By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

MILLERSBURG, Ohio — For many young kids growing up on a dairy farm, going away to college means a chance to choose a different career path than their parents. Chances are, Ohio high school junior John Hughes will continue the dairy operation that has been in his family for 100 years.

Hughes, a member of the West Holmes FFA, won this year’s Ohio state FFA dairy entrepreneurship proficiency contest for the records he keeps on his own milk cows and their production. He is entrenched in his dairy endeavor, tending to 14 milking cows and 16 replacement heifers that are part of his family’s larger herd of 450 cows at Open Road Farm.

His attention to detail and precise recordkeeping and analysis earned him this honor, which was presented at the Ohio FFA State Convention in Columbus a few months ago. His older brother, William, captured the same honor in 2017 – the same year Hughes finished second.

“You never know what to expect because you never know what competition is going to come through,” Hughes said.

To win the award he had to keep good records, including milk components like fat and protein, and he needed to track his yearly expenses, such as veterinary bills, hoof trimming and breeding. Ask about his award and he switches gears immediately, turning the attention on the farm and other family members who have made this central Ohio dairy operation a success.

Others contributing to the work of Open Road Farm include Hughes’ parents (Hank and Julie), his grandparents (Steve and Carol Watts) and his uncles (Kevin and Kyle Watts). Add to this list another half-dozen other employees.

Together this crew milks a herd of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jerseys three times each day and sells milk to Brewster Dairy of Stark County. And, the farm is ever improving as the family is undertaking a major barn expansion, one that will include new free stall panels and headlocks, as well as a flush cleaning system. They’ve also installed a five million-gallon manure lagoon.

Hank and Julie call it a “big accomplishment” to have two sons from the same farm win the state FFA’s top dairy award, knowing they have put forth a lot of effort to achieve the honor.

Both sons continue to learn more and more about the business. Like his brother, Hughes plans on completing a 15-week dairy short course in Madison, Wis., upon graduating from high school. William returned to the farm after completing his own education. Hughes intends on doing the same.

West Holmes FFA advisor Jaime Chenevey isn’t shocked by the honor bestowed upon the two boys. “I think the award exhibits the pride the Hughes family has on the dairy industry, as well as how hard they work to be successful,” he explained.

Chenevey said the dairy proficiency requires many hours of meetings and recordkeeping, and finalists are interviewed at the state convention. The winners, he noted, have the opportunity to compete at the national level.

The proficiency awards are available to FFA members in dozens of areas, intended to help members set goals and learn practical skills in their area of interest or expertise.

In addition to tending to his cows, Hughes gets a thrill out of showing them at various places. He has shown them at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, the Ohio Spring Dairy Expo and the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky.

A huge challenge, he said, is balancing schoolwork and farm chores. “It means more late nights, trying to get all the work done,” said Hughes, who also competed on his high school baseball team last spring. “You’ve just got to try to get all of your schoolwork done at school and get farm work done in the evenings.”

As if his schedule isn’t busy enough, he competes in the FFA chapter dairy judging and tractor troubleshooting teams. His dairy judging team placed 10th in this year’s state contest.

Although Hughes cannot enter the dairy entrepreneurship contest again, he hopes to enter the dairy placement contest, which is focused on hours spent working in the dairy industry.

He also hopes his sister, Amy, will enjoy a career in FFA just as he has. Amy is a freshman in high school this fall. Perhaps even she will return to the dairy farm and keep the operation going for years to come.

“We’d like to see the farm continue for another 100 years,” their mother said.