Now that the weather finally cooling down, it is fair season in the Florida panhandle! Fairs aren’t just about rides and food but also about participating in showing livestock, entering exhibits, and competing in judging contests. There are so many opportunities at fairs for 4-H youth to participate in and gain knowledge from. Agricultural judging contests are great for youth who are interested in learning about agriculture. There is a statewide virtual agricultural judging contest and an agricultural judging contest at the North Florida Fair.
This year we will be hosting the 4th Annual Florida 4-H Virtual Ag Judging Contest. It will take place on October 26th at 6:00 pm EST on Zoom and it is free! There will be training before the contest to allow 4-H youth an opportunity to learn about each topic before participating in the contest. The training will be held on October 24th at 6:00 pm EST on Zoom. This contest is great for 4-H youth to learn how to judge bulls, dairy cows, poultry, goats, swine, hay, grain, peanuts, and tomatoes. There will also be questions on tool identification, weed identification, and soil samples. To participate in this contest youth must be 4-H age 8-18 and will need to register in 4-H Online. If you have any questions about this event, please email Evie Hunter (evie.hunter@ufl.edu) or Chris Decubellis (cdecube@ufl.edu). We had so much fun creating this contest virtually and are super excited for youth all over the state to participate! This is our 4th year doing this contest and we are happy to see it grow!
The North Florida Fair Ag Judging Contest will take place on November 11th at the fairgrounds in Tallahassee, Florida. This contest will cover judging steers, heifers, eggs, hay, and grains. This contest is for youth 4-H ages 8-18 who are interested in learning how to judge agriculture. To participate in this contest youth must register in 4-H Online and contact your 4-H Agent to sign up. If you have any questions about this event, please email Robbie Jones r.jones1@ufl.edu or Evie Hunter (evie.hunter@ufl.edu).
Both contests are great for youth to learn about how to judge each topic. It is very important to know how to tell if you are feeding your animals good hay and grains to make sure your animals stay healthy. It is also important to learn about the structure and what to look for in each livestock animal. Both contests are fun to participate in and learn about the importance of ag judging. I look forward to seeing both contests grow, and more youth learn about the importance of agriculture.
For livestock judging study materials, check out these links:
Happy fair season everyone! Fairs aren’t just about rides and food but also about participating in showing livestock, entering exhibits, and competing in judging contests. Judging contests are a great way for youth to explore a topic they are interested in, and practice decision-making and critical thinking skills. One of the most popular judging contests is agriculture judging. There is an agricultural judging contest online and at the North Florida Fair.
The Florida 4-H Virtual Ag Judging Contest will take place on October 27th at 6:00 pm EST on Zoom and it is free! There will be a training prior to the contest to allow 4-H youth an opportunity to learn about each topic before participating in the contest. The training will be held on October 25th at 6:00 pm EST on zoom. This contest is great for 4-H youth to learn how to judge steers, dairy cows, poultry, swine, hay, grain, peanuts, and tomatoes. There will also be questions on tool identification, weed identification, and soil samples. To participate in this contest youth must be 4-H age 8-18 and will need to register in 4-H Online. If you have any questions about this event, please email Evie Blount (ecb1224@ufl.edu) or Chris Decubellis (cdecube@ufl.edu). We had so much fun creating this contest virtually and are super excited for youth all over the state to participate! This is our 3rd year doing this contest and we are happy to see it grow!
The North Florida Fair Ag Judging Contest will take place on November 12th at the fairgrounds in Tallahassee, Florida. This contest will be covering judging steers, heifers, poultry, hay, and grains. This contest is for youth 4-H age 8-18 that are interested in learning how judge agriculture. To participate in this contest youth must be register in 4-H Online and contact your 4-H Agent to sign up. If you have any questions about this event, please email Robbie Jones r.jones1@ufl.edu or Evie Blount (ecb1224@ufl.edu).
If you are new to agriculture judging, below are some resources to help you prepare:
Are you sad about the North Florida Fair being canceled this year? Well we are too! Even though we are all going to miss the rides and the fair foods (especially the funnel cakes) we don’t have to miss out on all the fair activities! The Consumer Choice, Horticulture Identification, and Agricultural Judging Contest will all still be taking place on November 14th. They will all be virtual, and they are open to Florida 4-H members ages 8-18.
Judging contests are a great way for youth to learn skills to prepare them for work and life, such as decision making, teamwork and public speaking! To help youth prepare for the virtual ag judging contest, we will have a workshop on November 5th at 5:30PM eastern. Registration for this workshop and the contest are available in 4Honline. Once you register, you will be provided a secure link to join. The deadline to register for the workshop and contest is November 5th. For the contest, there is a small entry fee of $5.00 per participant.
If you have any questions, please email Evie Blount (ecb1224@ufl.edu) or Chris Decubellis (cdecube@ufl.edu). We had so much fun creating this contest virtually and are super excited for youth all over the state to participate!
