Brady Lorenz is shown leading Ruby around the State Fairgrounds this past summer.

To say that Brady Lorenz had a good summer would be a little bit of an understatement.

Lorenz, who is currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota as a freshman, accumulated a number of awards while showing a Red and White Holstein yearling heifer during the last few months.

The heifer, Ruby, first competed in the Minnesota State Show which was held in June, at Sauk Centre, where she placed first in her class.

“Then, at the Faribault County Fair, she was the Grand Champion Holstein heifer,” Brady comments. “Then, she competed at the District Show at the Steele County Fair in Owatonna where she won her class and received honorable mention as the junior champion.”

Next, it was on to the Minnesota State Fair 4-H competition.

“Ruby won her class and was the Grand Champion Red and White heifer,” Brady says. “The State Fair may have been my favorite of the summer. Ruby did the best she could and she got fifth in advanced showmanship.”

Brady explains there are really two parts to each show.

“One is for the animal itself,” he says. “The other is for showmanship.”

As the calendar rolled over to fall, Ruby competed at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, on Oct. 2, where she was the fifth place junior Red and White summer yearling.

Brady’s father, Andy, explains what makes Ruby special.

“She is well-balanced and put together really well,” Andy shares. “She has a good appetite and had a full belly. You want the animal to be really, really full, but not fat, so that their ribs really pop out.”

It was the first time a member of the Lorenz family had shown an animal at the World Dairy Expo.

“We never had a heifer that was worthy of showing at the Expo,” Andy comments. “It has always been our goal to have one we could show there and we finally bred one that we felt good about showing.”

Andy, and his wife Lindsay, live near Bricelyn. Brady’s mother, Kirsten, lives in Blue Earth.

Brady has an older brother, Aaron, who is a junior at the University of Minnesota and is studying biomedical engineering. His younger sister Abbey is a sophomore at Blue Earth Area High School.

The family operates an organic dairy farm.

“We milk 85 cows and have been certified organic since 2009,” Andy says. “Operating an organic dairy farm means we give the cows organic feed which has no insecticides, chemicals or synthetic fertilizers and the cows are raised without hormones or antibiotics.”

While at the University of Minnesota, Brady is studying to get his bachelor of science degree in architecture.

“I know it will take awhile to get there, but I aspire to design my own houses through my own architectural firm,” Brady says.

But before he does that, he could return to Blue Earth during the summer of 2025 and show Ruby as a milking two-year-old.

“Ruby is bred and is due in June,” Brady comments. “I will still be eligible to show in 4-H next year, but I am not sure yet if I will – I am undecided.”

Brady shares he spent about half an hour to feed and water Ruby and keep her pen clean every day when he began working with her. Then he would spend another hour working with her.

“I have been showing for about 12 years and this was by far the most successful year I have had,” Brady concludes. “Ruby is special. She has great genetics and is the best animal I have ever worked with. She is very tame and a very good listener.”

While it remains to be seen if Brady will come back and show in 4-H for another year, he will no doubt remember 2024 as an incredible year for him and his Red and White Holstein, Ruby.