CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – Days of lingering smoke from far distant wildfires, along with heat, humidity, and threat of severe weather may have kept some of the cows home this year, but the annual Mid-Atlantic Brown Swiss Invitational, hosted by the Maryland Brown Swiss Association, featured a strong field of heifers and a competitive, though smaller cow lineup Saturday, July 18 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Youth activities kicked off Thursday evening, July 16. On Friday morning, youth participated in a show prep demonstration, followed by the showmanship contest, judged by Jason Heeter, a fun auction, and barbecue.

On Saturday, Judge Darin Hill evaluated 110 Brown Swiss from seven states while enjoying the festivities with his wife Katie and their four children. The Hills own and operate Hill’s Valley Farm outside of Cattaraugus, New York, with 140 registered Brown Swiss and Holsteins. He has judged state shows across the country as well as regional and national shows in Louisville, Harrisburg and the Big E.

Hill remarked often on the exceptional quality as Brown Swiss enthusiasts competed from Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

When it came to selecting top honors, he spoke of the future for the top young cows but favored the maturity, balance and quality of the aged cows with four or more calvings to their credit.

Colebrook Farms, New Hartford, Connecticut claimed the open show grand champion and best bred-and-owned banners for the second consecutive year. Last year, they did it with a 3-year-old; this year the honors went to their first-place aged cow and senior champion Colebrook Creek DT Alina, sired by Dynamite and exhibited by Abigail Wilber and Jenna Lenhart.

Reserve grand and reserve senior champion was Rad-ical Star of the Show ETV, the second-place aged cow exhibited by Lindsey Rucks and Mile High Genetics of Englewood, Florida.

Intermediate champion and honorable mention grand went to Gast Vet Norwin Lexington ETV, a senior 3-year-old shown by Jenna Lenhart and Dylan Fry of Apex Genetics, Chestertown, Maryland.

For reserve intermediate champion, it was Peach Kist Foremost Toledo, the senior 3-year-old exhibited by Andrew and Jenna Lenhart of Dialed-In Dairy, Thurmont, Maryland.

The junior champion and best bred-and-owned heifer of the open show was Jennings Gap Norwin Woozle ET, the spring yearling exhibited by Billie Jo Rhodes of Jennings Gap Dairy, Churchville, Virginia. Her first-place fall calf, Kruses Foremost Jitters ET earned honorable mention.

Abbie and Andrew Evans of A Joy Swiss, Little Meadows, Pennsylvania garnered honorable mention intermediate champion with senior 2-year-old A Joy WW Classical. They also had senior best three and were named Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor overall. Peter Vail was Premier Exhibitor of the heifer show.

Perhaps the story of the day belonged to breeder and exhibitor Hannah Balthaser, 18, of Bernville, Pennsylvania. She earned the Premier Breeder banner of the heifer show amid open competition from larger established programs. She brought a string of seven homebred Northkill Creek calves and yearlings.

She brought only one cow. That senior 2-year-old, Northkill Creek Groovin ET, sired by Daredevil, was tapped for grand champion, intermediate champion, and best bred-and-owned of the youth show.

Reserve grand and reserve intermediate champion was Mile High T Jammy, the junior 2-year-old exhibited by Andi Krstanovic of Anovadale Acres, Fairfield, Pennsylvania.

In the heifer department, Hannah bested a deep field of 9 group entries to earn junior best three. This included her fall yearling Northkill Creek Groove Time-ET that was junior champion and best bred-and-owned of the youth heifer show and reserve junior champion of the open show. Hannah’s winter yearling Northkill Creek Glacier garnered reserve junior champion of the youth show.

Honorable mention went to Ellie Widerman of Jobo Farm LLC, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for her fall calf, Spots Pride Coll Penelope-ETV.

She got the bug, same as her Dad

Hannah has made Brown Swiss her business, and passion, ever since her first homebred show calf Northkill Creek Groovy began her famed journey to amass a list of champion banners and honors, including grand, senior, best bred-and-owned and reserve supreme at the 2022 World Dairy Expo youth show, where she also stood reserve senior champion and honorable mention grand in the open show.

Both Groovin and Groove Time, along with several others in Hannah’s string Saturday, are daughters of Groovy, tracing back more than six generations of home breeding to Gilda, the first 4-H calf of Hannah’s father Randy in 1980.

The Brown Swiss bug bit Hannah just as it did her father. They now make up more than one-third of the herd at home among the family’s commercial Holsteins.

