Louisville, KY --The Illinois 4-H Livestock Skillathon Team brought home Reserve National Champion honors at the National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest. The contest was held in conjunction with the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, KY.
Team members included Lauren Wolters of Clinton County, Jack Link of Knox County, Cole Paulek of Christian County, and Lizzie Schafer of Christian County. This year also marks the first time the Illinois Team was named to the contest’s “Top 20 All American List”.
The National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest is a comprehensive competition that tests the knowledge and skills of young stockmen throughout the country. This event includes identification of feeds, retail meat cuts, equipment, hay, and breeds of livestock. In addition, participants are tested in the areas of quality assurance and evaluation by getting involved in hands-on exercises involving animal handling, food safety, keep-cull stations, and genetic selection.
“The National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest is a premier event of education and competition for youth involved in livestock production programs,” says Dan Jennings, University of Illinois Extension 4-H animal sciences educator. “Watching the team compete and thrive at this level really showed the culmination of their hard work and training.”
The Illinois team placed first in three categories: Identification of Meats, Breeds, and Equipment. The team also placed third in Evaluation of Hay and Evaluation of Meats, as well as fifth in Quality Assurance, which measures knowledge of animal handling, animal breeding, marketing, feeding, and carcass evaluation.
Individual team members also finished with honors.
Team member Jack Link of Knox County finished second in Identification and fourth Overall.
Lauren Wolters of Clinton County finished fourth in Identification and fifth Overall.
Cole Paulek of Christian County finished third in Identification and sixth Overall. Lizzie Schafer of Christian County finished eighth in Identification and seventh Overall.
The team was coached by Eric Fugate of Champaign County.
The Illinois 4-H Foundation provided support for this program.
About Illinois 4-H: Illinois 4-H is the flagship youth development program of University of Illinois Extension and administered through the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. 4-H grows true leaders, youth who are empowered for life today and prepared for a career tomorrow. The hands-on approach in 4-H gives young people guidance, tools, and encouragement, and then puts them in the driver’s seat to make great things happen. Independent research confirms the unparalleled impact of the 4-H experience, demonstrating that young people are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs.
About Extension: Illinois Extension leads public outreach for University of Illinois by translating research into action plans that allow Illinois families, businesses, and community leaders to solve problems, make informed decisions, and adapt to changes and opportunities.
Source: Dan Jennings, 4-H Youth Development Extension Educator, Animal Systems, djjennin@illinois.edu
Writer: Carissa Nelson, Media Communications Manager, 4-H State Office, carissa7@illinois.edu