Idaho State Skillathon Contest 2012

The winners of the first ever Idaho State Skill-a-thon goes to Ada County their team will be going to Kentucky.
Congratulation Ada County.
The Second Place team Was from Gooding County. I place 4th over all.

Gooding County

 

 

Gooding County

I will post the winning County in the Jr. division when I find out the  who won.

2nd Annual CSI Livestock Judging Contest

The 2nd Annuals CSI Livestock Judging Contest held April 6th 2011 was the best ever. Teams came from Montana, Orgeon, Navada, and Idaho, all the teams did a great job.

 The Team that out shined all the others was the Montana's Big Timmber 4-H team.

 I will post all the winning teams when I get a copy of the score sheets.
For now here are some pictures of the event.

Sign-in

CSI Judging Team working the sign-in desk

1st place junior 4-H team

2nd place junior team

Eastern Idaho State Fair Livestock Judging Contest

Added YouTube

Check out the watch and learn page

Why Meat Goats?

My interest in Meat Goats all started when I decided to learn about how to judge the different Market animals raised and sold at fair time as part of the 4-H market animal projects.

 Then one day I started asking questions and found out that one of my Dad's friends Son is making a very good living hauling meat goats to market. So I ask myself why Meat Goats?

This what I found out:

Goat is the most highly consumed meat in the world; and more goat’s milk is consumed worldwide than cow’s milk. In the United States, meat goat production is increasing because of goats’ economic value as efficient converters of low-quality forages into quality meat, and milk,  products . There are several reasons for goats’ growing popularity in this country. A large factor is the large number of ethnic groups,  who have a preference for goat meat, milk, and cheese products.

Another factor is the determination of many Americans to be self-sufficient. Where resources are limited, a small herd of goats may be the only livestock that a small, part-time farmer can raise to achieve self-sufficiency.

As well as being one of the most widely consumed meats in the world, goat meat is also one of the healthiest meats available for consumption.  Goat meat is naturally low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol while containing a high quantity of protein and iron.

I myself have never eaten Goats meat but I found a few different sites that might be of interest to you.

I just found this so interesting that I thought I would share it with you.

For now I will stick with my Red and Black Angus.

Swine Judging Work Shop and Judging Contest

The Swine Judging Workshop and Contest was held on  March 27 at the  Minidoka County Fairgrounds. Sign-in was at 9a.m.

Before I could even leave home I had to feed and water my steers and horses; so I had to get up really early, for it was a 1 1/2 hour drive to Minidoka. There was a team from Idaho Falls that had to get up even earlier than I did.

The workshop started at 10a.m. for me it was all new; I have never been to a swine work shop and had NO knowledge of swine, not a clue to  what they even eat.

The workshop and judging contest lasted all day. There was so much to learn. I now look at Pigs - Swine different; Their not just ham or bacon any more.

Did you know? That pigs can not sweat (perspire) to cool off. (I didn't) Because a pigs skin is so thick and they are insulated by a layer of fat, the pig must cool itself by lying in water or mud. Just a little FYI !

Back to the Workshop;
We learned how to fill out the judging card, how to take notes, and what to look for when judging swine. All of this before lunch.
After lunch we learned Terms and Transition, Muscle and Preformance, Volume and Trimness, Structure and Balance and how to format oral reasons.

--We also had guess speaker Scott Nash.

                              
  And guest speaker Tim Hooper                                     
from the Idaho Jr. Show Pig Association




Here are a few pictures of the events of the day

 

Well My brain is so full of information; guess I will take a break from thinking and let it soak in for a bit.
Stay cool and keep it natural.
And don't forget to sign my guest book.

Livestock Judging, What is it?

For the next few weeks I will be looking for different sites of interest for all 4-H projects and posting their links. This is a new Blog be the first to follow.


Livestock Judging, What is it?
 Judging activities provide youth with an opportunity to develop communication, decision making and organizational skills, and enhance their confidence and self esteem.
Judging is usually a team effort, but individuals can also participate. Three to four youth on a team will judge various classes of livestock. Typically market and breeding beef, sheep, and swine species are used in a contest. Youth will judge each class (consisting of 4 animals) and an official judge will give his placing. Youth are then scored compared to the official judge. Oral reasons may or may not be included in a contest. If a contest does have a reasons class, youth will judge the class and take notes as to why they placed the class the way they did. Youth will then get an opportunity to work and rewrite their notes into reasons. Once they are finished, then youth will present their reasons to one person and they will receive a score to be added to their overall score. New this year is the Southern III District Livestock Judging Program. There are multiple scheduled days around the district this spring and summer. The goal of the Livestock Judging Program is to help youth and adults learn; 1. What to look for when judging animals 2. How to take notes 3. Understanding terms and animal parts 4. How to format and give oral reasons.


Cindy A. Kinder Extension Educator Gooding County Idaho