Escambia County 4-H Meat Judging Team Places Fourth In Western National Roundup In Colorado

January 20, 2020

The Escambia County 4-H Meat Judging Team placed fourth at the Western National Roundup 4-H Meat Judging Contest recently at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Team members were Jessica Conti, Hannah Schnupp, Ethan Thorne, and Hannah Thorne. Participants had to identify 30 retail cuts, place six retail, wholesale, and carcass classes, and give three sets of oral reasons.

“Through the competition process, the team has developed life skills through activities to understand the processing of beef, pork, and lamb, including retail identification, factors relating to meat quality, and cookery,” according to Brian Estevez, UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County 4-H/Youth Development Agent.

“Meat judging participants acquire knowledge and skills in meat identification and grading techniques and then apply those basic skills to the selection process. Participants then develop an understanding and appreciation of the basic scientific principles involved in eating and cooking quality, nutritional value, and consumer appeal of meat. 4-H members on the team also learn life skills such as decision making, problem solving, and goal setting,” he said.”

During the trip to the national contest, the meat judging team participated in a mock contest at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The team also toured Colorado State University and visited with Dr. Katie Abrams, assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication. The Western National Roundup 4-H Meat Judging Contest was held in conjunction with the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

4 Responses to “Escambia County 4-H Meat Judging Team Places Fourth In Western National Roundup In Colorado”

  1. Wilson on January 20th, 2020 7:41 pm

    This is REAL stuff!!! Educated and practical use. Congrats! We as a nation ( or is it the media ?) place importance in how far a ball can be thrown or a basketball dribbled which is useless and mindless.. thisis what keeps our country running and innovative, ( how many of you realize this?)

  2. Dale Flowers on January 20th, 2020 7:17 pm

    Congratulations. Meat Judging is more fun than one might imagine. It takes lots of hard work and study and you get to travel afield to practice. That kind of interest and discipline pays huge dividends, more so than playing video games. Both my daughters were on the the 4-H and Tate High School FFA teams in the 90’s and went to Nationals too. The eldest went on to get a PhD in Food Science, mostly on scholarships stemming from her 4-H involvement and love of learning. Again, congratulations to you all and to your trainer and helpers.

  3. Sarah-Jane on January 20th, 2020 8:04 am

    Congratulations you all worked very hard 4th is a Great Accomplishment. Jessica to be placed in top 10 as an individual we are so proud of you.

  4. Mark kirkus on January 20th, 2020 7:14 am

    Congratulation Team yall done good, that’s a tough contest!