Faith Shultz wins scholarship, awards
4-H member Faith Shultz said she loves spending time with her Nubian goats at Daisy Hill Farm. Photo submitted

Faith Shultz wins scholarship, awards

MILLBROOK — At just 18 years old, Faith Shultz has long been used to her hard work resulting in awards for her efforts. A graduate of Millbrook High School, she is proud to have gone through the Millbrook Central School District through her academic career. She also proudly pointed out that she graduated from the Dutchess County Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Career Technical Institute (CTI), where she took part in the Careers in Animal and Plant Sciences program.

For the past 10 years, Shultz has also been raising Nubian and Toggenburg dairy goats, which involves a lot of hard work as well as a lot of expertise and love. She feeds, milks, breeds and shows the goats at fairs and exhibits. She was one of several 4-H members from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County in Millbrook who visited a number of farms in Austria a few years ago to see how other dairy farmers care for their animals.

Aside from raising her goats, Shultz has always been an excellent student, and has won many awards for her efforts; she was recently given the 2020 Dutchess County Dairy Committee Scholarship award, one of three first year scholarships recognizing her several years as a 4-H’er. 

She is currently at Dutchess Community College (DCC), pursuing a career in agriculture and said she plans to transfer to SUNY Cobbleskill in the future. During the summer of 2020 she worked at the 4-H division at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Millbrook.

Daisy Hill Farm is a small herd farm located​ in Millbrook, according to Shultz, where she raises her goats. 

“As a small herd, we pride ourselves in having does that are not only productive in the milk bucket but in the show ring as well,” she said with pride. “We are a CAE Free herd, tested yearly.”

She recently introduced a new breed of goat, “part goat, part giraffe,” was how Shultz described the animal, but very definitely “sweethearts.”

Shultz is aware that she is fortunate in having had help and guidance along the way, but also knows how fortunate she is to be able to pursue a career in something that she very much loves.

“I am very grateful to everyone who has guided me along the way and given me unforgettable experiences that have helped to influence my future,” she said. “I look forward to becoming an agricultural educator and educating society on the importance of agriculture and the impacts it has on our daily lives.”

Other awards she has won over the years have come from the New York Farm Bureau, the Dutchess County Agricultural Society, the Rhinebeck Farmers Market and from BOCES.

Her career in 4-H, of which she has been a member for seven years, is also laudable; she’s held various positions such as president, vice president and secretary. She’s been a member of the Kids-for-Kids Dairy Goat Club, the Top Dogs Canine Club and the Dutchess County Teen Ambassadors. She has been a 4-H program assistant intern since February 2019.

Shultz wants to major in agricultural business management and minor in agricultural education once at SUNY.

“My career goal is to educate our local communities on the importance of agriculture by working with local agricultural programs and through marketing,” she said.

They’re lofty goals, but Shultz has always worked hard to achieve such goals, and in all likelihood, will succeed in accomplishing them.

For more information, follow Shultz and her goats on her Facebook page, Daisy Hill Farm Nubian Dairy Goats.

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