Washington County 4-H earns fourth place at state livestock judging

Thirty-eight individuals from nine counties competed in the 2020 State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest Aug. 29 at the Hansen Ag Student Learning Center in Ames. This year's contest included only a senior age division due to COVID-19 and safety precautions.

Washington County 4-H Livestock Judging State Team made of Carmen Sieren, Charlotte Sieren, Anna Nafziger and Iris Peterson earned overall 4th place finish behind 3rd place Sac County by only three points. First place went to Jackson County and second place to Benton County.

Participants compete as a team and also as individuals were Washington County 4-Hers took Top 10 honors as well. Iris Peterson, member of the Go Getters 4-H Club, earned 6th place overall in individual points and 4th in meat goat ranking. Charlotte Sieren, member of the Dutch Creek Flyers 4-H Club, earned 8th in swine ranking.

'The objectives of the Iowa 4-H Judging Contests are for the 4-H'ers to learn modern livestock and meat evaluation methods, practice decision-making and communication skills and develop the ability to select livestock appropriate for a defined production purpose,” said Mike Anderson, 4-H youth program specialist.

Washington County 4-Hers with a livestock judging interest met every other week through the winter in preparation for spring and summer contests which were put on hold due to COVID safety precautions. Several team members then worked late summer practices to prepare for the State competition in Ames. Washington County 4-H volunteer livestock judging coaching team is made up of Brandon Freel, Dustin Ford, Ted Greiner, and Chad Younge.

'We are thankful to have such caring adults with a judging expertise who want to invest and teach our young people in this project area ,” said Amy Green, Washington County 4-H/Youth coordinator. 'This is a project area that develops great life skills of teamwork, confidence in decision making and public speaking. It says a lot about the youth in our county program who have been dedicated to those weekly workouts and learning.”

The Iowa 4-H Foundation Animal Science Endowment sponsors awards for the state contests. More results from the contest can be found at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/state-livestock-judging. For more information on how to support livestock judging in the 4-H program, contact Washington County Extension at 319-653-4811. Follow 'Washington County 4-H - Iowa” on Facebook for up to date information and photos on 4-H/Youth Extension programming throughout Washington County.