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DALLAS — Twelve-year-old Austin Bonavita muscled his 1,500-pound Holstein dairy cow to stay in line during the 4-H Cattle Show at the Luzerne County Fair Thursday.
Raylene, the 2-year-old black cow, over-shadowed Bonavita, but obeyed his commands. Her compliance was the result of hours of training and two years of being cared for by Bonavita.
Bonavita learned to train and groom his dairy cow through the Susquehanna County 4-H Club.
The 4-H is a program for children, between the ages of 8 and 18, that teaches leadership skills, responsibility and compassion. The program is a collaborative effort between the Cooperative Extension Systems that includes the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of USDA, land grant universities and county government.
This is the first year the fair’s cattle show was open to 4-H groups from other counties, said Amy Salansky, a member of the Yellow Rose 4-H Club of Luzerne County.
“We used to compete within our own county,” Salansky said
The reason for the limitation lift was due to the declining numbers of family farms, she said.
“There are only 10 family dairy farms in Luzerne County,” Salansky said.
Raylene was one of over 50 different breeds of cattle taken to the Luzerne County Fair in Dallas to participate in Thursday’s 4-H Dairy Cow competition.
Each contestant was washed, brushed and groomed until their hair looked like velvet. However, each breed had its own “style” for grooming.
“Dairy cows are typically shaved, except for the hair on the top of their back,” Bonavita said. “The hair on the top is often spiked up.”
Unable to reach the top of Raylene, Bonavita relies on help from his family to groom the cow.
Carl Hoyt, 11, of Shickshinny, blow-dries his cow, Luther. A 1-year-old Black Angus cow, Luther has longer hair than a dairy cow, requiring a different grooming technique.
“It took about two hours to wash and dry him,” Hoyt said. “He (Luther) does not like to have his head blown (dried).”
Training a cow to be led with a harness is no easy feat, Salansky said.
“It is a year-long process,” said Destiney Rabe, 14, of Tunkhannock, a 4-H member from Wyoming County. “You have to train them (the cows) to walk a certain way.”
Rabe has been involved in the 4-H program for eight years and had her 8-month-old black and white Holstein named Deport at the show.
“She’s a good cow,” Rabe said, watching Deport lay down. “She won Junior Champion at the Wyoming County Fair. I am excited about that.”
