Anna Thompson Hajdik

Anna Thompson Hajdik was born into the world of dairy goats, with her parents, Douglas and Mary Thompson, having purchased their foundation animals about a decade earlier. In fact, she attended her first National Show as an infant in Grayslake, Illinois, in the summer of 1979.

Anna grew up on a farm in northern Minnesota. Although her first goat was an Alpine, she received her first Toggenburg in 1988 from good family friends, Earl and Marjorie Kitchen. This gift sparked a passion for the Toggenburg breed, and she set about building a competitive herd over the next several decades.

The culmination of that effort was reached in 2018 with the exhibition of her homebred national champion, SGCH Legendairy Chip’s Rhubiayat. In 2021, a long-time family goal of breeding an Alpine national champion was realized with the exhibition of GCH Kara Kahl PGW Akebono. Kara Kahl Alpines are owned and managed by Anna’s sister, Emily, along with the crucial support and labor of parents Doug and Mary.

Anna obtained her judging license in 1998. Over the years, she’s had the opportunity to judge dairy goats in 33 states as well as Canada and Brazil. Anna loves evaluating beautiful animals, wherever they may be, and meeting enthusiastic, devoted breeders of the delightful dairy goat. She is also active in the American Dairy Goat Association and Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association. Anna currently serves as a director for ADGA District 4 and for the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association. She is also the chair of the Awards Committee for the American Dairy Goat Association.

In her professional life, Anna is a professor of Film History and English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Anna, along with her husband Jason and daughter Daisy, resides in Madison, Wisconsin. She is very excited to be judging her third National Show in West Springfield, and she holds a special affinity for the dairy goat folks of New England. Anna looks forward to seeing the parade of beautiful animals throughout the week.