Riley Lewis of LaGrange, Ind. has been named the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders Association National Youth Grant Winner. Lewis will be recognized at the 2014 National Brown Swiss Convention, held in East Peoria, Ill. June 25-27.
In 2011, Lewis became involved with Brown Swiss when he purchased his first cow. Lewis’s dad and grandpa influenced his passion for the Brown Swiss breed. One of Riley Lewis’s goals is to expand his herd and return to the family farm, Lewis Century Stock Farm. His current herd includes six cows and eight heifers.
Lewis has just finished his senior year of high school and will be attending Purdue University this fall, majoring in Agricultural Economics with minors in Animal Science and Agronomy. After finishing college, Lewis plans on returning to the family farm after college and help expand the herd size to 400 Brown Swiss cattle.
The Youth Grant Program recognizes a junior member who has an interest in building a registered Brown Swiss herd. To be eligible, the applicant must show proof by submitting a copy of the current DHI herd test sheet or a signed affidavit. The recipient is recognized at the National Brown Swiss Convention and receives a $1000 grant.
To participate in the Youth Grant Program, a youth must be a Brown Swiss National Junior member for the intention of buying an animal to start their herd. For more information contact Junior Advisor Charlotte Muenzenberger at cmuenzenberger@brownswissusa.com, call the Brown Swiss Association at 608-365-4474 or visit the website: www.brownswissusa.com .
The Brown Swiss Association was established in 1880, registers about 10,000 animals per year and serves about 1800 combined Adult and Junior Members.
