The 2026 World Dairy Expo Dairy Cattle Show opens where it should: with the young people who fit, feed, lead, and own some of the best Holsteins in North America. The International Junior Holstein Show gets the colored shavings first.
Meet the Official Judge: Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace knows what it takes to develop a heifer into a champion, because that is what he does for a living. Ben, his wife Jennifer, and their children Kayden, Brock, and Kylie run a boarding program near Stoughton, Wisconsin. They manage 10 to 15 elite heifers a year, and in the last seven years they’ve developed more than 20 All-American nominated animals across several breeds. Their biggest win came as co-breeders and caretakers of the 2021 Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show.
Before that, the UW-Platteville Animal Science graduate worked as herdsman for Carrousel Farms and Me-Do Meadows, where he helped develop 40 All-American nominees. He has spent more than a decade fitting and developing cattle at local, state, national, and international shows, and he also runs a hoof-trimming business. Sunday, he continues a family tradition as a third-generation World Dairy Expo judge.
Meet the Associate Judge: Phillip Topp
Phillip Topp brings a breeder’s eye and a busy judging résumé to the middle of the ring. He and his wife Carrie, with their children Aubree, Aiden, and Alaina, own a 40-cow registered herd in Botkins, Ohio, where Phillip also runs a stainless-steel TIG welding fabrication business.
He has exhibited champions at the Ohio State Fair, NAILE, and World Dairy Expo, and he received the Ohio Young Breeder Award in 2016. His judging has taken him across the U.S. and to Peru and Mexico. This is his seventh assignment at World Dairy Expo. He has been official judge for the Brown Swiss, Red & White, Guernsey, and Ayrshire shows and associate for Brown Swiss and Jersey. In 2025, he judged the Holstein Show at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg.
Follow Bullvine Coverage All Day
This page will be updated as each class is placed. We’ll post:
- Class winners and top placings, checked against the official World Dairy Expo results
- Original Bullvine photography from ringside
- The key points from Judge Wallace’s reasons, class by class
- Video of the Junior, Intermediate, and Grand Champion selections
- Complete official placings when the show wraps up
Bookmark this page and check back through the day, or follow The Bullvine on Facebook for live class updates.
Results
Results will appear here as classes are placed. Beginning at 10:00 a.m. CDT.