(NewsDakota.com/NorthDakotaAgConnection.com) – More than 170 4-H members representing 33 teams competed at the North Dakota 4-H State Livestock Judging Contest held at North Dakota State University. Teams from Bowman and Foster counties took home the top prizes in their respective divisions.
Participating in livestock judging helps youth develop skills like decision making, critical thinking, public speaking, problem solving and building confidence. 4-H’ers evaluated classes of goats, sheep, swine and beef and defended their decisions through their presentation of oral reasons.
This year, the contest attracted 18 junior teams with 94 participants and 15 senior teams with a total of 79 participants.
Junior division top five teams and their scores were:
First – Bowman County, 1,225 Second – Adams County, 1,212
Third – Foster County, 1,210
Fourth – Grant County, 1,206 Fifth – Logan County, 1,184
Top 10 high individuals in the junior division and their scores were:
First – Kalina Werner, Grant County, 418
Second – Reese Janikowski, Bowman County, 417 Third – Cally Hansen, Foster County, 413
Fourth – Dawson Erbele, Logan County, 409
Fifth – Stone Stadheim, Adams County, 408
Sixth – Cyrena Kuss, Foster County, 408
Seventh – Grayson Bowman, Bowman County, 405
Eighth – Mika Stuber, Adams County, 404
Ninth – Layla Krinke, Bowman County, 403
10th – Aubree Lachenmeier, Stutsman County, 401
Senior division top five teams and their scores were:
First – Foster County, 1,805
Second – Adams County, 1,798
Third – Stark-Billings County, 1,782 Fourth – Morton County, 1,770
Fifth – Ransom County, 1,763
Top 10 high individuals for the senior division and their scores were
First – Ty Macdonald, Morton County, 618
Second – Ian Dohrmann, Stark-Billings County, 610 Third – Karlee Lesmann, Foster County, 607
Fourth – Kelsey Vandeberghe, Stutsman County, 606 Fifth – Molly Hansen, Foster County, 605
Sixth – Grady Bock, Adams County, 602
Seventh – Dillon Bowman, Bowman County, 600
Eighth – Bake Larson, Adams County, 600
Ninth – Rylee Erdmann, Ransom County, 600
10th – Sophia Kennedy, Adams County, 596
For more detailed results, visit https://www.judgingcard.com.
“These young people are developing a broad range of skills,” says Samantha Lahman, 4-H youth development specialist for animal science at the North Dakota State University Center for 4-H Youth Development. “Not only do 4-H members polish their skills in decision making by placing classes of animals, but they learn to justify and explain their decision to others in a professional way.”