Mar 6, 2026
The Decatur County 4-H Program was well represented at the Iowa 4-H State Livestock Judging on Saturday, August 27, 2022. The livestock judging competition was held at the Jeff & Deb Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center at the Iowa State University Campus, the Decatur County had four 4-H members involved in the competition.
The livestock judging consists of analyzing beef cattle, sheep, swine and meat goats and measuring them against a standard. It is the study of the relationship between an animal’s form and function. Livestock judging has two primary components 1) placing a group of animals and 2) justifying your decision. Members involved in the junior division justified their decision by answering questions about the class while senior 4-H members did this by answering questions about the class and presenting oral reasons.
Competing in the 4-H Junior Division were Braeden Thomas ’27, Ajae Mendenhall ’29, and Coby Martin ’27, who placed 16th overall. This was the first time judging at this competition for these young men and they did an excellent job and are even more prepared for next year.
It was a day of growth for all 4-H members through their participation in this contest, and they continue to set goals for improvement through attendance of competitions during the upcoming year.