If you’re a Junior Holstein member or the parent of one, or you sell show calves to Junior members, here are some important changes in the 2008 rules you need to know.
No Backdated Transfers
This is the time of year when many Junior Holstein members are working with their calves, teaching them to lead and getting them ready for the shows. However, even though the 2007 show season is barely underway, it’s not too early to be thinking about 2008. Well before the end of this year, you’ll need to plan ahead to be ready for next year’s shows.
For many years, the rules for National Junior Holstein shows have required that heifers must be owned by the junior exhibitor by June 1 and cows must be owned by January 1 to be eligible to be shown that year. Those dates remain in effect but, starting in 2008, the transfer application must be received by the Holstein Association by the ownership deadlines. In other words, a Junior member won’t be able to show an animal transferred with a backdated application that was received by the Holstein Association after the deadline.
Beginning in mid-2007, when a Holstein is transferred to a Junior Holstein member, the registration certificate shows the date of transfer, as always, and also shows the date the transfer application was received by the Holstein Association. At check-in for 2008 shows, management will be looking at that date to be sure your animal was transferred before the deadline.
Bottom line? If you’re planning to show at National Junior Holstein shows in 2008, send in those transfers before the ownership deadline!
New Junior Leasing Program
Beginning in 2008, the Holstein Association will have a leasing program for National junior shows. Getting involved in a dairy project and showing Holsteins is a great way to learn valuable lessons about animal care and responsibility and, just as important, have fun doing it. Now, whether or not the Junior member lives on a dairy farm or owns a Registered Holstein, he or she can participate in Holstein junior show activities and exhibit animals at National Junior Holstein shows.
To record a lease, simply fill out a transfer application and check the “Lease” box on the form. The leasing information will be recorded and printed on the animal’s registration certificate. A few things to remember…You can’t lease a Holstein if you own any other animals at the same time and you can’t lease more than two animals at any one time. To show a leased animal as a yearling or cow, the lease must have been recorded when the animal was a calf. And, finally, you’re the only one who can show a leased animal; if anyone else shows her, the lease is automatically ended.
The leasing program benefits both the Junior member and the owner of the animal. The Junior gets to show a nice calf he or she might not otherwise be able to work with, and the animal and its offspring remain in the original ownership.
Dan Koopmans, Mohrfield Holsteins, Pleasant Plain, Ohio, is happy to see the leasing program. “We like to let a few of the kids in the neighborhood show some of our calves,” Koopmans said. “Now, the animals and their future calves will stay recorded in our ownership and carry our prefix.”
If you’re interested in leasing a Holstein, remember the lease application must be received by January 1 of the show year (for calves born after January 1, the deadline is May 1).
So, for the Junior shows next year, whether you plan to buy or lease, you need to plan ahead for a successful show season. For more detailed information, request a copy of the National Show Program or it’s also available online at www.holsteinusa.com. And, for questions about Junior shows or anything else about Holstein Association USA, call 800-952-5200 and we’ll be happy to help you.
Good luck at the shows!
