2017 Farm Judging Competition
Every year, Lafayette County Extension Office hosts a Farm Judging Competition located at our office. FFA students and 4-H Club members come from 13 different schools and 4-H clubs to test out their commodity and farm knowledge skills. This year was a great success and we had over 200 in attendance. Months of hard work and preparation paid off and everyone had a good time.

Lafayette 4-H Club Contestants
How It Works

Students judging corn samples

Students judging tobacco samples
There are ten Categories of Commodities: Dairy heifers, beef heifers, gilt hogs, market hogs, hay, tobacco, peanuts, corn silage, poultry and corn. The Farm Managers Contest consists of 5 test: Basic Farm Knowledge, Feeds, Poisonous/Noxious Plants, Equipment, and Insects/Disease/Damage. This test is not a mandatory test to be able to participate in the competition, however, we encourage participants of the right age to take it. Participants were labeled with a letter and a number and separated into 10 groups. Each group collectively goes around to each commodity and when everyone is ready, they rotate to the remaining categories in the same fashion. After completion of the commodities, the participants wanting to do the Farm Managers Test may do so. If not participating, they may go to lunch. Lunch is provided by the Extension Office and included pizza from Little Caesar’s, Baked Lays, a Debbie Cake and a water(donated by Nestle Waters, Lee Fl).

Gilt hog judging
Results
After the competition is over, cards are brought to the Extension Office and the Lafayette High School JR/SR FFA members and the FFA teachers help to sort all cards into categories, alphabetical order and grade them. Students that volunteer to organize and grade do not participate in the competition. Scores are then input into a pre-formulated spreadsheet that calculates total individual scores and team scores. Farm Managers Tests are graded by Extension Staff, calculated and input into the spreadsheet. High scoring teams and individuals are the selected. Each school/4-H Club is then sent their participants scores only and the winning results. Plaques are ordered and sent out when they arrive.
This years winners:
Farm Judging:
Senior FFA Team- Lafayette Junior FFA Team- Trenton Junior 4-H Team- Lafayette 4-H Intermediate 4-H Team-Suwannee
Senior 4-H Team-Suwannee Senior FFA Individual- Lafayette Junior FFA Individual- Madison Junior 4-H Individual- Lafayette 4-H
Intermediate 4-H Individual- Suwannee 4-H Senior 4-H Individual- Matthew Robinson
Farm Manager(collective):
Senior FFA- Lafayette Junior FFA- Dixie Junior 4-H- Suwannee Intermediate 4-H- Suwannee Senior 4-H- Suwannee
Farm Manager Individual:
Senior FFA- Lafayette Junior FFA- Bell Junior 4-H- Suwannee Intermediate 4-H- Madison Senior 4-H- Suwannee
Special Thanks
This event would not be possible without the help and support of our local County Commissioners who aid in the funding of the competition.
We would also like to thank all of the students, staff and 4-H members and volunteers that came to the Farm Judging Competition. We are looking forward to seeing everyone next year!
Chris Vann- Extension Agent- Agriculture/4-H, Jana Hart- Extension Agent- FCS/4-H
Hello J. Johnson,
It is very nice that your blog is providing information regarding the program. I want to aware you towards the” Asure Software International Scholarship Program”. The contest is open to those students who are currently enrolled in an accredited university or college.
Application Deadline is June 1st, 2018
For more information you can go through –
http://developingcareer.com/asure-software-international-scholarship-program/
You can also join our Facebook page for the updates. The link
https://www.facebook.com/DevelopingCareer/