Cow Camp led Armand Orfei to 4-H

Editor’s Note: This is the final story in a series partnering with Steele County 4-H to provide details about what 4-H means to area teenagers and their families.

Becky Orfei said that she was in 4-H when she was growing up in Olmsted County. She didn’t grow up on a farm, she said, but joined because of her love of horses. She was part of the Horseless Horse project and then found other 4-H activities, she said.

Becky is now a teacher in Albert Lea, and her husband Dave is a heavy equipment operator for the City of Minneapolis. But 4-H did not become a family activity until their son, Armand, now a student at Owatonna Middle School, went to Cow Camp through the Owatonna Community Education program.

He continued with Cow Camp for the maximum number of years and decided he wanted to continue working with cows, so he joined 4-H. He said he worked with Clover Glen Farm where he could lease a cow and still show at the Steele County Free Fair. The owners of Clover Glen closed their farm, but he was able to lease from Schmitty Holsteins.

For the past two years, Brad Rudd and Jon Schmidt have taught him a lot about cows and the 4-H Dairy Project, his mother said. He has also found several other projects and interests that he wanted to pursue in 4-H.

He currently is involved in Dairy, Foods, Photography, Home Environment, Outdoor Adventures, Shooting Sports and Wildlife, which includes archery and trapshooting. Both his parents volunteer with the Shooting Sports and Wildlife practices and volunteered at the State Shoots. Becky Orfei is a co-leader of the Happy Hustlers Club.

For Armand, showing cows is his favorite party of 4-H. “I like the work experiences at the farm and at the fair. It takes a lot of work to get the cows ready,” he said.

His mother said that she likes learning new things. They have taken statewide Zoom classes and participated in activities in Steele County that have taught them a lot.

“We have met many friends in town,” she said. “We didn’t grow up in Owatonna, and we have met many great people through 4-H. It has also helped us learn about things and hobbies that we didn’t know about before.”

A highlight and favorite memory of their time in 4-H was two years ago when Armand won Junior Grand Champion in Showmanship in the Dairy Show at the Steele County Free Fair.

The Orfeis describe their experiences with 4-H as” Friends, Fun and Learning.”