The question circulated the internet like crazy: would Jeffrey-Way Hard Rock Twigs come back in 2025 to the World Dairy Expo after quietly having her title stripped from her in 2024? As we all remember, Oakfield Solomon Footloose, exhibited by Showbox Sires and Vierra Dairy, took the title of Grand Champion of the Holstein show two months after the show concluded. No comments were made on why Twigs lost her title, but many speculations were made about a failed milk test, which were never confirmed.
Much to many people’s surprise, Twigs reappeared on the color shavings this year, taking second in the 5-year-old Holstein class. How could a cow that had her placings removed return as if nothing had happened? Well, we dove in to find out.
In late August, World Dairy Expo announced that they updated their Code of Ethics and Showring Policy. “The Code of Ethics and Showring Policy revisions emphasize clearer rule definitions, a more efficient violation process, and a more structured approach to assessing responsibilities and penalties.” What exactly changed, though? That’s the real question.
Anyone who attended the WDE last year can point out some obvious changes. For example, the number of cows that must be milk tested increased to the top 6 of each class (Page 24 under World Dairy Expo Ethics Testing Actions). Another big thing people noticed was on Page 26 under the World Dairy Expo Ethics Penalty. This section now states:
“If, after the conclusion of World Dairy Expo, the World Dairy Expo Ethics Coordinator determines, based on available evidence, that a Category 2 ethics violation occurred, all of the following apply:
1 The animal will have its placings removed and no premiums will be awarded.
2 At a minimum, a two-year ban of one or more of the following:
- the animal,
- the owner(s),
- the string manager,
- any string staff member handling, caring for or fitting the animal.”
A failed milk test falls under a Category 2 ethics violation. However, Category 1 violations also now have these consequences:
“All other Category 1 ethics violations are subject to the following penalties:
a The animal will have its placings removed and no premiums will be awarded.
b At a minimum, a one-year ban of one or more of the following:
- the animal,
- the owner(s),
- the string manager,
- any string staff member handling, caring for or fitting the animal.”
So, whether a violation is a category 1 or a category 2, there is at least a one-year ban on the animal, owner, string manager, or any staff. That leads us to ask, well, what were the rules in 2024?
That’s where things get tricky. If you go to look up the 2023 or 2024 premium book of the WDE, you won’t find a shred of evidence that they ever existed. When we reached out to the WDE about obtaining a copy of the 2024 Code of Ethics and to ask about the changes, representatives responded: “All cattle exhibitors must comply with the Code of Ethics and Showring Policy. As the world‘s best dairy cattle show, maintaining our high ethical standards has been a top priority for the last 58 years and will continue to be a driver in all we do going forward.”
Therefore, we cannot tell you exactly what changed from 2024 to 2025, but we can tell you what changed from 2022 to 2024. A very deep dive led us to the Premium book of 2022. On Page 20, it states, “Following the judging of all milking cow classes, milk samples will be taken from a minimum of three cows in both the open and junior show.” As we noted, this increased to 6 this year.
The part we are mostly interested in, though, is on Page 21, bullet point number 17: “If found guilty of a violation of the Showring Code of Ethics, the penalty for the individual, the exhibitor, the representative and/or the animal may range from a letter of reprimand to being barred from participating in World Dairy Expo. The identity of the animal(s), exhibitors and/ or representatives that are barred will be kept confidential to the extent reasonably possible.”
If this rule was kept in 2024, that would explain WDE’s need for a policy update after last year’s commotion. We also asked a representative of WDE if they would like to comment on the return of Twigs, and they stated, “World Dairy Expo does not comment on individual animals. We have confidence in the judges to select the best cow in the showring.”
At this moment, we would like to take the time to commend World Dairy Expo on the changes they made to the Showring Policy and Code of Ethics. Running such a large show comes with many challenges, and we believe WDE has done a great job of adapting with the times and updating its rules to keep the integrity of the show. We don’t always realize policies need to be updated until moments like these happen. We want to congratulate WDE on putting on another incredible show in 2025, and we are excited about what the future holds for 2026.
We would also like to congratulate owners of Jeffrey-Way Hard Rock Twigs on another incredible year in the ring, placing second in the 5-year-old class and being pulled out for consideration of Senior Champion.
Around The Ring 