonard and Erin Reed of Ravineside Farm.
A freshman at Pennsylvania State University, Reed aspires to work in dairy cattle genetics marketing in the future. To accomplish this, she has fully immersed herself in industry involvement, starting when she asked her mother to show a calf at eight-years-old.
Reed has been a member of the AJCA for 10 years, as well as the Pennsylvania Jersey Cattle Association. She has served as the Pennsylvania Jersey Queen and was a Top 5 Finalist in the 2022 National Jersey Queen contest.
With seven heifers and five cows of her own at Ravineside Farm, Reed takes pride in providing individualized care of each of her animals to accomplish her herd goals. She has reaped the rewards of these efforts, having received many high placing individuals at local, state and national shows. Her five cows have an average appraisal of Excellent-90.6%.
An accomplished speaker, Reed has given numerous presentations throughout the years to a variety of audiences. She was the Reserve Overall Winner of the “Give Us Your Best 60 Second Intro” contest at the 2022 All American.
Reed also is an accomplished dairy cattle evaluator, competing in the 2021 National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest. She was also a member of Class VIII of Jersey Youth Academy.
Coltan Seals, son of Tom and Jennie Seals, placed fourth in the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. Coltan has returned to his family farm, Legendairy Farms, LLC, in Tillamook, Ore., after completing his education at Fox Valley Technical College.
Seals has been active in Jersey organizations for the past 10 years. Throughout that time, he has competed in various production and showring competitions while striving to bridge the gap between production and type-focused cattle.
2023 was one for the books for Seals. He owned the second place individual in Division II of the National Youth Production Contest, as well as claimed many blue and purple ribbons in the showring. His junior two-year-old, Pacific Edge VIP Tessah-ET, won her class and was later named honorable mention intermediate champion.
Over the years, Seals has grown his herd to 71 cows and 60 heifers. This foundation herd has allowed him to market several bulls to A.I. companies, as well as consign animals in several sales.
As Seals transitions into the family farm, he has taken ownership of management of several employees, as well as overseeing their manure hauling and application plans which he does for several area farms. He is very involved with mating decisions and scheduling animals for flushing programs.
Another graduate of Jersey Youth Academy, Seals credits the Jersey breed for opening his mind, creating great relationships, and giving him opportunities he never realized were possible.
Fifth Nicole Arrowsmith, Peach Bottom, Pa.
Penn State University
Nicole Arrowsmith is the fifth-place winner of the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. She was raised in Peach Bottom, Pa., and is currently a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University, where she studies agricultural and extension education.
Arrowsmith has participated in Jersey youth and dairy industry activities for past nine years. She has been a member of several winning dairy quiz bowl teams and won the junior dairy jeopardy contest at the 2017 AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings.
In 2021, she attended Jersey Youth Academy, where she networked with peers who shared similar passions and interests. Arrowsmith was also selected as a 2023 recipient of the Mike Hellenbrand Lasting Legacy Award.
Active in the family operation, Hillacres Jerseys, Arrowsmith is a contributing member to all areas of the farm and takes pride in her recent contributions to making mating decisions.
Arrowsmith aims to breed high-type cattle, and she has been able to fulfil those goals in recent years. In 2023, she exhibited the Reserve Premier Performance Cow at the All American Jersey Show in Louisville. In the Junior Show, she also showed the Junior All American Senior Three-Year-Old and eighth-place junior three-year-old.
In the future, Arrowsmith would like to be a high school agriculture teacher. She aims to educate youth on the agriculture industry and give them opportunities for a successful future. Ideally, she will also offer a lease program to allow non-farm children to exhibit dairy animals.
Sixth Kylie Konyn, Escondido, Calif.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kylie Konyn placed sixth in the 2022 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. Originally from Escondido, Calif., Kylie now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studies dairy science and has a certificate in agriculture business management and science communications.
With an extensive list of involvement and activities from her 10 years of Jersey youth involvement, some highlights include serving as the 2021 National Jersey Queen and attending Jersey Youth Academy. Konyn has also held multiple positions over the years in her home state’s Junior Jersey organization, as well as is active in numerous organizations at UW-Madison.
Most recently, Konyn has had the unique opportunity to study abroad at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.
Konyn’s herd of 36 cows and 25 heifers resides on the last dairy farm in California’s San Diego County. Her parents, Frank and Stacy, have allowed Konyn the opportunity to grow this herd that has a mixture of type and production-focused cattle by attending local, state and national sales, meetings and shows.
In the future, Konyn would like to pursue a master’s degree in nutrition with a focus on the Jersey breed. She would also like to collaborate with her family to develop niche marketing initiatives for dairy products aimed towards San Diego consumers while educating them on the industry and benefits of consuming dairy products.
Seventh Clancey Krahn, Albany, Ore.
Oklahoma State University
The seventh-place winner of the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest is Clancey Krahn. She has jumped to this spot after placing eighth last year.
