If you remember your European history (or are familiar with a song from ABBA) you know that Napoleon’s army was defeated near Waterloo, Belgium in 1815. This marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Today, if we say that someone met his or her Waterloo, that means that person has suffered a major setback or defeat.
Between 1947 and 1967 some FFA members met their Waterloo in Waterloo, Iowa. So what were they doing in Waterloo, Iowa?
- Participating in the National FFA Dairy Judging Contest held in conjunction with the National Dairy Cattle Congress.
- Participating in the National FFA Farm Mechanics Contest conducted at the John Deere Waterloo factory.
- Participating in the National FFA Land Judging Contest conducted by the Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
- Participating in the National FFA Farm Management Contest conducted by the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
While most FFA contests (known today as Career Development Events) are held during the National FFA Convention, there was a time when some of the contests were held at different times and at different geographic locations. This Footnote focuses on one such judging event that spanned three decades in Waterloo, Iowa.
Waterloo, Dairy Judging and the FFA
The 1947 FFA Convention Proceedings state (p. 117) “The National F.F.A. Judging Contests for Dairy Cattle, Dairy Products, and Poultry Production were held in Waterloo, Iowa, October 1-2.” It was also mentioned that teams were composed of individuals from different schools in the states that competed. In addition to the FFA judging contests at Waterloo in 1947 there was the regional FFA public speaking contest with contestants from 13 north central states competing. See Figure 1 to see what a newspaper in Iowa reported.
Figure 1. The Muscatine Journal, June 12, 1947.
Before Waterloo – After the National FFA was established in 1928, it took several years before dairy cattle judging became a part of the national convention in Kansas City. The FFA convention was closely tied to the American Royal Livestock show but the Royal did not have a dairy division. Therefore, they had to truck dairy animals in for the judging. The first dairy judging event at the national FFA Convention occurred in 1934 and continued through 1941.
During World War II the national FFA conventions were streamlined, and many typical convention activities were suspended including dairy judging. It took some time after the war for things to return to normal. In 1947 the FFA dairy cattle judging contest reappeared, but not in Kansas City.
At Waterloo – As the previous newspaper clipping indicated the National FFA Dairy Contests were moved to Waterloo, Iowa as part of the National Dairy Cattle Congress in 1947. The National FFA Dairy Judging events in Waterloo, Iowa continued for the next 20 years. After 1947 the FFA Convention Proceeding rarely mentioned the Dairy Cattle, Dairy Products or Poultry events held in Waterloo (at some point in time the poultry event at Waterloo disappeared). Occasionally a national officer would report that he attended the Waterloo Dairy Cattle Congress representing the FFA, typically as the toastmaster for a banquet.
During the 1950s one of the FFA Dairy Cattle Judging teams participating at the Waterloo event made national news. The team was from Arkansas. The three team members were Franklin, Delano, and Roosevelt Robberson. They were triplets. The doctor who delivered them was a fan of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and suggested their names. I don’t know how they placed at the contest but do know Delano later became an agriculture teacher.
Figure 2. The Lima (OH) Citizen, March 10, 1958
The National FFA Dairy Judging Contest continued in Waterloo, Iowa for decades. However, during the 1960s change was in the air. The National Dairy Cattle Congress moved the show to an earlier date and changed the prize and premium patterns. The Kansas City Star (October 9, 1966, p. 169) reported that “Almost immediately some of the dairy breed associations expressed dissatisfaction with the new arrangement and it became apparent that while they had traditionally called the Waterloo show their national show, they could change.”
In the same article it was reported that:
The Future Farmers of America for years have been having their national dairy judging contest and some related activities at the National Dairy congress at Waterloo. This event has taken place just prior to the FFA convention in Kansas City. Obviously, it required sending a staff of FFA officials to Waterloo, Iowa. Also, the boys who attend the Waterloo show must go home and they miss the Kansas City convention, the really big affair nationally for the farm boys.
Even though they have been treated well at Waterloo, some FFA officials have made it plain they would welcome an arrangement whereby the national dairy activities could be brought to Kansas City. It would be more economical for the FFA and also would mean that the dairy judging teams probably could stay over for the convention.
