Greenwood closes out FFA career with master showmanship win, sweeps dairy goat awards

Former Fallbrook Future Farmers of America member Audrey Greenwood, showing at the San Diego County Fair for her final time with the group, "went out with a bang".

Greenwood who took advantage of a FFA alumni year provision allowing her to enter this year's fair, showed in both the dairy goat competition and the market livestock show. Her dairy goat, Fusion, won best of show and in the master showmanship competition, which concluded her San Diego County Fair career as an FFA member, Greenwood and Fusion won first place.

Not only was Fusion the best in show for all dairy goat breeds as well as the overall LaMancha champion and the senior LaMancha champion, but Greenwood's goat Hermes was the LaMancha overall and senior reserve champion.

Greenwood also had the junior champion goat for two breeds. Fiona won that award for LaMancha goats and Jenga was the Saanen junior champion. Greenwood added LaMancha junior reserve champion honors for Jamilla. Greenwood and Fusion also won the FFA senior dairy goat showmanship during the livestock breed competition.

During the market livestock segment, Greenwood raised the champion lightweight steer and the reserve champion lightweight market goat while placing second in market goat showmanship.

"I almost swept everything I could my alumni year showing, so it's pretty cool," Greenwood said.

The livestock breed show for dairy goats took place June 12-17. Greenwood showed more than 20 goats.

"I basically got first and second in all my classes," Greenwood said.

Fusion is 3 years old, and she was 2 when Greenwood purchased her at the American Dairy Goat Association National Show in Wisconsin in 2017.

"I wasn't planning on buying her," Greenwood said.

Fusion's breeder, who lives in the state of Washington, felt that being in San Diego County would be good for Fusion.

"She wanted her to do good," Greenwood said.

Fusion provides seven to 14 pounds of milk daily. "She's a really heavy milker," Greenwood said. On many days Fusion is milked twice.

"It's going to take a toll," Greenwood said. "I had to put weight on her."

Greenwood was able to raise Fusion to best of show standards.

"It was super awesome. My last year I was able to win that with her," Greenwood said.

Hermes was 2 years old in June. Goats in the junior class must be 1-year-old or younger; Fiona was one in June, and Jamilla was born in March 2018.

"It's pretty cool when all of the work you do throughout the entire year pays off. That's always fun," Greenwood said of sweeping the senior and junior champion and reserve champion awards.

Greenwood has had Hermes, Fiona and Jamilla since their births.

"It's fun watching them grow and then showing them to their best," Greenwood said.

The showmanship competition for dairy goats took place June 17.

"I've been using a new goat every year," Greenwood said.

Greenwood noted that showmanship goats must have patience.

"It takes a special kind of goat to be a showmanship goat," she said.

Fusion met Greenwood's criteria.

"I knew she was going to do good. I knew she had a chance," Greenwood said. "The judge can have a totally different opinion."

Some of the result was based on Greenwood's actions.

"Showmanship is based on how the individual, the person, shows the animal," she said.

During the market livestock show June 26 through July 4, Greenwood had two Boer goats and a steer. Both Boer goats were six months old during the county fair; Helga weighed 82 pounds, and Olga was 71 pounds. Greenwood called her steer Black Pearl, and he was approximately 16 months old and weighed 1,058 pounds when he was placed on the fair scales. Olga was the FFA lightweight reserve champion; Helga did not earn a banner for the medium-weight class.

Greenwood had previously showed steers, lambs and rabbits during the market livestock show but had not previously raised market goats. In her first market goat showmanship competition Greenwood showed Olga, and they placed second.

"That was pretty cool," Greenwood said.

Black Pearl did not place in steer showmanship.

A market livestock exhibitor is allowed to sell one large animal at the auction. Hilliker's Egg Ranch in Lakeside purchased Olga at the auction for $850; the Hilliker family plans to use her as a breeding goat.

Helga was purchased back by the breeder. Black Pearl was not sold.

"He's going in our freezer," Greenwood said.

First place in the dairy goat showmanship competition advanced Greenwood and Fusion to the master showmanship competition for all large animals. The July 4 master showmanship included the market livestock beef, lamb, sheep, swine and goat winners as well as the dairy goat and dairy heifer champions.

"I got to show against my close friends," Greenwood said.

Fusion and Greenwood took first place in the master showmanship.

"That was pretty cool winning my last year," Greenwood said. "Pretty cool going out with a bang winning master showmanship."

Greenwood had previously won master showmanship competitions but had settled for second place or lower in recent years.

"It's my first time in a while," she said.

Greenwood had limited practice for master showmanship as she was teaching other FFA and 4-H Club members showmanship skills.

"I got to kind of watch some of the kids I was helping," she said. "I think that's what it's really all about."

Greenwood was 5 when she joined Fallbrook 4-H Club and began showing rabbits at the San Diego County Fair in 2003. She started showing dairy goats at the fair in 2006. She transitioned her affiliation to FFA when she began high school.

Although Greenwood attended Oasis High School, she took agriculture classes at Fallbrook High School to be eligible for membership in Fallbrook's Future Farmers of America chapter.

Greenwood graduated from Oasis in 2017 and was a Palomar College student during 2017-2018. The FFA alumni year allowed Greenwood to pursue her American FFA degree, which she received this summer.

Although Greenwood is no longer eligible for junior competition, she can compete in the open livestock shows at the San Diego County Fair.

"The competition's a lot harder in the open show, but I think I have a good chance of doing it next year and for many more years," she said.