FLEMINGTON, N.J. — Following the 4-H Dairy Show at the Hunterdon County 4-H & Agriculture Fair, a surprise celebration was held for a cow and two cow girls.

The cow is nearly 10 years old and has been shown at the county show for the past 10 years. Her name is Dogwood Lane Silverado Beva, born December 3, 2015. It is not often that a young 4-H’er begins with a calf and shows her every year until she finishes her 4-H career. An excerpt was read from the first 4-H story of Beva’s owner, Cassidy Hunt, as follows:  “Hi, my name is Cassidy Hunt and I just completed 4th grade at West Amwell Elementary School. I am 10 years old and this is my first year as a regular 4-H club member after 3 years as a prep member. I wanted a Guernsey but we didn’t have any calves to be born.  My grandmother took me out to Pennsylvania but we had to travel on to Maryland before we could find a Guernsey calf. When we went over the hill toward the farm, we both screamed at the unusual sight we saw – fields full of Guernsey cows! 

We visited two barns with calves.  I picked Beva because she was nice and she was big for her age. She wasn’t ready to leave and we had no way to bring her home so I had to wait another month to get her.  My Dad and I fixed a pen and pasture for her so she could stay by my house.  My uncle and grandmom went to pick her up. I couldn’t go because I had school – I couldn’t wait to get home to be with her. 

We soon bonded and I spent time with her every day. By having Beva at my house, I took on a lot of responsibility because I had to feed her every day, make sure she had water, and needed to keep the barn clean. I talked to her a lot and got so I could walk right up to her and put her halter on. 

I learned how to do a topline and how to tell when a cow is in heat.  From my past experience, I washed my own calf and can clip her all but the head which is a little harder to do.  I learned that feeding too much grain will make her too heavy so I had to cut back on the amount of grain I gave her.”

A big surprise for the day was that Beva’s original owner, John Myers and his son Henry came to the fair from Worton, Maryland. This surprise brought tears to Cassidy’s eyes as John spoke about Beva and how happy he is to see what a good cow Beva has been to Cassidy and how much she loves this cow.

Kathy Young, leader of the Mt. Airy 4-H Dairy Club brought some humor to the program when she noted times when Beva wasn’t a real good  girl in the barn – breaking boards and getting loose at night.

The program went  on to tell about Cassidy and her friend Annabelle Majorossy.  Both girls age out of 4-H this year so this was the last 4-H dairy show for each of them.  They have become good friends through the years and have taken part in nearly every 4-H activity including county and state presentations, state and national Dairy Bowl contests, state judging and clip-off contests, and many shows.

Sherrie Peterson, a former Hunterdon County 4-H agent and Sharon Toth, the current agent, spoke of their many contributions to the program and many of their awards.  Veterinarian Jon Higgins spoke about all that Cassidy has learned milking and caring for cows at Delaware Valley University where she will be a sophomore this fall majoring in dairy science.

Treacy Weeks spoke about Annabelle milking cows for her and her husband Jared, owners of HunVal Farm. Both girls know the names and more about each cow at their respective farms almost better than the owners. 

Sarah Lyness sent a text about the girls and all they have done for the dairy princess program through the years from young ambassadors, to county dairy princesses, to the state program where Annabelle was Alternate State Princess last year and Cassidy is currently serving as New Jersey’s State Dairy Princess. 

A big part of 4-H is community service and both girls contribute to their communities.  Annabelle has won the Senator’s trophy and the trip to Club Congress, two of the highest 4-H honors.

West Amwell Fire Chief Jeff Ent spoke about the hundreds of hours Cassidy has spent to become a fourth-generation certified volunteer fire company member.

Bob Hoffman, president of the Fair Board, congratulated the girls on all they have accomplished. Several Mt. Airy 4-H Dairy Club alumni attended the celebration and it was noted how many of them have gone on to be dairy farmers, fair board members, 4-H leaders or are working in related fields of agriculture.

The proud parents of Annabelle are Jackie and Ed Majorossy of Raritan Township and those of Cassidy are Paul and Tammy Hunt of West Amwell Township. 

Annabelle and Cassidy graduated from 4-H but they love their cows and will probably always be around the program speaking up for agriculture and the dairy industry.  As for Beva, she will be spending her senior years grazing on pasture and always watching for Cassidy to visit her with a special hug and treat.