Livestock Judging Contest

1.41 Livestock Judging Contest South Carolina Youth Livestock Program Clemson University Cooperative Extension Services offers its program to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status, and is an equal opportunity employer. Updated 3/14/2014

Welcome and good luck!!! Livestock Judging teaches youth to evaluate a group of livestock animals and measure them against a standard that is commonly accepted as ideal and to defend their ranking of those animals. Judging activities teach youth observation, organization, and verbal skills which are critical to their development. The objectives of the South Carolina Livestock Judging Contest are to: Measure participant knowledge in the following categories: o making accurate observations of livestock. o determining desirable traits in animals. o making logical decisions based on these observations. o discussing and defending decisions for placings. Instill an appreciation for desirable selection, management, and marketing techniques. Develop the ability to select and market livestock that will satisfy consumer demands and provide increased economic returns to producers as well as meet the needs of the industry. Understand and to interpret the value of performance data based on industry standards. Become proficient in communicating using terminology of the industry. Provide an opportunity for participants to associate with professionals in the industry. The winning FFA team will represent South Carolina at the National FFA Livestock Evaluation CDE at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY. The winning senior 4-H team will represent South Carolina at the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, KY. For national competition information please visit the following websites: FFA Livestock Evaluation CDE https://www.ffa.org/programs/awards/cde/lifestockevaluation/pages/default.aspx National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest http://www.livestockexpo.org/judgingcontests.aspx Please visit the Clemson 4-H Livestock Program website for more information: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/4h/kids_families/projects/agriculture_and_animals/livestock.html

4-H Information and Rules The Livestock Judging Contest will be held Saturday, April 6, 2015 at the Garrison Arena in Pendleton, SC. 4-H registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Orientation and instructions will be at 10:00 am and judging will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m. Awards will be announced following final tabulation of scores. All 4-H entries MUST be received by Thursday, April 2, 2015. o Registration form is available on the website and in the appendix of this handbook. o Registration forms need to be sent to Robin Long (rlong2@clemson.edu). Teams must be pre-registered for this contest. Official placings and cuts will be announced following completion of the contest. Animals from the classes will be brought in during discussion only if they are available. The snack bar at the Livestock Complex will be open from 8:30 am until the end of the contest. There are two drink machines at the complex. ELIGIBILITY Each participant must be a bona fide, current, dues paying, 4-H member in good standing. Substitutions may be made during registration. No substitutions will be allowed after the contest has begun. Teams may consist of three OR four members. o o o Teams with four members will all compete, with the lowest overall score automatically being dropped in the calculation of team rankings. Team ranking is determined by combining the scores of the top three members from each team. Teams with fewer than three members are not eligible for team awards but members can still compete for individual awards. Previous winners of the State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest are not eligible to compete again. Contestants who have served as an official team member or as an alternate on the first place senior team in the South Carolina State Livestock Judging contest are ineligible to compete a second time. Contestants who have served as an official team member or as an alternate in the National 4-H Livestock Judging contest are ineligible to compete a second time. 4-H Age Requirements: Juniors are defined as a 4-H member who is age 9-13 on January 1 st of the contest year. Seniors are defined as a 4-H member who is age 14-18 on January 1 st of the contest year. This age eligibility is based on National 4-H Contest rules. A 4-H member who is participating in or has completed post-secondary (university, college, junior college, or technical school) course work in a similar subject matter is not eligible. A 4-H member who has participated in a post-secondary judging contest is not eligible. CLOVERBUD DIVISION we are offering a division for 4-H Cloverbuds. Youth ages 5-8 (as of January 1 of the contest year) who are currently members of 4-H can participate in this activity during the normal contest times. These will be non-competitive divisions and youth will receive participation awards.

FFA Information and Rules The Livestock Evaluation Contest will be held Saturday, April 6, 2015 at the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, SC. FFA Registration begins at 9:00 am with the contest beginning promptly at 9:30 am Awards will be announced after each contest following final tabulation of scores. All FFA entries MUST be completed by Wednesday April 1, 2015 through the SC FFA website: www.scaged.org o Teams must be pre-registered for this contest. All participants are encouraged to wear appropriate clothing. You must wear pants and closed toed shoes. Official placings and cuts will be announced following completion of the contest. Animals from the classes will be brought in during discussion only if they are available. The snack bar at the Livestock Complex will be open from 8:30 am until the end of the contest. There are two drink machines at the complex. Participants and Eligibility Each participant must be a bona fide, current, dues paying, FFA member in good standing. Substitutions may be made during registration. No substitutions will be allowed after the contest has begun. Teams will consist of four members. All four team member s scores will be counted in the final total score. Any individual who has participated in the National FFA Livestock Evaluation CDE for either event is not eligible to participate in that same state contest. FFA Age Requirements: Be a high school FFA member; high school refers to grades 9-12. (A graduating senior is considered eligible to compete in state and national career development events up to and including his/her first national convention following graduation.) Awards Awards will be presented at the awards ceremony. Awards are presented to teams as well as individuals based upon their rankings. Awards are sponsored by a cooperating industry sponsor(s) as a special project, and/or by the general fund of the South Carolina FFA Foundation.

