Robbie Emerson

By Mary Alice Garrett

This story originally appeared December 7, 2006 in the News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware.

MIDDLETOWN — To say that Robbie Emerson got an early start in dairy farming is putting it mildly.

"He’s been milking cows since he was 18 months old," said Emerson’s aunt, Beth E. Hickey. "I saw him milk cows standing on an upside—down five-gallon bucket.

"At age 10, he could drive a tractor better than I could," said Hickey, who lives and works on Emerson Dairy Farm.

Like his grandfather and father, Emerson grew up surrounded by cows, cornfields, soybeans and farm tractors. All of the extended Emerson family have milked cows at 3 a.m. and again at 3 p.m.

"It has to be done," is the way Robbie Emerson puts it. Emerson is excused from the 3 a.m. automated milking shift during the school week, but he mans it with his father, Lee Emerson, every third weekend. In between, he’s involved with Future Farmers of America, which recently awarded him a second gold medal.

Emerson was the only Delaware student to win a gold medal at the FFAs recent National Dairy Handling Event in Indianapolis. He was also named the fourth-highest FFA member in dairy handling in the nation (based on a point system). Last year, Emerson received a gold medal in dairy judging at an FFA competition in Louisville.

The 2005 competition was a more difficult one, Emerson said. Besides a written test, he had to evaluate 12 sets of cows and defend his evaluations. In October, he presented eight different cows before judges. That included leading the cows one—by-one into a ring, using a halter and hand commands. Emerson was evaluated on how well he did.

"It’s not easy" said Cheryl Vest, agriculture science teacher and Middletown FFA adviser who was at the Indianapolis competition. Vest compared it to training a dog.

Emerson said he was proud that Delaware’s dairy community is good enough to compete in national events. This year, he took his own dairy cows to the Eastern National All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg and to the World Dairy Exposition in Madison, Wisc. He and his bovines placed first in Harrisburg and second in the Wisconsin expo.

"He’s an ideal role model," said Vest, who has taught Emerson since middle school. "It’s been amazing to see the accomplishment he’s made since seventh grade. There are not many others in Delaware I’d rather have with a halter than Robbie."

Last July Emerson substituted for Vest at the annual Cow Camp in Harrington prior to the Delaware State Fair.

"Everyone was amazed at his maturity" said Vest, who was sidelined for health reasons. Emerson was recently named Farm Bureau Ambassador for New Castle County. He’s also been nominated for the Star Award for most outstanding member by the Delaware FFA. Emerson is president of Middletown’s FFA chapter, which has 160 members. He served as president of the Summit Bridge 4-H Club for five years.

Emerson’s sister, Laura, 15, is also involved in farming and in FFA activities.

Their great-grandparents founded the dairy farm. It’s since been handed down to their paternal grandparents, Sarah and Robert Lee Emerson, and now to their father, Lee Emerson. Sarah Emerson serves a daily pancake and sausage breakfast to all the family members. Her husband helps milk and feed the cows.

Great Aunt Nancy Rosario also lives and works on the farm.

"She probably helps more than anybody," said Robbie Emerson. Amanda Emerson, Robbie and Laura’s mother, works at Delaware Technical & Community College but assists her children at county and state fairs.

There are 300 cows on the farm, and 150 of them are milked twice a day The Emersons ship 1,600 pounds of raw milk daily to a Land O’ Lakes Cooperative. After being pasteurized and homogenized, the milk is taken to Wawa Dairy in Pennsylvania and used for milk, butter and cheese.

Robbie Emerson plans to study dairy science or agriculture in college and return to the family farm.

"I’ve never been able to see myself doing anything other than what I'm doing," he said.

As for his father, "He likes it just as much now as I do," Emerson added.

PROFILE

December 7, 2006

Robbie Lee Emerson III

AGE: 17

FAMILY: Parents, Amanda and Robert Lee Emerson II, and sister, Laura, 15.

RESIDENCE: Middletown

POSITION: Senior at Middletown High School and president of Middletown's Future Farmers of America Chapter.

HOBBIES: Showing cows, hunting and "going four-wheeling."

GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: "Going from showing cows at local fairs to the Eastern National All-American Dairy Show and the World Dairy Exposition and seeing he improvement in our dairy herd over the past few years."

FYI

December 7, 2006

Four Bridgeville residents received bronze emblems at the recent Future Farmers of America competition in Indianapolis.

They are Justin Bailey, Justin Boyce, Dustin Parker and Isaac Tucker. All received the emblems in a dairy cattle evaluation event.

Future Farmers of America is a national youth organization of more than 495,000 student members preparing for careers in agriculture in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. There are 2,000 members in Delaware.