How to Plan, Organize, and Administrate a Livestock, Dairy, or Horse Judging Contest
by Ken Culp, 111, Department of Animal Sciences
Judging contests have been used in the United States since 1900 as a means of evaluating an individual’s ability to judge livestock. Whether for Beef, Sheep, Swine, Dairy, Horses, or any other species, an effective judging contest should be well planned, organized, and timely to provide a sound educational experience. The purpose of this publication is to acquaint the reader with some guidelines and workable methods for meeting these criteria.
An effective judging contest is of great educational value. It trains contestants to quickly make judgemental decisions, given a fixed amount of time, a set of criteria, and a group of animals to evaluate. When this is repeated, class by class, the experience can only strengthen thought and decision-making processes.
In addition, public speaking abilities are developed. A “perfect” set of oral reasons is one which is truthful, accurate, articulate, fluent, and grammatically correct. A judging contest, therefore, builds character and instills self-confidence. Below is a list of the six objectives of a well run and effective judging contest.
Objective 1: To cultivate public speaking abilities, develop poise, and instill confidence through contestants’ oral defense of their placings.
Objective 2: To train contestants to be knowledgeable livestock-oriented people who are honest, diligent, and capable of communicating their standards and viewpoints to others in a professional manner.
Objective 3: To train contestants to observe and recognize differences in livestock, and, given a current set of criteria (industry standards), to make sound judgmental decisions and ultimately to arrive at a logical placing.
Objective 4: To impress upon the contestants the need for practical and fundamental production traits and, at the same time, communicate to them that industry moves and that type changes do, over time, serve a useful function and are a viable means of progressing through modernizing and updating industry standards and viewpoints.
Objective 5: To instill in contestants the fundamental awareness that all market animals simply cannot, from a dollar-and-cents production standpoint, be placed strictly by Cutability or marketability and that factors such as structural soundness and growth-rate are of equal importance.
Objective 6: To insure consistency among contests, paralleling the Indiana State 4-H/FFA Livestock Judging Contest, and all of the County and Area Contests which preceed it, to the National Livestock Judging Contests and to the Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest at Purdue. (It would be highly counter-productive to have a contest antagonistic to those contests to which winning teams advance on the national level. Moreover, a smooth transition would be most beneficial between the State and National Programs, and the Inter-Collegiate Program at Purdue University.)
The first criteria for reaching these goals is to have a chairman or committee in charge of the event. This person/persons must be contest oriented, and should be both articulate and organized. The contest chairman is responsible for many things, including:
•	Selecting a Contest Site
•	Selecting Classes
•	Selecting Official Judges
•	Penning, Handling, and Numbering the Animals
•	Obtaining Judging Cards and Materials
•	Obtaining Awards
•	Notifying Coaches of the Date, Place, and Time
•	Designating Groups and Reasons Order
•	Obtaining Additional Help
•	Planning for Lunch
Selecting a Contest Site
Very often, the county fairground is the most convenient place to hold a contest. It is equipped with loading and handling facilities, pens for the livestock, and is set up to handle a large group of people. (Be sure to check and make sure the build-
Cooperative Extension Service • Purdue University • West Lafayette, IN
AS-432