Check out these blog posts about how judging contests teach life skills:
4-H judging teams are a wonderful way to help youth learn life skills such as decision making, teamwork and public speaking. These events are also a way for youth to demonstrate mastery of subject matter skills. Florida 4-H offers a wide variety of judging contest opportunities. Because there are so many contests, it can be a little overwhelming for 4-H volunteers, however, there are simple strategies you can learn to teach any type of judging contest. While the subject matter changes from contest to contest, how you prepare young people to learn the material and compete is the SAME! One you master these simple strategies, you can coach any type of judging team. Join us Thursday, October 15th at 6PM central/7PM eastern to learn how to incorporate judging teams into your club program. Brian Estevez and Aly Schortinghouse, 4-H agents in Escambia County, will present the program as part of our Virtual Volunteer Leadership Academy Series. For more information, or to register, visit http://bit.ly/4HVVLA.
Also, check out some of our previous blog posts about the impact of our judging programs…
Judging teams are a part of the 4-H curriculum that helps to build life skills. Arising as part of the early 4-H club work, judging teams were noted to have begun prior to 1921. In fact, 4-H Clubs were originally called corn clubs, because youth were taught how to grow a better crop of corn and in turn, would bring their corn into town to be judged.
4-H judging teams are short-term, intensive trainings in a particular subject area. The goal of the trainings is to compete at judging team competitions. Judging teams are typically comprised of three or four youth in the same age division, from the same county.
For our panhandle 4-H members, the North Florida Fair has the following contests:
Consumer Choices
Agriculture Judging
Horticulture Judging
STEM Challenge
Wildlife Ecology
Each judging contest has its specific rules and activities; however, the basic components of a judging contest include identification, judging classes, and oral reasons. A good judging team member has the following characteristics:
A clear idea or mental picture of an items characteristics
Quick and accurate observation skills
The ability to weigh objectively and evaluate what is seen
The ability to defend choices made
Now we want you to try your hand at judging. We will use the meat judging contest as an example. The following is a class of pork sirloin chops. A high quality sirloin chop has lots of meat, little fat, and little bone. A poor quality sirloin chip has little meat, lots of fat, and lots of bone. The sirloin chops are labeled 1, 2, 3, 4. Your job as a meat judge is to rank them in order of best to worst.
Your job as a meat judge is to rank meat in order of best to worst.
This class of pork sirloin chops are ranked 4-3-1-2, with cuts of 3-4-4. Four was placed first because it had the best combination of meat and little fat/bone. Three was placed second because it most resembled number four and had more edible meat than number one. Number one was placed in third because it had less fat and more meat than number two. Number two was placed last because it was the fattest sirloin chop with the least amount of meat.
A 4-H meat judging team member would mark their 4-H judging card as seen below.
An example of a 4-H meat judging score card.
4-H judging teams provide a safe, positive environment for individuals to learn and develop life skills. Judging teams emphasize experiential activities, organization, allowing youth to take part in leadership activities, and providing opportunities for volunteers to act as mentors to youths.
Benefits of 4-H Judging Teams
Build self-confidence and problem solving skills
Communication and public speaking opportunities
Meet new friends
Travel the state and country
Receive a scholarship for college
Learn observational and critical thinking skills
Find a new career
Selecting an animal for a 4-H project
Participating on 4-H judging teams offer many benefits to participants. Team members are exposed to team work, effective communication skills and analytical thinking. Team members also build self-confidence as they become comfortable with all components of judging and evaluation. Development of these skills benefits every area of the 4-H judging team member’s life. An additional benefit from participating on a judging team is having the opportunity to travel to new places and meet and interact with industry leaders. Many times these relationships will aid 4-H members in the future as they choose career paths in any industry.
Many of our 4-H judging contests have national contests associated with them. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to develop skills in one of our contests, then you have the opportunity to travel across the country with 4-H and interact with industry leaders. Locally, several 4-H judging teams from the panhandle have recently participated in national 4-H contests. Members from Jackson County 4-H have been to the national poultry judging contest and national livestock skill-a-thon contest in Louisville in 2019 and the Escambia County 4-H meat judging team will be competing in Colorado in January 2020.
For more information on 4-H judging teams, please visit florida4h.org. Good luck and happy judging!
Special thanks to Brian Estevez, UF/IFAS Escambia County 4-H Agent, for providing this article and pictures.
This year we will be hosting the 4th Annual Florida 4-H Virtual Ag Judging Contest. It will take place on October 26th at 6:00 pm EST on Zoom and it is free! There will be training before the contest to allow 4-H youth an opportunity to learn about each topic before participating in the contest. The training will be held on October 24th at 6:00 pm EST on Zoom. This contest is great for 4-H youth to learn how to judge bulls, dairy cows, poultry, goats, swine, hay, grain, peanuts, and tomatoes. There will also be questions on tool identification, weed identification, and soil samples. To participate in this contest youth must be 4-H age 8-18 and will need to register in 4-H Online. If you have any questions about this event, please email Evie Hunter (evie.hunter@ufl.edu) or Chris Decubellis (cdecube@ufl.edu). We had so much fun creating this contest virtually and are super excited for youth all over the state to participate! This is o
ur 4th year doing this contest and we are happy to see it grow!
tests are great for youth to learn about how to judge each topic. It is very important to know how to tell if you are feeding your animals good hay and grains to make sure your animals stay healthy. It is also important to learn about the structure and what to look for in each livestock animal. Both contests are fun to participate in and learn about the importance of ag judging. I look forward to seeing both contests grow, and more youth learn about the importance of agriculture.