Disqualifications (BOTH 4-H & FFA) During the contest, there will be no communications, verbal or non-verbal, among the contestants, or between a contestant and anyone else, except the group leader or other contest officials. Failure to comply with this rule will result in disqualification of involved contestants and teams. The only exception to this would be communication between team members during team activities. Any assistance given to a team member from any source other than the contest officials or assistants will be sufficient cause to eliminate the team from the contest. Participants will not be allowed to utilize personal electronic communication devices, unless approved by the contest officials, during the entire contest. Participants who access personal electronic communication devices without prior approval of the contest officials will be disqualified. Participants are not to handle the animals unless specified by the contest officials. Tie Breakers In the event of a tie for either individual or team awards the following scores will be used in the order listed to determine the final rankings and recipient of awards. 1. Highest total oral reasons score 2. Highest total score on the respective placing classes

2014 FFA Livestock Judging Schedule Please check-in at the Garrison Arena Cattle Barn Office no later than 9:30 am. If you are not there by 9:30 am, we will consider you absent from the event. We will begin promptly at 9:30, so it is to your advantage to arrive prior to that time to ensure you meet the deadline. The contest will begin with the two keep/cull classes. This is an FFA event only. Following the keep/cull classes, we will join 4-H for the placing of 6 classes of livestock. There will be a short orientation/debriefing session to go over format and instructions while stock is getting set up at 9:30. Contestants will judge 6 placing classes and directly following the last class, reasons will begin. Contestants will give reasons on 2 classes. Once all four team members have given both sets of reasons that team can begin the new multiple choice exam. When all 4 team members have completed the exam, they will then work on the team problem. Awards will be given out after a final tabulation of scores. FFA Contest Schedule 9:00-9:30 FFA Registration 9:30-10:30 FFA Keep/Cull Classes (2) 10:30-12:00 Judging of 6 placing classes 12:00-12:20 Reasons prep 12:20 Rough estimate for start of reasons Multiple choice exam begins as soon as a team member finishes his/her reasons. Team activity begins as soon as all team members have completed the exam. Award ceremony after all teams complete all components upon final tabulation of scores. FFA Scoring All team member scores will be used to determine final team placing. Activity Individual Score Team Score Total Possible Keep/Cull (2 at 50 pts each) 100 400 Classes (6 at 50 pts each) 300 1200 Reasons (2 at 50 pts each) 100 400 Exam (50 questions at 1 pt each) 50 200 Team Activity 100 Individual Team TOTAL Possible Points 550 2300

2014 4-H Livestock Judging Schedule Please check-in at the Garrison Arena Cattle Barn Office no later than 10:00 am. If you are not there by 10:00 am, we will consider you absent from the event. Orientation and instructions will be at 10:00 am and judging will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m., so it is to your advantage to arrive prior to that time to ensure you meet the deadline and hear all instructions. The contest will begin with the placing of 6 classes of livestock. Contestants will judge 6 placing classes and directly following the last class, FFA will begin reasons. All 4-H members will continue to place 2 more classes of livestock. Directly following the last class, 4-H reasons will begin. Senior contestants will give reasons on 2 classes; Junior contestants will give reasons on 1 class. There are 2 question classes. Five questions will be asked on 2 classes (10 total questions). Questions will be asked immediately following the completion of ALL JUDGING CLASSES and will be answered by the number of an animal in the class. Question classes will be announced prior to the class entering the ring. Awards will be given out after a final tabulation of scores. 4-H Contest Schedule 9:30-10:00 4-H Registration 10:00-10:30 Orientation and instructions 10:30-12:00 Judging of 6 placing classes 12:00-12:30 Judging of 2 placing classes (4-H ONLY) 12:30-12:50 Reasons prep 12:50 Rough estimate for start of reasons Award ceremony following reasons after final tabulation of scores. 4-H Scoring (Senior) Lowest score will be dropped for this contest. 4-H Scoring Activity Individual Score Team Score Total Possible Classes (8 at 50 pts each) 400 1200 Reasons (2 at 50 pts each) 100 300 Questions (10 at 5 pts each) 50 150 Individual Team TOTAL Possible Points 550 1650 4-H Scoring (Junior) Lowest score will be dropped for this contest. Activity Individual Score Team Score Total Possible Classes (8 at 50 pts each) 400 1200 Reasons (1 at 50 pts each) 50 150 Questions (10 at 5 pts each) 50 150 Individual Team TOTAL Possible Points 500 1500

