This year eight 4-H members in Elkhart County competed in the Milk Quality and Products Career Development event contests. These students spent many hours learning more about milk production, food safety and quality control. They learned about different kinds of cheeses, how they were made and what gives the cheese its flavor, they learned how to calculate milk prices and how different components affect the price of milk, and they also learned how to read nutrition labels. The Milk Quality and Products program develops the STEM skills that these youth will need in their future and helps them work as a team to solve issues in the food system.

This was the first year that the Milk Quality and Products Career Development event had an area qualifier for the state contest. Eight youth represented Elkhart County at the Area contest, and one of the teams made it to the state level. The Elkhart County 4-H Junior team placed 2nd overall in their division with many top individual awards: Kate Wendzonka 2nd overall individual, Ethan Sutton 3rd overall individual, Oliver Nisen 7th overall individual, and Lydia Nisen 8th overall individual.

The Elkhart County 4-H Program is open to all youth in grades Kindergarten to 12th grade and offers over 70 different learning areas for youth to discover and growth their life skills. To learn more about the 4-H program visit: extension.purdue.edu/Elkhart or call the Purdue Extension-Elkhart County at 574.533.0554. 4-H enrollment is open now until January 15 and you can sign up at: in.4honline.com