Judging Teams
The University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences is proud of its tradition of successful judging teams. Participation on a judging team enhances a student's ability to think, reason and communicate. These skills are in great demand in the job market as many former judging team members have gone on to obtain leadership roles in the livestock, dairy and meat industries.
Students involved in dairy, horse, meats or livestock judging have the opportunity to travel and visit operations that are leading the industry. They can meet and interact with the owners and managers of these successful operations. These contacts help students better understand animal agriculture and develop stronger ties with its leaders.
Judging team members also have the opportunity to compete against universities all across the United States in contests that are held in conjunction with major industry events such as The American Royal, and the North American International Livestock Exposition.
Dairy Judging Team
In Dairy Cattle Judging, a team of 3-4 students ranks groups of 4 animals in a class and, on some classes, gives a short verbal explanation of that ranking. There are usually 10-12 classes in a contest. The University of Illinois Dairy Cattle Judging Team competes 5 or 6 contests in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Kentucky during the Fall semester. Team members are generally juniors or seniors. Anyone practicing with the team as a junior or senior will have the opportunity to compete in at least one or two contests.
Advised by:Gene McCoy, gcmccoy@illinois.edu
Dr. David Miller, djmille@illinois.edu
Horse Judging Team
Judging team members will have the opportunity to view some of the world's best horses and improve their decision making skills through systematic evaluation of classes. Peer-reviewed educational journals have reported that judging events are among the most effective educational programs for improvement of self-confidence and verbal communications.
Advised by: Debra Hagstrom, hagstrom@illinois.eduLivestock Judging Team
The Livestock Judging Team is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Illinois. Most students that become members of the team have a strong interest in animal agriculture and its related industries. Interested students should enroll in ANSCI 211 (Breeding Animal Evaluation) in the spring semester of their junior year and compete at the National Western Stock Show, Denver, CO; Sioux Empire, Sioux Falls, SD; Iowa Beef Expo, Des Moines, IA; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Houston, TX; and the All-East.
Advised by:Dr. Dan Shike, dshike@illinois.edu
Chris Cassady, cassady2@illinois.edu
Meat Animal Evaluation Team
The Meat Animal Evaluation Team serves as the capstone experience for students with an interest in the evaluation of breeding animals, market animals, and the end product. The contest consist of four sections the breeding, meats, and market animal divisions and the communication challenge.
Advised by:Dr. Dan Shike, dshike@illinois.edu
Chris Cassady, cassady2@illinois.edu
Daniel Clark, dlclark2@illinois.edu
Diana Pezza, dpezza2@illinois.edu
Meat Judging Team
The University of Illinois Meat Judging Team is an educational and competitive, extracurricular activity that competes on a nationwide basis. The meat judging program complements student education in agriculture through teaching how the final end product is evaluated, fabricated and marketed. Meats team members are exposed first hand to numerous segments of the livestock and meats industry across the U.S. This allows the team to network within the animal production industry and to explore other Universities across the nation.
Meat Judging Team on FacebookAdvised by: Diana Pezza, dpezza2@illinois.edu
