2025 Junior Youth Achievement Finalists
District 1 Finalists:
Tenley Chittenden

Tenley Jane Chittenden is a Brown Swiss youth member from Shoreham, Vermont. Her family operates Richville Farms, and their Brown Swiss prefix is Perry Brook. Recently, she is most proud of raising Crazy Horse and Elan, the number one and two PPR bulls, and the number one PPR heifer, Lulu. Their dairy has over 800 Holsteins and 120 Brown Swiss. Tenley is very involved on her farm, especially in taking care of heifers. She has a group of 40 heifers that include flush donors that she feeds and cares for before and after school. She has started her own herd through a purchase into the W family at the Eastern Breeders Sale. She is an active 4-H member competing in the youth shows and quiz bowl contests. She attended the National convention in New England and the 2022 World Conference in Madison. She has gotten really good at taking genomic samples on calves and is an important part of the farms testing program. Outside of her cow interests, Tenley is the goalie for the Brandon Rec soccer team and has recently taken up Lacrosse. She likes to
volunteer and helped to pass out a tractor trailer load of milk donated by her farm and DFA to local families during the pandemic.
Emmett Smithling

Hello, my name is Emmett Smithling, I am 14 years old and live in Stanley, NY. My family owns Blue Heaven Farm, consisting of roughly 55 head of registered Brown Swiss. I personally own 8 Brown Swiss (6 bred and owned) and have a passion for showing them at the county, state, and national level. I have been showing Brown Swiss since I was 6 years old with my first Swiss, “Pickles”. I am a freshman at Marcus Whitman High School where I am actively involved in my school’s FFA chapter, cross country, and track teams. I enjoy participating in dairy judging with both my FFA chapter and county 4-H team, 4-H dairy bowl, 4-H dairy challenge, and FFA milk quality. I also am the New York Brown Swiss Junior Board Vice President and attend monthly zoom meetings to help plan fundraisers and fun activities for youth members to do throughout the year.