Photo by Bill Green 4-H’er Kayla Lenhart and her Ayrshire heifer stand close together as they compete in the 4-H Junior Championship contest Friday night at The Great Frederick Fair. Kayla won champion in her class of competition.

The farm's Jersey, shown by J.W. Wotthlie, won both the open class senior supreme champion and best bred and owned categories.

The LegenDairy Celebration salutes the area's dairy farmers and those exhibiting at the fair. It is a special tribute to the 4-H'ers and open class exhibitors as they culminate a year of work, producing Maryland's official state beverage: milk.

More than 200 head of cattle were exhibited at the fair. The junior and senior breed champions of both the 4-H and open class competitions and the best bred and owned animals from each breed were selected Friday night.

"I thought we had a shot but didn't know we would make it or not for the top spot," said Wotthlie, 35. He has been showing dairy cattle since he was eight, he said.

The win means she's the best in show of all the breeds, Wotthlie said. "It also means we're breeding good cattle on our farm," he said.

For his win, Wotthlie will get a cash award from Maryland milk producers and another award from the Ted Albaugh family of Walkersville .

The open class junior supreme champion went to Ash-N-Bear Farm in Mount Airy . The Jersey was shown by Ashley Clinton.

Chance Smith's Holstein took the 4-H senior supreme champion award; Jonathan Hubbard's Brown Swiss captured the 4-H junior supreme champion prize and Chase Smith's Jersey won the best bred and owned 4-H.

Each breed has distinct traits and characteristics that set them apart from each other, event moderator Denny Remsburg said. Judge Gus Schwartzbeck compared each animal to the ideal animal for that breed and determined which one best represents the specific breed characteristics and the overall dairy qualities to be chosen for each category.

Frederick County's 4-H program is 700 members strong. Promoting milk and the dairy industry is a full-time job for farmers, Remsburg said.

"But they get a lot of help from one of the strongest royalty programs in the state -- the Dairy Princess program," Remsburg said.

Frederick County is the top milk-producing county in the state, followed by Washington and Carroll counties.

Agriculture is the number one industry in Maryland; dairy ranks as the third-largest agricultural industry, and there are 850-plus dairy farms in the state with 280 in Frederick County, Remsburg said. About 32,000 dairy cows roam the pastures of Frederick County.

Last year, Maryland dairy cows produced an average 7 gallons of milk, or 100 glasses each day. To produce this much milk, a cow consumes 35 gallons of water, 20 pounds of grain and concentrated feeds and 35 pounds of hay and silage in one day.