4-H leader gets a gift — a calf named after her

WASHINGTON - Hilltop Dairy has celebrated its partnership with the Washington County 4-H by naming a calf after Amy Green.

Green is the 4-H coordinator in Washington County.

Hilltop Dairy posted the news on its Facebook page, in February after one of its cows had a calf.

'We named Amy after our friend Amy who works with our extension office. She has been an amazing support and help to our farm with our school program,” according to the post.

Green said she had no idea the calf was going to be named after her.

'I found out on Facebook like the rest of the world,” she said. 'It's a very fun and cool honor.”

Green said the mother, Alaska, is a famous cow at the farm that has been shown at the Washington County Fair.

The relationship between 4-H and Madison Skubel with Hilltop Dairy started last fall when Green saw Hilltop Daily was doing a 'adopt a calf” program.

'I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing,'” she said. 'What a cool way to connect kids to the farm.”

She said the Ross family is a 4-H family, so she reached out to see how the extension office could help.

At the time Green's children were in elementary classes, and she asked if the teachers would be interested in participating in the program.

'I was able to experience it both through extension but also as a parent at home,” she said.

She said Iowa State Extension has resources for education and Skubel has hands on experience, Green said.

Last year, Green was able to visit the Hilltop Dairy farm with a class and pet Alaska. In the fall, Alaska and the 'adopt a calf” were brought into town for students to see.

Any time there are new programs, she said 4-H and extension tries to make them sustainable, Green said. With the calf program, the pair has been working on creating it a long-term program not only in Washington County but other counties as well.

In the future, Green said the plan is to have a packet of resources to give teachers to supplement the programs.

Because of COVID-19 the program looks different, and Green has held Zoom classes with the students.

Another change this year is a 'adopt a cow” program with many calving. Green said the students get to be excited to see a baby and wonder when it will be born.

'She continues to develop, and we continue to learn,” Green said.

Green said the 'Amy” calf is a good reminder that the work is not just appreciated by the teachers but also Hilltop Dairy.