Grant and Brookings County Compete at National 4-H Livestock Judging Contests
The 2011 Grant County 4-H Livestock Judging team placed 16th overall in the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest held at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky.
Duaine Marxen and Jeff Wolff of Grant County coached the team during the Nov. 15-16 event. The team included Amy Wolff, Michaela VanderWal, Riley VanderWal and Emma Christensen.
The team took 16th overall among 28 teams, while placing 24th in sheep and goat judging, 3rd in swine judging, 22nd in beef judging and 24th in reasons. Facing competition with 110 individuals in the overall contest, Amy Wolff took 9th in individual swine judging and 34th overall respectively. Riley VanderWal’s individual score in swine judging earned 22nd place, while Michaela VanderWal placed 23rd in swine judging, which lead to the team’s success in the swine division.
The Grant County team earned the right to represent South Dakota at the national contest as they were the state champion county team at the South Dakota State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest held in July.
4-Her’s from the Brookings County Livestock Judging Team recently competed at the American Royal 4-H Livestock Judging Contest in Kansas City, MO.
Kevin and Kari VanderWal of Brookings County coached the team during the October 28 event. The team included Dallis VanderWal, Dayton VanderWal and Tyson DeGroot.
The team took 12th overall among 16 teams and placed 8th in beef judging, 3rd in swine judging, 12th in swine judging and 11th in reasons. This year’s contest hosted 62 individuals in the overall contest; Dayton VanderWal took 11th in individual beef judging.
The Brookings County team earned the right to represent South Dakota at the national contest as they were the runner-up state champion county team at the South Dakota State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest held in July.
The National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest has become one of the nation’s most challenging competitions for livestock-industry youth, attracting top young people from across the U.S. each year. SDSU Extension 4-H Show Management Coordinator, Rod Geppert said that as a highly competitive event for young people ages 14-18, the contest provides participants with an opportunity to develop skills in evaluation, decision-making, communication, self-discipline and responsibility.
“There are very few programs that teach youth the ability to evaluate, make decisions, and defend those choices verbally to an adult, one-on-one, but this program does exactly that,” said Geppert. “That’s a powerful skill set in today’s world of electronic communication that youth know so well.”