Event Activities All events will be modeled after, but are not limited to, activities that contestants would encounter at their respective organization s national competitions. Any of the resources listed on the Resource page of this handbook are fair game for testing purposes. Keep/Cull Classes o FFA ONLY o FFA students will participate in 2 keep/cull classes o 8 animals will be in the ring; students will select which ones they would keep in a herd and which ones they would cull from the herd o This section is worth 100 points Judging (50 pts per class: individual activity) o Each contestant must provide their own clean, free of notes, clipboard. o Classes of four animals will each be placed on type. o Classes will be comprised of breeding or market animals from beef, swine, sheep or meat goat species. o Once class will include performance data. o Each class is worth 50 points maximum for a correct placing. o Participants will be given 15 minutes to evaluate and place each class. o The classes that oral reasons will be given will be announced before the class comes into the ring. o Participants will be allowed to view the animals from all angles but will not be allowed to handle them, unless stated by the contest officials. Oral Reasons (50 pts per class: individual activity) o Oral reasons will be given on two classes (1 class for 4-H Juniors). o Participants will be given 20 minutes following the last class to prepare for oral reasons. o Only 2 minutes will be allowed for giving oral reasons. o Participants will be expected to give oral reasons without notes. Questions (50 pts; individual activity) o 4-H ONLY o Questions will be answered using a scantron, they must provide their own number 2 pencil. o There will be 10 questions asked about 2 classes (5 questions for each class). o The questions will be asked immediately following the completion of ALL JUDGING CLASSES and will be answered by the number of an animal in the class. o The classes that questions will be asked about will be announced before the class comes into the ring. General Knowledge Exam (50 pts: individual activity) o FFA ONLY o Test will be comprised of a total of 25 multiple choice questions. o Students will be using a scantron for the exam and must provide their own number 2 pencil. Team Question (50 pts: team activity) o FFA ONLY o Teams will be given a scenario to identify problems and determine possible solutions and/or answer questions. o The response to this portion will be a written response. o Prior to the event coaches/ffa advisors will be given a possible topic list for this portion. o Teams will have 20 minutes to prepare and write their answer to the scenario. o The scenario topic area will be given out closer to the contest. o Alternates and those competing as individuals do not compete in this activity.

Resources This list of references is not intended to be all-inclusive. Other sources may be utilized and teachers are encouraged to make use of the very best instructional materials available. The following list contains references that may prove helpful during event preparation. National FFA Core Catalog national CDE test, practicums and team activities http://shop.ffa.org/cde-qas-c1413.aspx Beef Improvement Federation Department of Animal Sciences and Food Kansas State University Northwest Research Extension Center 105 Experiment Farm Road Colby, KS 67701 www.beefimprovement.org Sheep Evaluation Reference http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/itcmodules/module1/introductiontosheepevaluation.htm Hunsley, R. Livestock Judging, Selection and Evaluation. 5th Edition. Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, 2001. Meat Goat Evaluation Reference http://www.lsuagcenter.com/nr/rdonlyres/b8fe3706-64dc-417f-a592- B8DEC14B4D9F/43292/pub2951MeatGoatJanuary2008LOWRES.pdf Goat Handbook: www.texasgoat.com/goat_handbook/ Gillispie, James R. Modern Livestock and Poultry Production 8th edition or most current edition. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, Inc. 2004. National Swine Improvement Federation 204 Polk Hall North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7621 www.nsif.com

When filling out your placings card be sure your card is CLEARLY marked. Take your time and do not fill out your card until you have finalized your answer! Double check that you are marking the placing you want. CORRECT way to mark placing card: INCORRECT markings on placing card: CORRECT way to mark placing card: INCORRECT markings on placing card:

South Carolina 4-H Livestock Judging Official Entry Form Due by: Thursday, April 2, 2015 Team/Club Name: City/County: County Extension Agent: Coach (if different from above): Coach s Email: Phone: Day of Contest Phone: Submit completed registration form to: Robin Long Agricultural Education 252 McAdams Hall Clemson, SC 29634-0310 rlong2@clemson.edu Please use a separate form for different coaches or clubs. Junior and Senior teams can have 3 or 4 members. Cloverbuds are non-competitive and will complete a judging type activity during the contest. Division (Cb/Jr/Sr) Name Birthdate Office Use Only Division (Cb/Jr/Sr) Name Birthdate Office Use Only Division (Cb/Jr/Sr) Name Birthdate Office Use Only By signing below I validate that the youth listed above are currently registered South Carolina 4-H members in good standing in my county. By signing below I certify that me and my team members have read the rules and agree to abide by them. County Extension Agent Signature Coach Signature