4-H Dairy Buds are pictured with their “big buddies.”

4-H has a long tradition of working with children, and many of them start young. Many children work with or raise animals with 4-H from the time they are five years old. These young members are typically called Clover Buds, and they work with animals as large as cows and as small as rabbits. Some of them are in clubs, where they learn skills like sewing, woodworking and more.

In July, the Clover Buds from the dairy program, called Dairy Buds, showed in the county fair. They didn’t earn blue ribbons or grand champion ribbons, but they did gain valuable experience in showing a cow in the ring, interacting with the judge, and showing an animal in front of a crowd. That’s a big accomplishment for a 5-8 year old and a great start, not only in 4-H, but in life.

“Children can learn a lot more than people give them credit for” according to dairy volunteer Julie Nickerson. “We teach them simpler versions of the same information the older youth are learning, and they really absorb it”

Each Dairy Bud was paired with a mentor in the dairy program. Their mentors are older youth in the program that have more experience in raising dairy cattle. They use their experience to give one on one guidance to the Dairy Buds.

The mission of 4-H is to connect youth to hands-on learning opportunities that help them grow into competent, caring, contributing members of society. Some children do this through the animal programs that 4-H is best known for. Others do this through clubs that learn woodworking, sewing, ceramics and more. Many do both.

This year’s dairy buds came from all over Chautauqua County, from Jamestown to Forestville, and included Landon Carpenter, Randi Frank, Mia Harris-Vazquez, Isaac Hotchkiss, Brant and Cora Anne Joy, Carver Mierzwa, Emerson and Gaige Moss, Linnea Olmstead, and Hayden and Willa Weise.