This 1966 article in the Kansas City Star was somewhat like the proverbial crystal ball. The Waterloo Dairy Cattle Congress started diversifying and even had horse and machinery shows. The dairy industry took a dim view of the diversification. The National Dairy Association withdrew its support in 1965 and moved its shows to Madison, Wisconsin. The word “dairy” was dropped from the title of the Waterloo event.
The national FFA judging contests committee was monitoring the situation in Waterloo. At the January 1967 FFA Board meeting it was reported that Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City had invited the FFA to hold their Dairy Judging contests in those cities, but the decision was made to continue with Waterloo. See Figure 3.
Figure 3. The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa April 14, 1967. The collegiate dairy judging and the national 4-H dairy judging contests had moved to Columbus, Ohio
At the July 1967 FFA Board meeting a decision was made to poll the state FFA advisors regarding the location of the 1968 Dairy Cattle and Dairy Products contest. The results of the poll were shared with FFA Board members in January of 1968. The results of the poll were 26 for Kansas City, 10 for Waterloo, and 3 for Columbus.
After Waterloo — The decision was made to move the dairy contests to Kansas City for 1968 in conjunction with the FFA convention. The America Royal had raised $5,000 to be used in securing quality dairy animals for judging. Another factor considered was that students could participate in both the judging contest and the FFA Convention. It was also pointed out that the Secondary School Principals Association objected to students missing too much school.
Figure 4. The Kansas City Star (August 18, 1968). The column heading was “Program Planned for Big FFA Convention.” Obviously the reporter needed to do some homework because the dairy competition was held in KC in the 1930s.
The 1968 FFA Convention Proceedings stated (p. 56) “An important part of each National FFA Convention is the National FFA Judging Contests. This year for the first time all five National Contests, including Dairy Cattle and Dairy Products which were originally held in Waterloo, Iowa were conducted in Kansas City.” It is somewhat ironic that the champion dairy cattle judging team in 1968 was from Iowa.
Another irony is the National FFA Program of Work for 1967-68 passed at the 1967 FFA convention had under the Cooperation section to participate in the Dairy Cattle Congress. It appears that did not happen. In the last year at Waterloo (1967) forty-one teams participated in Dairy Cattle Judging and Maryland was the winning team. Missouri placed first out of 31 teams in Dairy Products Judging.
At the January 1969 FFA Board Meeting a decision was made to continue the contest in Kansas City. And as is often stated — the rest is history. The Dairy events have been held in Kansas City since then.
Concluding Remarks
From all accounts the National FFA Dairy Judging contests held in Waterloo, Iowa between 1947 and 1967 were quality events. The state of Iowa can be proud of their role in the history of the FFA. After World War II the folks in Iowa helped continue the tradition of the National FFA Dairy Judging contests. However, the term “Waterloo” aptly describes what happened to the National FFA Dairy Judging Contests held in Waterloo, Iowa.
If I wanted to throw you a curveball it would be:
True or False: Between 1928 and today, the National FFA Dairy Contests have been conducted at two locations (Waterloo, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri).
The answer would be false. Trying to trace the history of dairy judging in the FFA is like trying to unravel a knotted tangle of monofilament fishing line. The Kansas application for a FFA charter in 1929 contained their state program of work. Item 4 was “To send a dairy judging team to the National Vocational Agriculture Dairy Judging Contest in St. Louis.” What?
Yes, there was a national dairy judging competition in 1930 at the National Dairy Show in St. Louis. Some 40 FFA teams from across the country participated. The Hanford team from California won. See Figure 5. FFA dairy judging competition was conducted again in 1931 in St. Louis. Another school from California, Tomales, won in 1931.
Perhaps the National FFA was planning on using the St. Louis National Dairy Show as the future location for a National Dairy Contest, but the great depression ruined those plans. The St. Louis show was cancelled in 1932, 1933 and 1934. By the time the show returned in 1935 the FFA had started dairy judging in Kansas City.
Figure 5. Riverside (CA) Daily Press, October 17, 1930.