Lauryn and Gary Young of Chehalis are fourth generation Chehalis FFA members. The siblings are part of the W.F. West FFA dairy evaluation team, which placed fourth in the nation this year. Lauryn Young also placed sixth in the nation as an individual.
Gary Young, a senior at W.F. West High School, feeds young cows at his family's farm on a recent afternoon. Young is one of five students who will be traveling to Scotland and Ireland this summer to complete internationally on behalf of the Chehalis Future Farmers of America dairy evaluation team.
Lauryn Young gives a young jersey cow a pat under the chin while doing chores at her family farm on a recent afternoon. The Young family raises holstein and jersey cattle but Lauryn prefers the jerseys and showed her first cow at the Southwest Washington Spring Fair at the age of 3. Chehalis FFA advisor Chris Guenther said the strength of this year's FFA team is that these kids know dairy farming inside and out.
You could say that Gary and Lauryn Young of Chehalis have dairy farming in their blood.
Some of the earliest settlers to the Chehalis River valley were Youngs, and the family, owners of Claquato Farms, has been in the dairy business since 1867. Today, the family has 230 cows in their milking parlor, producing milk for Darigold.
Gary, a senior at W.F. West High School, and Lauryn, a freshman, received their first cows the day they were born and have worked on the family farm and around cattle their entire lives.
“They know this stuff inside and out,” said mom Carol Young.
That is the strength of this year’s W.F. West High School Future Farmers of America team, said advisor Chris Guenther. Guenther, who himself grew up participating locally in FFA, said the most dramatic shift he has seen in the organization as a whole is that many more students who participate in FFA these days do not have an agricultural background. But at W.F. West, Lewis County’s proud farming heritage is on display in many of the students who choose FFA.
“These kids have dairy experience and that gives them a competitive advantage,” Guenther said. “They’re in it. They’re around it on their family farms.”
In October 2019, the Chehalis FFA Dairy Evaluation Team of Gary Young, Cassy Schilter, Lauryn Young, Kaylee Keehr and Sahara Twiss placed fourth in the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. In addition, Lauryn Young placed sixth in the nation as an individual competitor. The competition tests the students’ ability to select and manage a dairy herd in both written and oral testing. Team members evaluate individual cows, looking for a balance, including how the animal’s udder, head and neck and hide look, which indicates a cow that will last longer in the herd and have a more productive life as a dairy cow.
“A better confirmed cow is going to have better health,” said Lauryn Young.
As a result of their performance on the national FFA stage, the Chehalis FFA team will travel to international judging contests at the Royal Highland Stock Show in Edinburgh, Scotland and the Charleville Agriculture and Stock Show in Cork, Ireland this summer. The two-week trip will give the students not only the chance to compete on an international level but also to tour some dairy farms in a different part of the world.
Guenther said they expect to encounter some national and regional differences in how the competitions are run but overall, he sees the upcoming experience as a good learning opportunity for his students. He explained that even for students who have some farming experience, competing at this level requires a great deal of work. He said the team studies relentlessly and has practiced many skills, including their public speaking. Guenther explained that participation in FFA also teaches teamwork, leadership, logic and many other skills that can help students no matter what career path they follow.
“If they want to stay in the industry, they’re going to have a lot of traction but I think any walk of life, it can serve them well,” Guenther said.
Participation in FFA can also be a route to college scholarships, as many universities have FFA competition teams. Gary and Lauryn Young are fourth generation Chehalis FFA members. Gary Young hopes to study welding at Centralia College and perhaps be able to use those skills to help with his family’s farm. Lauryn hopes to get a dairy evaluation scholarship and to study a dairy-related field in college. No matter what careers they seek, Carol Young said she feels the program has benefited her children.
“It’s just pulled them outside their comfort zone. They have been more able to participate in public speaking and it’s given them a chance to travel, whether it’s within the state or now, internationally,” Carol Young said. “If they weren’t in FFA, I don’t think that would be happening.”
The FFA team and booster club is currently fundraising to help defray the cost for students for this summer’s trip. A spaghetti feed was held on Feb. 15 and so far, the FFA team has raised about half of the needed funds. Team members are hoping the rest of the funds can be raised through the I-5 Toyota raffle as well as their annual spring soil sale.
