Over the summer, the Atlantic FFA participated in several different livestock judging contests across the area; all of which at county fairs.  Livestock judging is all about analyzing animals, whether that be beef, swine, sheep, or goat, and how they compare with one another as well as how they compare to an ideal standard.  At most local events, teams up to four will just have to place four animals in the most optimal order, while at state events and above, contestants will have to give specific reasoning for their choices.

The first contest that members attended was at the Adams County Fair, which is where Team 1 placed 7th and Team 2 placed 15th.  The first team included Miraylie Stuart, Lily Johnson, and Lauren Comes, who placed 5th individually.  The 15th-place team was made up of Aly Dreager, Frank Freund, and Hayden Kleen.

Moving on to the Carroll County Fair with team 1 consisting of Lola Comes, Lily Johnson, and Mckenna Sonntag, placed 7th and Sonntag individually placed 7th. Team 2 consists of Aly Dreager, Frank Freund, and Hayden Kleen. I2 of which placed individually, Kleen, 8th, and Dreager, 10th.

Our next stop was Crawford County. Team 1 was made up of Lauren Comes, Lola Comes, Aly Dreager, and Mckenna Sonntag placed 2nd. Individuals were placed, Dreager, 7th, Lola Comes, 10th,

Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, Maddy Anderson, and Miraylie Stuart

and Sonntag 12th. Team 2 consisted of Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, Maddy Anderson, and Miraylie Stuart, they placed 7th. Our 3rd team was made up of Frank Freund, Parker Brock, Bailey Grieshaber, and Kaydence Sturm together placing 12th.

Next, we went to the Montgomery County Fair. Our first team made up of Aly Dreager, Colton Becker, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag placed 2nd. Individually, Mckenna placed  4th, Aly 11th, and Lauren 18th. Team 2 consisting of Lily Johnson, Hayden Kleen, Parker Brock, and Miraylie Stuart placed 16th. The 3rd team was made up of Jaquie Freund, Natalie Smith, Kaydence Sturm, and Addalynn Sonntag placing 12th.

Moving on to Union County with team 1 containing Aly Dreager, Miraylie Stuart, and Lauren Comes. Together they placed 3rd and individually Lauren placed 8th and Aly placed 10th. Team 2 had members Maddy Anderson, Lily Johnson, and Chloe Sonntag placing 6th. Individually Maddy placed 9th. Our 3rd team consisted of Kaydence Sturm, Jaquie Freund, and Bailey Grieshaber. As a team, they placed 8th.

Parker Brock, Addie Freund, Bailey Grieshaber, and Frank Freund

During the Cass County Fair, we had several members judge in the FFA and 4-H districts category. FFA team 1 placed 8th, made up of Colton Becker, Lauren Comes, Miraylie Stuart, and Aly Dreager. Team 2 consisted of Kaydence Sturm, Maddy Anderson, Lola Comes, and Hayden Kleen, as a team they placed 12th. Our 3rd team placed 13th, containing members Parker Brock, Addie Freund, Bailey Grieshaber, and Frank Freund.

For state livestock judging, we had 3 members participate, those of which were Aly Dreager, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag. They earned a silver medal and both Mckenna and Lauren placed in the top 25.

Aly Dreager, Lola Comes, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag

The Guthrie County Fair livestock judging contest was held on August 31st. Atlantic FFA team 1 consisted of Aly Dreager, Lola Comes, Lauren Comes, and Mckenna Sonntag, they placed 3rd.  Team 2 members Frank Freund, Hayden Kleen, Lily Johnson, and Miraylie Stuart, placed 6th. Team 3 was made up of Rylee Harlan, Addylynn Sonntag, Maddy Anderson, and Addie Freund, they placed 9th. Individually, Mckenna placed 4th, and Lola placed 10th.

As a reflection, Lauren Comes said ”Atlantic had a really good turnout for livestock judging this year. Earlier in the summer we took a trip over to Cedar Rapids, which was something new that we tried and we had never done before but I definitely enjoyed that not only for the judging aspect but being able to just compete against new individuals and new teams that we aren’t used to and having a new environment that we don’t typically see often. Then we went around to about 10 counties around Iowa this summer and overall we did pretty well. We usually had a team or two and a couple of individuals placed in the top 10 in every county. We ended off our year by taking three individuals, including myself, up to the state livestock judging contest in Ames. This contest had a really big turnout. There were a lot of individuals and schools from all over Iowa. There was a lot of competition but overall we did really well. Mckenna Sonntag and I placed in the top 25 out of 150 individuals which is really cool to experience and really good to see for Atlantic to get up in the top 25. Our team placed 16th out of 45 teams and earned a silver rating. I think next year with this new group of young kids coming in, we have a lot of potential. I see a lot of growth within the Atlantic chapter, and I am really excited to see what the future holds for us not only within livestock judging but just overall as a chapter.”

We will have one more contest in October at Northwest Missouri State University with members participating in several different events including livestock judging

Atlantic FFA Reporter – Lily Johnson