Generations of the California Dairy Industry – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Joey Airoso is a fourth-generation California dairyman, his son, Joseph is the fifth, and his grandchildren could be the sixth. His great grandfather, Charles, emigrated from the Azores to the San Joaquin Valley in 1912. Charles had been a dairyman in the islands of Portugal, but moved his family to the US, to live the […]

Western Classic Dairy Show in its Sixth Year

The Western Classic Junior Dairy Show began in 2012 and has been held annually every year since at the Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford. It is a junior-only dairy cattle show, allowing youth ages 5-21 to participate. In late 2011, due to tough economic times and decreased funding from the State of California, the Great Western […]

The Art of Showing Dairy Cattle

To show dairy cattle it takes patience, practice, and hard work. It starts by finding or breeding the most ideal show cow or heifer, based off a nationally used scorecard. For milk cows, the breakdown is: Frame 15%, Dairy Strength 25%, Rear Feet and Legs 20%, Udder 40%. The judge places the class of cows […]