OGLE COUNTY — The Illinois State 4-H Livestock Judging contest looked a little different this year as the Stock Pavilion sat idle. Meanwhile county teams and individuals participated from home using the livestock judging.com website, which hosted this year’s event. The format remained the same regarding Senior and Junior divisions, questions, and oral reasons that participants filmed themselves and uploaded to the platform. It was a first for many of us and I’m sure most of us will be eager to get back to evaluating live animals up close and face to face next year. 

Two Ogle County 4-H members competed in the State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest held online this year.

 The Junior Livestock Team included Kade Boatman and Kendall Boatman; By—Y-Badgers 4-H Club of Byron. Kade placed 8th overall in the contest and Kendall placed 16th overall. 

 The State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest is the premier event of education and competition for youth involved in livestock evaluation programs. Senior participants will get a chance to try out for the State 4-H Team later in the summer. The Illinois State 4-H Livestock Judging Team will represent Illinois 4-H at the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky, in November. 

Livestock judging is more than just selecting what animal looks best in the ring. In livestock judging, youth must rank four animals from best to worst based on their physical traits, such as bone structure and mobility; their performance data, such as growth rate or calving ease; and their potential profitability. Their ranking is compared to the official placing to determine part of their score. 

In addition, youth must remember specific characteristics of each animal presented and respond to random questions about each animal, such as which was the bolder-ribbed, stouter-made heifer.