A most fitting occasion for North Wellington Co-op and 4-H!



A young 4-H member seen here “peeling out” the
 legs of a dairy cow. When clipping Dairy
cattle the only place that doesn’t
get buzzed is the belly and topline.



Learning to use clippers to groom a cow can be somewhat intimidating for most of us, but giving a nine year-old the opportunity, could be downright nerve-racking.

Well, that didn’t stop Mary Lynn Lawrence, of North Wellington Co-operative, when she decided to hold a 4-H community cow fitting event at the community park located right next door to the FS branch she works at in Mt. Forest, earlier this month.

Lawrence pledged to her manager early this year that she wanted to plan a community event that supported 4-H. She recalls that in her youth there used to be a large 4-H club in Mt. Forest and she wanted to see some renewed interest in the area.

She was right on both counts.... Mary Lynn expected to attract about 25 young people, but in fact, with a little creative advertizing, 55 kids from the ages of nine to 21 turned out from local communities of Paisley, Dundalk, West Luther, Listowel and Durham to get some hands-on practice in grooming techniques from experienced 4-H dairy and beef cattle fitters who also volunteered their time.

“Kids don’t get much chance to clip because not everyone is eager to allow their show animals to be practiced on,” says Lawrence. “The 4-H motto is learn to do by doing, so allowing the kids to get interactive with this activity was a bonus,” she adds.

North Wellington Co-operative has been a long-time supporter of local 4-H clubs and Mary Lynn has been involved with 4-H as a young member, and now as an adult, she and her brother volunteer as 4-H leaders for the Durham Beef Club along with her sister leading the 4-H Dairy club. The sisters provided the cows for this event, bringing with them four beefers and five dairy heifers from their own family farms.





Everyone was treated to a bbq lunch provided by North Wellington Co-operative and local media came out to support and capture the event. Lawrence is hoping to be able to keep this going at the co-op each year as an annual tradition

.