4-H Members Succeed at Livestock Judging Contest

DeKalb County 4-H members competed at the Central Region Livestock Judging Contest. Back row: Cody Robinson, Clayton Crook, Abby Cross, Mason Taylor, Ansley Cantrell, Caley Taylor, Emma Hancock, Jenna Cantrell, Evan Reid, and Kolton Slager. Front row: Julian Alvarez, Tyler Dunn, McKenna Miller, Chaylea Lunsford, Cali Agee, Laura Magness, Izayah Dowell, Riley Fuson, and Grady Hancock.

Izayah Dowell, Grady Hancock, Julian Alvarez, and Tyler Dunn made up the 4th place livestock judging team. Izayah was 6th high individual and Tyler placed 8th.

McKenna Miller, Laura Magness, Cali Agee, and Chaylea Lunsford (not pictured) placed 5th at the Central Region Livestock Judging Contest. Cali was 4th high individual.

April 25, 2019
By: Leigh Fuson

Nineteen DeKalb County 4-H members recently traveled to the Tennessee Livestock Center in Murfreesboro to compete in the Central Region 4-H Livestock Judging contest where their knowledge of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs were put to the test. This contest is one of the largest judging events in the region with around 25 counties and 325 youth participating.

We had two teams in the Junior division (4^th & 5^th grades). Julian Alverez, Izayah Dowell, Tyler Dunn, and Grady Hancock placed 4^th overall. Cali Agee, Chaylea Lunsford, Laura Magness, and McKenna Miller placed 5^th. Cali Agee was 4^th high individual, Izayah Dowell placed 6^th, and Tyler Dunn was 8^th. There were a total of 22 teams and 87 contestants.

In the largest age division of 6^th-8^th graders, our teams did well but were unable to grab a top ten finish. Ansley Cantrell, Abby Cross, Riley Fuson, Emma Hancock, Evan Reid, Kolton Slager, Caley Taylor, and Mason Taylor were our contestants. Abby Cross was our top scorer, finishing 27^th overall out of 141.

Finally, our Senior High team of Jenna Cantrell, Clayton Crook, and Cody Robinson placed 7^th overall out of 22. That is a great accomplishment for a 3-man team! Clayton was 12^th high individual and Jenna was 16^th. High School members must also be able to explain verbally why they placed the class the way they did as an added challenge. This requires good public speaking and memorization skills.

Livestock judging allows young people to develop decision-making and critical thinking skills while evaluating and selecting meat animals. They also learn more about the livestock industry as a whole. So, how do you “judge” livestock animals exactly? 4-H members learn how to assess the conformation, or body structure, and muscle of different breeds of beef cattle, sheep, goats, and swine in order to know which animals would be best in a breeding program or would make the most profit in a market situation. They also learn how to read and use performance data and genetic information to assist in the selection of breeding livestock. Eight total classes of animals were judged at the contest.

These youth represented DeKalb County well at this very competitive event. Our members worked hard and practiced several times. We also made some farm visits and had a lot of fun. If you are interested in learning more about livestock judging, or any other 4-H event, please call 615-597-4945.

4-H is the Youth Development program for University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University Extension. 4-H teaches leadership, citizenship, and life skills to more than 302,000 youth in grades 4-12. UT/TSU Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment through the cooperation of county, state, and federal governments.