Farm Horizons
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June 6, 2016
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Page 8
G-SL student named state’s top
FFA dairy cattle handler
By Marie Zimmerman
Ben Donnay has been showing cattle since he could
walk, and this year he walked away from the 87th annual Minnesota FFA Convention as the top dairy cattle
handler in the state. He will now have the opportunity
to represent Minnesota at the 89th annual National Convention and Expo this October in Indiana.
It was the first trip to state convention for the GlencoeSilver Lake High School junior, and his first year in the
dairy cattle handler career development event (CDE).
Only 27 dairy handlers from Minnesota’s eight FFA
regions — encompassing more than 10,000 members
— earned the right to compete in the state CDE.
“To get to state in that contest in the first place is a
pretty big deal,” said Glencoe-Silver Lake High School
FFA Advisor Becky Haddad, adding Donnay’s firstplace finish was “huge.”
But, Donnay has been humble in success and a role
model for his peers, she added.
“The way he’s handled himself through the whole
thing has just been really cool to see as an advisor,”
Haddad said.
In dairy cattle handling, each contestant receives a
cow at random to show. Judging is based on poise of
the handlers and their ability to display animals to their
best advantage.
“It’s different every time, because you never know
what animal you’re going to get,” Donnay said.
Despite hearing he drew a “mean cow,” she did fine
on the halter, Donnay said, and he had a good feeling
about the show. Finding out he placed first still overwhelmed him.
“To be going to nationals is pretty exciting,” said
Donnay, who has been an FFA member since middle
school.
The state convention made an impression on him
too, with more than 3,600 FFA members, advisors, and
guests from across the state in attendance, and activities
hosted all around the University of Minnesota - Twin
Cities campus.