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 4-H
Judging Camp Builds Life Skills
Auburn, April 19, 2004 ---
More than 40 4-H members from 11 counties honed their critical
thinking and public speaking skills at the Second Annual Alabama 4-H
Youth Livestock Judging Camp in Cullman.
“Most of these young people had never
given a set of reasons before,” said Johnny Gladney, an Alabama
Cooperative Extension System agent in Tuscaloosa County. “By the end
of the camp, they had spoken in front of a judge more than a dozen
times.”
In oral reasons, one component of
livestock judging competitions, a contestant must tell a judge how he
placed the four animals in a class and defend his rationale for the
placings.
The camp, held March 30 through April
1 at the Cullman County Fairgrounds, was an intensive course in
livestock judging. Each participant presented 12 to 16 sets of oral
reasons. Eight classes of cattle and hogs were evaluated as part of
the camp.
“We started with the basics of
evaluating beef cattle and hogs,” said Gladney. “Then we worked on
how to take notes and how to develop your presentation to the judge.
“I know these young people felt they
were worked hard, but by the end of the camp, most wanted to know when
the next camp was going to be held and when was the next livestock
judging contest that they could participate in.”
Kent Stanford, an Extension agent in
St. Clair County, was one of the camp’s instructors.
“These young people developed some
important skills,” said Stanford. “They learned how to take in
information, evaluate that information, make decisions, organize their
thoughts and defend their decisions in an oral presentation.
“As important as those skills are in
livestock judging, they are valuable skills these young people can use
throughout their lives.”
A team of Extension agents, including
Danny Cain from Walker County, Gerry Thompson from Limestone County,
Mack Washington from Lamar County, Gladney and Stanford, coordinated
this year’s camp.
Participants were from Autauga,
Cullman, Elmore, Lamar, Lauderdale, Madison, Randolph, St. Clair,
Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston counties.
In 2003, two camps were held in
Cullman, and about 60 4-H’ers participated.
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