Last Thursday and Friday the Lewis Cass Livestock judging team competed. The teams have been practicing for a couple of months. The practice paid off with very high scores. On Thursday, the team of Kinsey Mennen, McCoy Taylor, Matt Minnick, and Lexi Gotshall won the senior reasons division. McCoy and Kinsey tied for 6th overall individual and Matt Minnick finished 13th. Also at Tippecanoe, our 4-H team finished 3rd. The team consisted of Connor Albaugh, Jenna Gotshall, Lily Yax, and Trinety Gillem. Connor was 8th individual and Jenna was 13th on the 4-H side. Friday, our senior team of Kinsey Mennen, McCoy Taylor, Lexi Gotshall, and Matt Minnick finished 2nd in the contest. Kinsey Mennen was high individual overall and McCoy was 8th. We also had a junior team that placed 3rd consisting of Abigail Albaugh, Jordyn Wright, and Jonny Baker.
Livestock judging is a very hard contest. The teams are required to know all about different breeds of animals. A class consists of four different animals of the same breed. The class is either a market class or a breeding class. The teams have to decide how to place the classes depending on multiple factors. Whether the animals are market or breeding classes depends on how the team will place them. The competitors have to look at all different parts of the animals in order to determine the placings. Things like the animal’s fat content, gate, and stature are taken into account to determine the placings. The senior teams are also required to give reasons. This means the contestants have to give reasons about why they placed the classes as they did. They have to give their reasons to a set of three judges. This can be the hardest part of livestock judging because the competitors have to remember their reasons for their placings.
Our teams practice by looking at online classes. They have been practicing since February to prepare for the contests. For each class they judge online, they also have to prepare a set of reasons to give. Taylor Plank said, “With livestock judging there is always something to work on. A lot of times I look at how we did at the most recent contest and look for species that we may have struggled with. As an example, we recently went to a contest and did not score very high in our sheep classes. As a result, we will practice a lot more on sheep in the coming weeks.”
Many of the competitors also show animals which is why they enjoy livestock judging so much. Being able to effectively judge livestock gives them an advantage when raising their show animals. Kinsey Mennen said, “It’s a family thing for me personally. We raise livestock, so it just fits in with the daily routine of evaluating my own livestock. Then it’s taking the knowledge to other peoples’ livestock.”
Livestock judging is a very good contest to do for scholarships as well. Many people from Lewis Cass have been offered scholarships to judge livestock in college. Younger members are encouraged to compete in different contests, and livestock judging would be a good one to get into. Kinsey said, “My advice to younger kids is that it’s a frustrating nerve-racking contest to do. It’s almost impossible to be successful in every contest because it depends on the judges’ opinions. Stick to what you know and all will end well.” If you are a younger FFA member, livestock judging is definitely something you should consider.
