Being reared in Texas the first thing I thought about when I saw the headline “Cow Clipping Champ to Compete in State” was fitting a steer for show. But NO, in Minnesota there was a cow clipping competition for FFA members for at least 35+ years and it had nothing to do with show steers.
Figure 1. The Winona (MN) Daily News, December 9, 1971. I guess practice makes perfect. Richard did not win the state championship in 1972 but returned in 1973 for the 22nd state FFA cow clipping contest and was the champion cow clipper.
The Friday Footnote continues its exploration of agricultural education in various states this week by traveling to Minnesota. We will be in Minnesota for the next several weeks. Those of us who grew up in areas where there was little dairying probably have not heard of cow clipping. I certainly hadn’t, but cow clipping is a recommended sanitary practice with dairy cows.
And in case you don’t know what ”Cow Tipping” is, according to Google AI
Cow tipping is a widely circulated, yet generally considered false, urban legend describing the act of pushing over a cow for entertainment. The myth is rooted in the false belief that cows sleep standing up. In reality, cows typically sleep lying down, and while they can regain their footing if pushed over, the myth suggests they wouldn’t be able to get up.
So What is Cow Clipping?
In an article in the Albert Lea Tribune published on October 30, 1964 titled “FFA Boys Compete in Cow Clip Contest” we learn about the importance of clipping cows and the contest (p. 7):
“Well clipped cows are an important part of a milk production program,” said Merton Head, one of the two judges for the event. “Any part of the cow that comes into contact with the milking operation should be clipped to help prevent dirt from sticking to the cows and getting into the milk.”
This includes the udder, belly, tail, flanks, hindquarters, hocks and legs of the cow. After the cows are clipped they are brushed by the contestants.
“Clean milk, not cleaned milk, is what we’re after,” Lowell Ross, Albert Lea agriculture teacher explained. Times for the contest ranged from a high 22 minutes down to 12 minutes. If a cow or clippers acted up during the competition, the student was allowed to call time and switch cows or fix his clippers.
Judge Harold Knudson said most of the boys had done well on the clipping, but cautioned them to be sure to stay in contact with the cows during the process.
“Don’t stand behind the cows at anytime,” he told the boys, “Even if you have to clip with the left hand, stay pressed against the cows.”
The winner in the local contest will go to the district contest to compete for the regional and state competition, held later in the year.
Judging of the contest was based on quality of the clipping and safety combined with the quickest time.
Figure 2. Image from the Albert Lea Tribune published on October 30, 1964 that accompanied the article quoted above.
Cow Clipping Goes Way Back
There have been numerous extension bulletins, books, advertisements and newspaper and magazine articles about the need to clip dairy cows. Most of the advertisements for clipping machines touted them for both horses and dairy cows. A sample of various newspaper ads from the 1910s-1920s are shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Advertisements for clippers from the 1910s and 1920s.
When Did the FFA Cow Clipping Contest Start in Minnesota?
In That Inspiring Past The Future Farmers of America in Minnesota 1930-1955 by Agnes Harrigan Mueller she writes (1955, p. 149):
The cow clipping;contest, first held on a state wide basis in 1952, has become an event which attracts crowds both at the district and state level. The FFA cow clipping contest was the first of its kind in the nation when initiated by the Minnesota FFA organization. FFA boys participated in a cow clipping contest, held at the Don Mar farm near Prior Lake, in 1950. The project generated so much interest that it was decided to organize on a district basis and select a winner from each district to compete with each other in a state contest.
A skilled cowhand equipped with the latest electric cow clipper can turn out a cow haircut in ten to twenty minutes. Gerald Smith, of the Cromwell FFA chapter, topped seven other District cow clipping champions to win first place in the contest conducted by the Minnesota FFA Association at the University Farm during Farm and Home in 1952. Gerald’s time of 8 minutes and 45 seconds established a new record which has not been topped since.
In Kortesmaki’s book Minnesota FFA From The Beginning there is a list of the state cow clipping champions going back to 1952. Gerald Smith’s state record time had not been beaten at the time the book went to press in 1982.
It appears the first district cow clipping occurred in 1951. An article in the Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Minnesota titled “First District Cow Clipping Contest Held” stated, “Despite the adverse weather conditions Saturday morning, 18 youths from Future Farmers of America chapters in nine southeastern Minnesota schools were here to participate in the first district FFA cow clipping contest ever held in the United States.”
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Figure 4. From the Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Minnesota, November 5, 1951
In 1972 Dora Gransee of the Sanborn FFA was one of the eight regional finalists and competed in the state contest. She didn’t win. It was not until 1980 that Pam Koch of Bemidji was the first female to win the state cow clipping contest.
I don’t know when the state Cow Clipping contest ended. The most recent clipping I could find was from 1986.
Figure 5. From the Minneapolis Tribune, March 1, 1972
Concluding Remarks
Last week’s Footnote explored the question of which state had the first land grant college. There is some debate about the answer. However, there is no debate that Minnesota was the first state to have an FFA cow clipping contest. And furthermore, I am not aware of any other state that has ever had a state FFA cow clipping contest.
One of the lessons I learned from my undergraduate agricultural education classes was that your agricultural education program should fit the needs of the community. Some of the past Footnotes about FFA competitive events such as potato judging, farm cooperatives quiz, Ham and Bacon shows and the Gulf of Mexico essay contest illustrate this point. These activities are important to the state in which they are held. The Cow Clipping contest in Minnesota is a perfect example of what was needed back when cows were typically milked by hand.
However, times and technology change. We must be willing to change with time. I know of some states that continue having outdated FFA competitions because of tradition. So, the question is “Are there some FFA competitions in your state that need to be discontinued and or are there some new competitions that should be started?”