Banquet set for Saturday, Feb. 25Md. Dairy Shrine honoring Knutsens and Smiths |
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| Clayton and Shirley Smith | Bob and Ginger Knutsen with their granddaughter, Heidi. |
FREDERICK, Md. -- Friends of the dairy industry are cordially invited to attend the annual Maryland Dairy Shrine Banquet on Saturday, February 25. Social time begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. An awards program at 8 p.m. concludes the event scheduled for the Null Building at the Frederick Fairgrounds.
As in the past, the banquet’s highlight will be the induction of honorees into the Maryland Dairy Shrine. Two couples will be honored: Bob and Ginger Knutsen of Rising Sun and Clayton and Shirley Smith of Jefferson.
Clayton and Shirley Smith
Clayton began farming on this own farm in 1951 at age 18. He married Shirley in 1958 and the couple has been a team in operating OCS Dairy ever sincee.
OCS Dairy has hosted farm tours to visitors from Africa and Australia, school field trips, judging practices, 4-H events and leasing animals to 4-H members. They have been recognized for many accomplishments in both the Holstein and Guernsey breed.
Over the years, OCS Dairy has received the Maryland Senior Breeder Award and been named a top producer for Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association.
Shirley and Clayton have made many contributions to the dairy industry. Clayton has served as a delegate to national Holstein conventions, director of Frederick County DHIA, president of the Frederick County Holstein Club and Maryland Holstein Show Committee as well as positions with Sire Power. Shirley has served as president of the Maryland Guernsey Association and director of Maryland Dairy Shrine. She has donated much of her time helping with the awards and youth program for the Maryland Guernsey Association. Both she and Clayton are active members of Jefferson Lutheran Church. The couple has seven children, most of whom are involved in the dairy industry.
Bob and Ginger Knutsen
Bob and Ginger are the owners of Lovdal Farm. Bob has served as president and vice president of the Maryland Holstein Association. He and Ginger have co-chaired the Maryland State Holstein Show Committee for 10 years and served on the Publicity & Advance Information Committee for the 1981 National Holstein Convention. Further, they’ve been active on export and merchandising committees and state Holstein conventions.
Among the couple’s honors are FHA Farm Family of the Year, Farm Bureau Farmer of the Year and Maryland Extension Pioneer. They have bred and sold bulls to AI studs and exported animals and embryos to over a dozen foreign countries. Always generous with time for others, they have hosted promotional events such as farm visitation day and milk carton boat races.
They have promoted dairy and agriculture by speaking at high school career days, Pennfield employee training sessions and the 4-H Dairy Conference at the National 4-H Center. Always interested in the young people of the community, they served as 4-H leaders for over 40 years. Additionally, Bob has served as chairman of the Cecil County Ag Land Preservation Board, and originally started the Farm Bureau Young Farmers group.
Ginger and Bob are active church members having served as Sunday School teachers, lay leader, chairperson of the administrative board and currently on the board of trustees. The couple has three children: Eric, Kris and Karen.
The families of the Maryland Dairy Shrine honorees welcome friends to attend this wonderful event.
Also, as part of the awards program, scholarships will be given to worthy youths and winners of the Junior Dairyman competitions will be recognized.
Please contact Laurie Savage at 301-349-0750 or e-mail secretary@marylanddairyindustry.org for more information on reservations.