Earlier this year, Hannah was named Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor of the Brown Swiss heifer show at the New York Spring Dairy Carousel.

The Mid-Atlantic Brown Swiss Invitational continues to showcase some of the breed’s strongest genetics while maintaining the family atmosphere that has become its hallmark, combining youth activities, fellowship, and elite competition.

Class placings follow: Junior entries are indicated in parentheses (1):

Spring calves: 1. (B&O) A Joy WW Nadia, Andrew and Abbie Evans, Little Meadows, Pa.; 2. Miss Time To Watch Me, Wynona Syndicate, Churchville, Va.; 3. (1) GS Playtime Show Light OSC, Levi Pickett, New Windsor, Md.

Winter calves: 1. Redcarpet By Design ET, Peter Vail, Englewood, Fla.; 2. (B&O) JoBo-Packard Ray Snowflake, Jobo Farm LLC, Terri Packard and Ernest Kueffner, Gettysburg, Pa.; 3. (1) Dublin Hills JoJo, Braxton Lasley, Woodsboro, Md.

Fall calves: 1. Kruses Foremost Jitters ET, Jenna Lenhart and Billie Jo Rhodes, Churchville, Va.; 2. B-3-Haines Time For War ETV, Brent Moyer, Locust-Ayr Farm, Taneytown, Md.; 3. (1) Spots Pride Coll Penelope-ETV, Ellie Widerman, Gettysburg, Pa.

Summer yearlings: 1.  WF Ray of Light ETV, Billie Jo Rhodes, Kathy Whitman and Cindy Warner, Churchville, Va.; 2.(B&O) All-Glo Carter Paris-ET, Justin and Ashley Kaufman, Berlin, Pa.; 3. JoBo TopNotch Patriot, Jobo Farm LLC; (1)  Hills Valley LT F Dragon, Kiley Little, Thurmont.

Spring yearlings: 1. (B&O) Jennings Gap Norwin Woozle ET, Billie Jo Rhodes; 2. (1) CIE Northkill Creek Tessa, Hannah Balthaser, Bernville, Pa.; 3.All-Glo Carter Popular-ET, Justin and Ashley Kaufman.

Winter yearlings: 1. (1) (B&O) Northkill Creek Glacier, Hannah Balthaser; 2. Dublin Hills Tweetles, Shanna Lasley, Woodsboro, Md.; 3. Knapp Woody Rudolph ETV, Peter Vail.

Fall yearlings: 1. (1) (B&O) Northkill Creek Groove Time ET, Hannah Balthaser; 2. Royal Hill DD Verity, Peter Vail; 3. Apex DB Grits ETV, Dylan Fry, Chestertown, Md.

Junior best three: 1. Hannah Balthaser; 2. Billie Jo Rhodes; 3. Justin and Ashley Kaufman.

Summer Jr. 2-year-olds: 1. (B&O) Apex Sonnys Scion ETV, Dylan Fry.

Jr. 2-year-olds: 1. Edge View K Damaris ETV, Mikey and Kayla Barton, Blake and Billie Jo Rhodes and Kathy Whitman, Churchville, Va.; 2.  (B&O) Peach Kist Thunder Telluride, Andrew and Jenna Lenhart, Thurmont, Md.; 3. (1) Mile High T Jammy, Andi Krstanovic, Fairfield, Pa.

Sr. 2-year-olds: 1. (B&O) A Joy WW Classical, Andrew and Abbie Evans; 2. (1) Northkill Creek Groovin ET, Hannah Balthaser; 3. (2) CIE La-MNel-Lo Hardy, Chance Rotz, St. Thomas, Pa.

Sr. 3-year-olds: 1. Gast Vet Norwin Lexington ETV, Jenna Lenhart and Dylan Fry; 2. (B&O) Peach Kist Foremost Toledo, Andrew and Jenna Lenhart.

4-year-olds: 1. Top Acres Diego Wizer ETV, Lukas Foote, Thurmont, Md.; 2. (B&O) A Joy F Coconut Cream, Abbie Evans.

Aged cows: 1. (B&O) Colebrook Creek DT Alina, Abigail Wilber and Jenna Lenhart, New Hartford, Conn.; 2. Radical Star of the Show ETV, Lindsey Ann Rucks, Mile High Genetics, Englewood, Fla.; 3. A Joy CP Snow White, Abbie Evans.

Senior best three: Andrew and Abbie Evans.

Produce of dam: Andrew and Jenna Lenhart.