The Return of Maryland Day, and the Ag Day Show on the Campus Farm-2022

April 30, 2022 marked the return of a fully on-campus Maryland Day/Ag Day following two years of mostly virtual events, and it was a perfect day for a community-wide celebration. An estimated 65,000 alumni, students, and community members spent the beautiful spring day enjoying our campus-wide open house full of hundreds of events, booths, UMD swag, and participatory activities including the naming of a 2-week-old heifer: Tesmoodo.

Maryland Day has its roots in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Agricultural Day, or Ag Day for short, a college tradition going back nearly 100 years. The Department of Animal and Avian Sciences has been a long-time participant in Ag Day. This year’s ANSC highlights were a student livestock show competition, a five-day-old filly born on campus, barn tours, and interactive Campus Farm stations. The Grand Champion of the day was Caroline Knarr and the winner of the Chad Clark Herdsmanship Award was Anthony Righter.

The livestock show began with two classes of swine, then four of dairy, and finally four of sheep, but each of the 45 student participants started working with their animals much earlier in the semester. Each showperson clocked many hours of training with their animals, learning how to properly walk, stand, and present to the show judges, as well as how to wash, groom, and care for the animals, as they formed a bond with their partner in the ring.

Niraj Suresh was one such showperson who jumped at the opportunity to take part in the show, saying “I grew up in the suburbs and was not introduced to things such as 4-H until I got to college. Once I was introduced, I was a bit sad that I never got to show animals as a kid. I knew I would have loved it…Before coming to UMD, animal showing was a completely foreign concept so it was really cool to be right in the middle of it.”

Suresh chose to show dairy, explaining, “Their affection and complex range of emotions make cattle truly amazing animals to work with. Even though I have had the pleasure of working with many amazing animals in my time on Farm Crew and in animal science classes, cattle are number one in my heart.”

Discussing all the preparation before the show, Suresh said, “For one I learned how to actually train the animal to get used to you, walking, and setting up stance correctly. We also got to learn how to groom our heifers, first with washing consistently, then an all-around haircut closer to the show, and finally a top line trimming.”

All of the work Suresh and the other student participants put in resulted in a unique learning experience. Suresh was awarded the Dairy Champion and the crowd in the stands enjoyed an excellent Ag Day Show from all the animals and classes. Full results from the show are below.

As for students who may consider participating as a showperson next year, Suresh said, “Be ready for a commitment, but one that is extremely rewarding and well worth the time,” adding, “While Ag Day was lots of fun, it was the weeks of prep that I will always remember. Coming to the farm everyday to see my heifer Daisy is something I will always cherish. If you are thinking about showing on Ag Day, do it! It will be an experience you will remember forever.”

Ag Day Show Results:

Grand Champion: Caroline Knarr

Chad Clark Award: Anthony Righter