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Judging practice brings benefits for 4-Hers
Published 5/28/2009 in Beef Empire Days-Industry
By EMILY BEHLMANN
Clipboard and pencil in hand, Lakota Stucky eyed a pen full of market steers, appraising carefully.
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Brad Nading/Telegram — Micaila Loke, 10, right, ponders how to answer a question on a pen of cattle Wednesday as her mom, Shari, and brother, Jonathan, 12, fill out their entries in the Beef Empire Days Livestock Judging contest for 4-H members and adults at the Finney county Fairgrounds. The pair of youngsters are members of Finney County's Wide Awake 4-H club.
Which would earn a feed yard the most money? Which would produce the best steak?
Lakota, a 12-year-old from Hamilton County 4-H Club, ranked the steers on her paper -- her interpretation of best to worst -- at the 4-H livestock judging Wednesday morning in one of the first events of the 41st annual Beef Empire Days celebration.
"You look for nice muscle, depth in barrel, a wider rear end that doesn't taper," Lakota said, adding that her knowledge of livestock judging came from the 4-H club.
She was among about 15 Hamilton County 4-H members who participated in the morning's judging, which also included a few Garden City 4-H members.
The youth were invited to try their hand at ranking and answering questions about the market steers, market heifers, Angus bulls and Angus breeding heifers provided for the competition by Lakin Feedyards, Triangle H Grain and Cattle Co., Sam Hands and Steve Landgraf.
Their responses would be compared to those of professional livestock judge Keith Bryant, who works for Grant County Feeders and used to judge on Kansas State University's meat judging team, according to event organizer Paige Alexander.
She said the professional judge distinguished between big cuts, or easy-to-tell distinctions between two animals, vs. small cuts, or difficult calls on whether one was better than another. The harder the call, the more points it would be worth.
Jonathan Lock, 12, a Garden City Wide Awake 4-H member, said he and his sister, Micaila Lock, 10, judge livestock every year.
"It's a lot of fun," he said.
He said he looks for characteristics in steer, such as a strong back and a square rear frame.
Getting to know what to look for in livestock is one of the reasons the Lock family participates in judging competitions, said the siblings' mom, Shari Lock.
"They learn what the animal is supposed to look like, so when they pick animals for the fair, they know what to look for," she said.
And they've done pretty well. Jonathan said he had the grand champion market swine at last year's Finney County Fair.
Both Jonathan and Micaila said they want to work with livestock when they grow up, too, so they think their experience will help them.
Micaila wants to be a veterinarian, and Jonathan said he wants "to take over my grandpa's place and be a big businessman."
His grandfather works at LL Six Ranch in Wallace County, while his father works at Triangle H Grain and Cattle Co. in Garden City.
But even if youth aren't interested in a livestock-related career, participating in judging competitions still can be beneficial, Alexander said.
A former 4-H member who participated in similar competitions, she said judging helps develop critical thinking, analysis and evaluation skills as youth try to figure out which livestock are the best based on a variety of characteristics. They then have to explain their reasoning.
"It helps later in life when you have to make decisions about your career," she said, regardless of what that career turns out to be.
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