The Grant County 4-H senior livestock judging team won first place at the Wisconsin 4-H Livestock Judging Contest, held at the Arlington Research Station. The venue allowed county 4-H livestock judging teams the opportunity to apply their skills in evaluating various species in hopes of qualifying for a national livestock judging event.

The contest consisted of evaluating eight classes of market and breeding animals in the species of beef cattle, swine, sheep and goats. Junior youth answered three sets of questions and gave one set of reasons, while seniors delivered three sets of reasons and had one set of questions. These additional portions of the competition further develop observation and decision-making skills, along with oral communication and logic about placings.

Senior division

The winning senior team from Grant County included Cameron Patterson, Madelyn Thornton, Jessica Patterson and Brendan Jenz, and was coached by Dennis Patterson. Grant County finished 56 points in front of its nearest competitor. Placing second in the senior division was Pierce County, with a 29-point advantage over third-place Iowa County. Pierce County team members Cora Capatske, Jordan Lab, Cadie Asher and Zach Peterson were coached by Caleb Dressen and Megan Geraets.

The top 10 individuals in the senior division were Tyler Schwartz, Juneau County; Cora Capatske, Pierce County; Cameron Patterson, Grant County; Madelyn Thornton, Grant County; Jordan Lamb, Pierce County; Jessica Patterson, Grant County; Grace Kling, Jackson County; Brendan Jentz, Grant County; Ethan Lulich, Juneau County; and Hannah Brattlie, Jefferson County.

Junior division

The junior team from Jefferson County took first place, four points ahead of second-place Jackson County. Members of the Jefferson County team included Gabe Mindemann, Keilah Reu, Gracelynn Dolph and Gavin Boettcher. They were coached by Ed Bielinski. Jackson County team members were Alyssa Lindow, Julia Brown, Justin Kling and Brenna Thornson. Jessie Oberlin coached the team. Pierce County took third overall in the contest.

The top 10 juniors overall in the contest were Milo Shafer, Pierce County; Ty Vondra, Iowa County; Gabe Mindemann, Jefferson County; Keilah Reu, Jefferson County; Alyssa Lindow, Jackson County; Julia Brown, Jackson County; Justin Kling, Jackson County; Bella Giza, Chippewa County; Rachel Patterson, Grant County; and Johnny Robinson, Iowa County.

Teams and individuals qualified to compete at the state contest based on their performance at one of the two regional 4-H Area Animal Science Days contests held in June. The junior division represents youth in third through eighth grades, while the senior division represents high school age youth. County teams were made up of their top three scoring individuals from their qualifying contest with the fourth member selected by the county.

Senior teams that placed first and second will go on to represent Wisconsin at national contests including the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., Aksarban Stock Show Contest in Nebraska, the American Royal contest in Kansas City, and the Western National Round-Up in Denver.

Sponsors for the state contest include Wisconsin 4-H Foundation, Andis Foundation, Buell Gunderson Memorial, Equity Livestock Co-op, UW-Extension, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

Source: UW-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences