By AL STOVER
Staff Reporter 

Jensen Youth Ranch hosts livestock judging clinic

 

Last updated 4/13/2017 at 9:01am

Al Stover

From left to right: Ian Steege, Mavrick Rasmussen, Skyler DeVore and Ana Holford examine the notes they took while judging a steer.

What part of a steer's body is going to carry the most muscle? How do you find the volume of a pig?

These were some of the questions several members from the West Plains Rangers and Reardan 4-H clubs answered at the Livestock Fit and Show Judging Clinic at the Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch in Medical Lake, April 8. The clinic, sponsored by Washington State University 4H Youth Development program, gave students some basic knowledge in judging market pigs, steer and sheep.

All of the livestock used in the clinic were project animals that 4H club members and students from local Future Farmers of America chapters take care of at the ranch.

At the beginning of the clinic, students received a presentation about judging animals from Mike Brown, who gave a brief history lesson of livestock judging. For example, in the 1940s and 1950s, the ideal pigs were large and excessively fat. Over the years, judges' preferred animals that were leaner, heavily-muscled and deep bodied.

Brown also explained the importance of livestock judging and how it relates to farmers taking care of their animals.

"Ranchers would show off their animals to judges and over time, they started seeing ways where they can improve and make their livestock better," Brown said.

When it comes to market livestock, Brown told students they should observe an animal's different characteristics such as the shape of their muscle, conditioning, volume and capacity, skeletal correctness and overall appearance.

Students also learned about the proper note taking and structuring oral reasons for judging. Oral reasons are a logical set of reasons that explains a judge's rationale for ranking the class of livestock in the manner they chose.

"It's about what you see in the animals and why you placed them the way you did," Brown said. "There's a million ways to say that something is heavily muscled."

After the presentation, kids broke into groups and went out into the ranch to judge different animals.

When it came to judging the steer, Skyler DeVore, a first-year 4-H club member, rated the No. 1 steer at the top of the class because of the shape of its back.

"It had good muscle," she said.

Mavrick Rasmussen, another 4-H club member, agreed with DeVore's assertion about steer No. 1.

"It had the biggest muscle," Rasmussen said. "The No. 2 steer did not have as much muscle, but it was heavier in the belly."

Rasmussen added that he enjoyed the judging because it gave him the opportunity to learn about the different areas of livestock judging.

"This was my first time judging an animal besides the ones I have at home," he added.

Students were also given tips about fitting and showing their livestock at competitions. Presenters stressed the importance of keeping the animals well-fed cleaned and groomed before show time.

Medical Lake High School's FFA chapter learned tips on properly taking care of pigs and presenting them to judges. One piece of advice chapter president Mollee Gray gave was to make sure contestants do not to block the judges from seeing their pig when they are presenting it.

"You need to give them space, but at the same time let them see their eyes," Gray said. "Keep the pig between you and the judge."

When asked what to do if their pig gets in a fight with another animal, Gray said "shout 'fight' or 'board.'" She said the ring men will step in between the quarreling pigs and break up the fight.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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