UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four Pennsylvania 4-H members from Lancaster County — Luke Snavely, Zach Bollinger, Dylan Leed and Eric Zimmerman — recently participated in the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest at the North American International Livestock Exposition.
Held in Louisville, Kentucky, this event is the largest all-breed, purebred livestock exposition in the nation, with nearly 30,000 entries and more than 140 competitions spanning 17 days and 10 species.
Livestock judging contests help youth learn breed and conformation standards, advancing their knowledge of the livestock industry, noted Kirsten Dubbs, 4-H animal science specialist with Penn State Extension.
“They learn to evaluate and rank classes of animals that are placed in front of them at judging contests,” she said. “Senior competitors, such as these youth, also prepare and deliver sets of oral reasons to justify how they placed classes. They invest a great deal of time learning the subject matter, looking at animals in the flesh and on video, and practicing their evaluation skills.”
While this knowledge certainly could benefit future careers in the livestock industry, Dubbs also pointed out the opportunities for building organizational skills, critical thinking, memorization and evaluation skills.
“It teaches them to think on their feet and reason their way through the decision-making process,” she said. “They learn public speaking and communication skills. It’s hard to overstate the life skills impact of participating in judging at this level.”
Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a nonformal educational youth-development program of the United States Department of Agriculture that helps young people develop knowledge and skills to become capable, caring and contributing citizens. To find your local program, visit the Penn State Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/
–Alexandra McLaughlin, Penn State University
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