UA places fourth in national poultry judging contest
Nov. 14, 2006Contact Information:
Karen Eskew, UA Center of Excellence for Poultry Science
479-575-3192, keskew@uark.edu
Megan Norton, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas, practices her poultry judging skills prior to the 41st National Poultry Judging Contest held at the U of A Nov. 6 & 7. The U of A team took fourth place overall.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The home team placed fourth at the 41st Annual National Poultry Judging Contest Nov. 6 - 7 hosted by the department of poultry science at the University of Arkansas.
The Texas A&M University team won first place, followed by Pennsylvania State University, Kansas State University, Arkansas and Louisiana State University. Twelve teams competed.
Members of the UA team were Sawyer Hale, Megan Norton, Ashley Reeves and Jada Thompson, all graduates of Lincoln High School. Thompson had the second highest individual score for the contest. The UA team placed third in the category of egg production and quality and fourth in breed selection and carcass quality.
Coach for the UA team was Jason Emmert, associate professor of poultry science. Assistant coach was Dennis Mason, visiting instructor of agricultural and extension education.
"I want to congratulate the team," said Emmert. “It was a tough competition and these students really worked hard and prepared themselves for the event. These four students had judged together at Lincoln High School and won national recognition. It was exciting to reunite them and have them judge together in college.”
Other teams in the contest were from Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Stephen F. Austin, Minnesota, Wisconsin-River Falls, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
Sponsors were the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, Butterball Turkey, Cargill, Inc., George’s Inc., Tyson Foods, Inc., and the Poultry Federation.