On a cool and wet day Wednesday, November 3, Brown County hosted, for the first time, the District 7 4-H Livestock Judging Competition.  The event brought more than 220 competitors from 24 counties in West-Central Texas to the Wood Ranch near Cross Cut.

“We appreciate them for opening their doors to us and being very accommodating and letting us use their facilities,” said Nick Gonzales, Brown County Extension Agent for 4-H who added that the indoor facility came in handy on a rainy day for judging.

The District 7 Contest is a qualifier for the senior teams to be able to compete at the State Contest next June in College Station.  Several Brown County youth qualified for the state contest.

“This is our district contest which qualifies the senior teams for state so three senior teams and three top individuals will qualify for state which is at Texas A&M in June at Texas 4-H Roundup,” said Nick Gonzales, Brown County Extension Agent for 4-H.

Results for Brown County:

Senior Team

1^st in Reasons, 1^st in Sheep/Goats, 3^rd in Cattle, 4^th in Swine.

Hayden Schroeder – 2^nd Overall, 1^st Swine, 5^th Sheep/Goats, 6^th in Reasons

Ashtyn Adams – 5^th Overall, 2^nd Sheep/Goats, 6^th Cattle, 8^th in Reasons

Blaze Cozart – 6^th Overall, 4^th Sheep/Goats, 9^th Cattle, 4^th in Reasons

IN THE PHOTO:  Left to right – Hayden Schroeder, Ashtyn Adams, Kylee Land and Blaze Cozart

“These kids evaluate these livestock.  They’re acting like they are a judge, they are at a show and this puts them into the position of making those decisions, looking at livestock and evaluating them for muscle, fat and just overall performance, body and balance,” Gonzales said.

The 4-Hers judged cattle, sheep, goats and hogs.

“This is probably the most heavily participated contest in 4-H across the state and in the nation,” Gonzales added.