Manatee 4-H members compete in Denver; DAR hosts genealogy workshop; Lakewood Ranch youth fishing tourney set

Manatee 4-H members compete in Denver

MANATEE -- Four Florida 4-H'ers recently traveled to the National Western Invitational 4-H/FFA Livestock Judging Contest in Denver, Colorado. The Florida team was composed of Kirstin Duryea, Jimmy Ference, and Casey Wingate of Manatee County and Kylie Philipps of Citrus County placed ninth overall out of 26 teams from as far away as Hawaii.

The contest was composed of 10 classes of livestock (four beef, three sheep, and three swine). All the classes consisted of four animals and in some instances, performance data and a situation statement were provided. The performance data used reflected the current industry trends and may have been actual animal performance (such as growth) or genetic predictors (such as Expected Progeny Differences, EPDs) or a combination of the two.

Once the youths placed their classes, then came the fun part; reasons -- justifying their placings. Reasons were taken on six classes, one market and one breeding of each species. Youths were not permitted to use notes while giving oral reasons or answering questions.

The purpose of the 4-H livestock judging program is to provide young people an opportunity to participate in a series of activities designed to improve their knowledge of livestock for its merit and value as either breeding or market animals. Information: 941-722-4524.

-- Herald staff report

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 11:56 PM with the headline "Manatee 4-H members compete in Denver; DAR hosts genealogy workshop; Lakewood Ranch youth fishing tourney set ."