FARGO, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Morton County teams took first place in the senior and junior divisions of the North Dakota 4-H Dairy Judging Contest, which was held this week.

In the contest, participants competed as a team and individually to judge groups of dairy cattle classes with four cattle in each class. Each contestant judged six classes. Two of the six classes were selected for participants to provide oral reasons for how they judged. The participants met one-on-one with an official, who listened to the reasons for the 4-H’ers’ placing for the particular class.

Oral reasons are evaluated on content, accuracy, emphasis, completeness, terminology and presentation. Dairy judging participants gain skill in decision-making, critical thinking, oral communication and confidence, in addition to advancing their knowledge of the dairy cattle industry.

Foster/Stutsman counties, with team members Tris Lesmann, Molly Hanson and Brekka Kuss took second place in the judging contest in the Senior division. They were coached by Joel Lemer. Lesmann placed fifth in the individual portion.

“This was an impressive group of 4-H dairy judgers with bright futures ahead of them,” says Leigh Ann Skurupey, animal and equine science specialist in North Dakota State University Extension’s Center for 4-H Youth Development and the contest’s organizer.

Photos and information courtesy of the NDSU Extension Service.