4-H’ers bring home awards
Lenoir County Cooperative Extension welcomed home nine 4-H’ers who participated in the North Carolina State 4-H Skillathon Contest, 4-H Livestock Judging Contest and 4-H Stockman’s Bowl. The youth brought home awards representing their hard work.
While many children have been taking it easy this summer, these two teams have been studying hard. The 4-H Skillathon contest challenges youth from across the state to learn everything about livestock. At the contest, they take a written test, do a group activity, identify various livestock breeds, identify tools and equipment, feeds and hay, and retail cuts of meat.
In the 4-H Livestock Judging contest, participants evaluate a group of animals and rank them according to marketability or ability to fit into a breeding herd. 4-H Stockman’s Bowl quizzes the children with open-ended questions and allows them to use an electronic buzzer system to beat their opponent with a quick and correct answer.
To prepare for this event, the group has been practicing monthly since January and weekly since the end of May. They attended smaller contests in Raleigh, Wilson and Clinton to prepare for state contest. Practice sessions were held at the Lenoir County Extension office and the Pink Hill Wellness Center.
The nine youth from ages 9 to 13 were divided into two junior teams and two senior individuals. Junior Team A consisted of Hailey Elmore, Mary Beth Tyndall and Johnna Tyndall, all of Deep Run; and Makensie Mohrfeld of Pink Hill. Team B included Bryce Smith, Jarrett Kennedy and Michaela Elmore, all of Deep Run. The two individual seniors were Kaelyn Mohrfeld of Pink Hill and Gavin Tyndall of Deep Run.
The teams brought home second place for 4-H Stockman’s Bowl and second place for 4-H Skillathon. Several individuals also placed top in the state: Mary Beth Tyndall, third place Skillathon and sixth in Judging Meat Goats; Makensie Mohrfeld, eighth place Skillathon; Kaelyn Mohrfeld, ninth place Judging for Market Goats; and Hailey Elmore, 10th place Judging for Market Lambs. The teams were coached by Eve Honeycutt, Extension agent, livestock, for Lenoir and Greene counties.
All of these participants have shown livestock at the local and state levels for several years. They plan to spend the rest of the summer preparing for the fall livestock shows and the North Carolina State Fair. If you are between the ages of 9 and 19 want to learn more about livestock, contact the Extension office at 252-527-2191 or eve_honeycutt@ncsu.edu.