The 2023 National Jersey Queen has been representing the Jersey breed through various involvement opportunities over the past 16 years. She grew up on her family’s vertically integrated Royal Riverside Farm with her parents, Ben and Amy, and sister, Gracie. Her herd consists of 45 cows and 44 heifers. The family bottles premium Jersey milk and sells it in 60 stores in Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley.
Krahn has used her passion for communication to educate others about the Jersey breed and dairy industry. She has given many speeches and farm tours, with aims to shorten the gap between consumers and farms. In fact, she is pursing degrees in animal science and agriculture communications at Oklahoma State University this fall to continue this mission.
A highlight for Krahn’s showring career was when she exhibited the Junior Champion of the All American Junior Jersey Show last November with her Junior All American Spring Yearling, MM Gentry Sadie-ET. Krahn also placed second in senior showmanship at the 2023 All American.
Krahn is also a Jersey Youth Academy graduate of 2023. In addition, she was the national winner of the FFA Dairy Production Proficiency Award.
Eighth Jessica Hewitt, Acampo, Calif.
South Dakota State University
Daughter of Jill Thomas, Jessica Hewitt is this year’s eighth place winner of the 2023 National Youth Achievement Contest. Hewitt is currently studying at South Dakota State University (SDSU) with a mission to become a large animal veterinarian.
Hewitt’s herd is made up of five cows and 10 heifers. While her heifers are housed with her mother in California, Hewitt’s milking herd is housed at Lady Lane Farms in Oregon. Throughout her years with Lady Lane, she was active in helping care for the cattle, as well as helping with the milk bottling business.
She has exhibited her cattle at very shows throughout Oregon. In fact, she was the 2022 Master Showman at the Clackamas County Fair. Hewitt has also placed towards the top of her showmanship many times at the Western National Show.
A member of the Oregon State Jersey Cattle Club and the ACJA the past 13 years, Hewitt was the 2022-2023 Western National Jersey Queen and attended Jersey Youth Academy in 2021.
Hewitt feels that it is important for the Jersey breed to continue breeding for the most efficient cow possible. While capitalizing on the Jersey efficiency, she feels that by combining this with the niche markets like A2A2 that it will help their owners maintain their profitability.
At SDSU, she is involved in the Pre-Vet Club, Swing Dance Club, Dairy Club, and participated in both the artificial insemination school and equine hoof trimming and showing course. Hewitt also has an extensive list of scholarships she has received throughout the past several years, including the 2022 Jack Nisbet Scholarship presented by the AJCA.
Ninth Regan Johnson, Northwood, N.H.
Lakes Region Community College
Regan Johnson is a second-time award winner in the National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. Through her hard work the past 14 years, she has earned a ninth-place finish.
Johnson is a ninth-generation dairy farmer from Northwood, N.H. She and her parents, Jason and Heather, operate Johnson Acres. Her personal herd consists of three cows and three heifers which are bred with a high-type focus. These efforts have paid off, as her herd has a Very Good-88% average appraisal.
She has been a regular exhibitor at local, state and national shows throughout her youth career. In 2022, she exhibited the Reserve Junior All American Winter Yearling and exhibited a bred and owned entry in the 2021 National Jersey Jug Futurity.
Johnson is currently serving as a director of the Vermont Jersey Breeders Association. She was also a member of Class VIII of Jersey Youth Academy.
>In July 2023, Johnson opened a farmstand, The Olde Farmstand, in a renovated corn crib on the farm. There, they sell raw Jersey milk, yogurt, cream, butter, ice cream, eggs, beef and vegetables. Johnson also allows local 4-H members to market their own products in the farmstand.
Currently pursuing an associate’s degree in fire science, Johnson aims to be a full-time firefighter and paramedic. This career will allow her to serve her community, while still pursing her passion for the Jersey breed and dairy industry.
10th Sophia Bollenbacher, Argson, Ind.
Purdue University
Sophia Bollenbacher, daughter of Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbacher, is the 10th-place winner of the 2023 National Jersey Youth Achievement Contest. She has been working for 11 years on Jersey youth projects and owns a herd of 61 heifers and 306 cows.
Bollenbacher is no stranger to the showring and her dedication to the show animal program is the catalyst to her family’s success. She exhibited the 2023 Junior All American Winter Calf and the 2022 Junior All American Summer Yearling at the All American Jersey Show. Bollenbacher also claimed Supreme Champion laurels at the 2022 Indiana State Fair with one of her entries.
In 2023, she represented Indiana as the Indiana Jersey Queen which gave her the opportunity to compete in the National Jersey Queen competition in Louisville that fall. Bollenbacher also competed at the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in Madison where her team placed fourth.
In the future, Bollenbacher would like to see the Jersey breed to sustain a healthy, productive and genetically diverse population that produces quality milk and contributes to profitability for generations to come.
As for her own future, Bollenbacher is not certain where her future career lies. She is capitalizing on the opportunities at Purdue by getting involved with the Purdue Dairy Club and Sigma Alpha, their professional agriculture sorority.
