Abby and Ethan Sterner know a little something about animal agriculture.  The siblings, who recently took top honors at the Pennsylvania 4-H dairy show, have been stifling the competition and garnering ribbons across the state.

                Abby, with a ponytail pulled through her hat in no-nonsense style, will tell you being involved in farming comes naturally.  Her grandparents and parents always raised cows and both her mom and dad were heavily involved in 4-H.  Growing up, she said they always had animals ranging from goats and sheep to cows and horses.  So when she wanted to join the Montgomery County 4-H club, it was a no-brainer.

                "It's fun to make friends and be at the fairs," the 17-year-old said of her involvement with 4-H.  "It's fun to have an animal that wins too.  You don't have to win to have fun, but it is a lot of hard work, so that's a nice payoff in the end."

                Abby, who transferred to Oley High School for their agriculture program, and Ethan, a Washington Elementary student, said they spend their days a little differently from many kids their age.  They can be faithfully found at their grandparents' dairy farm in Douglass Township (Mont.), where the Sterners raise their animals, just down the road from their home. 

                During the summer they are up bright and early milking cows.  Abby bottle-feeds the calves and feeds the heifers.  Ethan, 12, is the skid loader operator and also helps feed.  They can also be found shoveling the pens clean, distributing bedding and doing other minor maintenance.

                The family's dairy herd, about 40 in number, is in its first year.  They are members of the Dairy Farmers of America, which processes and distributes their milk.

                Abby said each animal has its own personality, which makes it interesting.  Her favorite right now is Fancy, a brown Swiss.  Fancy, she said, is pretty calm and laidback.  It is a quality which, in addition to her flawless physical composition, has endeared her to judges all over eastern Pennsylvania this summer.

                The Sterners have competed at the Montgomery, Kimberton, Schnecksville, Allentown, and Oley county fairs in addition to 4-H districts in Lebanon County and states and National Junior competitions, both held in Harrisburg earlier this month.

                At the junior nationals, Fancy took first place in her division.  At the state 4-H dairy show, Fancy took reserve grand champion honors and placed first.  She was also named the best "owned and bred" in her breed.  

                At the Montgomery County 4-H fair, Fancy was named Supreme Champion Dairy Beef, honors she also took in Allentown, Schnecksville and Oley this summer.  Abby also took second for another Brown Swiss, named Joy, at nationals.

                Ethan, who showed a red and white Holstein named Lizzy most recently, finished seventh overall at nationals and third at states.  At the Montgomery County 4-H fair, Lizzy took the title of reserve grand champion dairy cow.  Ethan also showed a Berkshire hog named Pork Chop, which won grand champion market hog honors.

                The sister and brother duo have also shown goats and sheep before. 

                "It's fun to make friends but I just like to go with the animals and do my best," said Ethan of why he participates.  "I like traveling to the shows too."

                Abby, who plans to own or work on a farm in the future, was recently selected as one of only four teens in the state to take part in the National 4-H Dairy Conference in Wisconsin this weekend.  There she will learn about a variety of topics related to the dairy industry.  She will also have the opportunity to visit state-of-the-art farms and the highlight of the trip, the World Dairy Expo.   Then she will have a brief hiatus before preparing for the PA Farm Show in January.  

                "Abby is a hard worker and is very dedicated because she has had a wide variety of project animals," noted Amy Shollenberger, 4-H extension educator for Penn State, Montgomery County.  "She puts the hours in and that's her passion.

                "Ethan, he knows what he's doing and has done really well at the fairs.  There are days when he can beat Abby so there's that competition too.  Not only do they learn how to work with their animals, but they learn how to work with people, networking, even how to market their animals.  They lead meetings once a month.  They get a lot out of it."

                Their mom, Karen Sterner, said despite the tough schedule, she supports her daughter and son wholeheartedly because they truly enjoy what they're doing.

                "It's tough sometimes to balance being here and being there but we have a supportive family, so that helps," she said.  "It's nice to see the kids do something they love." 

                And how about all the accolades they've collected this summer?

                "It's nice to see them rewarded.  It's nice to watch them grow," she said with a smile.