Marmaduke Poultry Judging Team Places Goes to State
By Courtney Thompson
Hawley Blackburn, Morgan Hatcher, Dylan Summers, and Matthew Vowell recently went to Fayetteville to participate in the State Poultry Judging competition. A Poultry Judging team may consist of three or four members. The top three total scores are used in determining final scores.
Poultry judging seeks to effectively prepare the students for jobs in the poultry workforce. Workers seeking careers in poultry must develop a high degree of knowledge and must develop the ability to solve problems in the poultry industry. Team members look at ready to cook chicken carcasses to identify problems and make judgments on the grade of the chicken. They judge the grade of eggs as well.
Matthew Vowell is a good chicken judger. “The chicken was good enough to be from KFC,” he said. “Riding the mechanical bull was fun,” he added.
The contest blends practical hands-on experiences with a basic knowledge of the poultry industry required for careers in the poultry field.
“I believe, it was a good experience for the kids,” stated Maria Vowell. “Making it to State is quite an accomplishment.”
Unlike sports, the judging competition is for all schools, regardless of the size of the school, and out of all the schools in Arkansas, our team placed fourteenth.