It’s not really about the cows, sheep, hogs, chickens and
horses. Livestock judging
teams are about critical thinking and communication skills,
said a University of Georgia
scientist.

CAES team’s
win

Just home from the National Western Stock Show in
Denver, Colo., Kyle
Rozeboom said the UGA livestock judging team
showed poise and finesse in competing with 27 other state
teams.

The UGA team won first in the carload cattle judging
and placed in the top 10 in the
livestock judging.

“This team is selected from the fall semester beginning
livestock judging class
because of the promise and skills they show during class,”
Rozeboom said.

An animal science instructor in the UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rozeboom
coaches the livestock judging team.

By October, the team forms and begins intensive
practice. But many of the students on
the team have been doing this since elementary or high
school.

“You can tell the ones who have,” Rozeboom said. “Even
other instructors
know which students have been in judging events by their
poise and confidence.”

Students can start learning
early

Through UGA 4-H programs, students can learn
judging skills as early as the fifth grade. During
competitions, students compare animals,
then rank them and prepare reasons why they ranked the way
they did.

“The programs teach youths how to make sound
decisions,” said Laura Perry
Johnson, a UGA 4-H livestock specialist. “Then they have
to defend their decisions
with clear communication.”

Learning and succeeding as a
team and individually

Team members also learn to work together to help each
other learn about the animals
they’re judging. “You can’t win these competitions by
yourself,” Johnson said.

Rozeboom said team members don’t have to go into
livestock careers to benefit. They
carry the skills they learn into other areas of their
lives.

“These personal skills — the decision making,
prioritizing, speaking and
leadership skills — stay with you no matter what you
choose to do,” he said.

Johnson is more than enthusiastic about judging
programs. “It’s because of my
meat- and livestock-judging background that I’m in the
career I chose,” she said.
“I’ve seen kids decide on a career because of their
involvement with judging
events.”

County 4-H programs can sponsor judging teams for
livestock, poultry, horses, dairy
cattle, consumer products, wildlife, land and forestry.

“So even if you can’t commit to care for livestock, you
can learn consumer skills
and other life skills that will serve you throughout
life,” Johnson said.

4-H judging participants compete for local and county
honors, state and national trips,
awards and scholarships. College judging teams compete for
scholarships, trips and awards.

“There’s no way I could have seen the things I’ve seen
in this nation had it not
been for 4-H and college judging events,” Johnson
said. “This gives young people
opportunities they may never have otherwise.”

Get involved
locally

Most counties begin forming many judging teams in early
spring. The county extension
office or 4-H leader can provide further information on
joining a judging team.