East Knox FFA competes in general livestock event

Students learn lessons in evaluating livestock

Two people standing on grass in front of an open-sided barn with a metal roof.
East Knox FFA members Hayden Garman, left, and Alexia Wine participated in the state General Livestock Career Development event.

The East Knox FFA took part in the state contest for the General Livestock Career Development Event.

The general livestock contest is designed to help members recognize quality production livestock animals and their traits. Participants place several animals in classes according to their appearance, movement, and other characteristics. They may also consider records and data.

The animal’s classes can be any species of livestock, including swine, cattle, and sheep. Members may also be asked to evaluate animal classes based on their market qualities. Competitors also determine which animal to keep and which should be sold in the keep or cull classes. The participants also answered questions about the classes, each member scored based on how well they answered them and how they did with the rest of the contest.

The skills students learn in evaluating general livestock should make them better livestock producers and consumers by providing hands-on, practical experience in identifying and understanding characteristics that affect production and quality. The East Knox team this year took 182nd place in Ohio.

Those team members were Hayden Garman and Alexia Wine.