Judging Team Members Reflection on the Value of Livestock, Horse, Meats, and Wool Judging Programs

Abstract A 35-question survey was distributed nationally to judging team alumni to determine the value of judging team programs (JP). Of 1291 completed surveys, respondents judged either livestock (55.7%), meats (42.9%), dairy (29.5%), horses (19.2%), and/or wool (6.1%). In choosing a college, the presence of a JP was an important factor for 44% of the respondents. Elective JP participation was influenced by team success for 61% of the respondents. As alumni, 64.5% contributed to their college of agriculture, while 42.7% had financially supported JP. When asked how JP had helped them personally, respondents most often selected “communication skills” (34.8%). Other alumni designated “confidence” (17.3%), “animal evaluation skills” (16.6%), and “decision-making skills” (13.2%) as most useful. The remaining 18.1% selected either competitiveness, self-motivation, organization skills, self-discipline, or the ability to accept criticism. Of the total 1291 respondents, 1283 felt JP were worthy of departmental support and would be either “more” (47.4%) or “equally” (43.8%) important to agriculture students in the future. Competitive JP aided in recruitment of undergraduates who became contributing alumni with a positive perspective of the personal benefits from the judging experience.