EAST LANSING, Mich. — Come where the cows are when the Michigan Dairy Expo takes over the Michigan State University Livestock Pavilion the same week as Ag Expo, July 16-20, on the campus of MSU East Lansing.

Cows of all colors will be on exhibition as Michigan’s dairy industry celebrates with a week’s worth of shows, contests and adventures. The all-breeds exhibition begins the week with the brain-taxing 4-H dairy management contest.

Youth from across the state will compete in testing management skills with situational scenarios, ration balancing and making smart management decisions.

Youth will rise early next Tuesday morning for the 4-H show and will finish with the Supreme Champion selection. Later that evening, Gov. Rick Snyder, the secretary of agriculture and several other VIPs will rub elbows with the youth exhibitors at a reception and then participate in the third annual Sale-Abration auction.

This premier youth showcase will feature the winners of the Supreme Champion and Reserve Supreme Champion of the youth show of the Michigan Dairy Expo and the exhibitors of the Champion beef, sheep and swine projects shown the previous week at the Michigan Livestock Expo. This cream-of-the-crop auction will commence at 6 p.m.

The dairy fun continues Wednesday with the Great Dairy Adventure from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The free one-day event is geared to the young and young at heart. Families, daycare providers, summer campers and anyone else interested in gaining a better understanding of the importance of the dairy industry to the state’s economy is invited to learn about the multi-step journey milk takes to reach our refrigerators and the nutritious benefits dairy products provide.

It’s also an opportunity to talk to and learn from local farmers and ask questions about how food gets from the farm to the table.

While little kids converge on the pavilion to pet, squeeze, color and learn about dairy, 4-Hers will be trying their hand at evaluating dairy cattle in the 4-H Dairy Judging Contest.

The fourth day of Michigan Dairy Expo begins with the final 4-H contest: Dairy Quiz Bowl. Teams of four from each county will compete in three age divisions to see who has the most knowledge about everything dairy.

From reproduction to herd management, youth from across the state will buzz-in to win the coveted Dairy Quiz Bowl title.

Thursday evening, hardware will be handed out to youth for their week of contests, then the spotlight will turn to three-year-old Holsteins and Jerseys as they parade through the show ring for the All-Michigan Holstein Futurity and the Michigan Jersey Cattle Club Futurity. Ice cream will be the refreshment of the evening as spectators enjoy the show and cattle experts enter the railbird contest to see who can predict the winner of the Holstein show and win a cash prize.

The show ring will be busy on Friday with the All Breeds Open show, beginning at 7:30 a.m., and a week full of dairy will conclude in the afternoon with the Supreme Champion selection of all breeds. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/MichiganDairyExpo