CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 11/25/13

Tift County 4-H poultry judging team wins national championship

By Clint Thompson

The names are different, but the results are the same for Tift County’s 4-H poultry judging team — another national championship.

Ben Branch, Carolina Carter, Michaela Lubbers and Miles McDonald, members of Tift County’s 4-H Poultry Judging Team led Tift County to its third national championship in four years in Louisville Ky. on Thursday.

“It is a great accomplishment,” said Brian Tankersley, Tift County Extension coordinator. “The kids worked hard on winning the national competition against 21 other states across the country. They did a great job.”

Tankersley helps coach the team, along with Tift County Extension 4-H Agent Ashley Davis and volunteer George Lee. This year was Davis’ first with the Tift County team. She couldn’t have scripted a better finish.

“It’s probably the most amazing feeling,” Davis said. “I’m just proud to be a part of Tift County and the tradition that Tift County has. Just to sit at that table (Thursday) night brought tears to my eyes to see the joy in my kids. It means a lot.”

Poultry judging includes evaluating live birds and production hens, identifying parts of a bird (ready to cook) and judging eggs. Preparing for national competition involved extensive practices, sometimes three times a week.

“It’s pretty rigorous practices. We were practicing even when we were in Louisville. We held practice in the back of the bus. He held up a chicken carcass and we did ready to cook right out of the back of the bus,” Davis said. “We would break out eggs in the back of the bus. It takes a lot to get to where we came from (Thursday night).”

Team member Miles McDonald concurs with his coach.

“It’s extremely difficult. We practice sometimes three times a week, every week in spring, late into summer all the way up until now, we’ve been practicing, getting ready for this,” said McDonald, a junior at Tift County High School.

McDonald earned high overall individual judger honors, high overall market production eggs and tied with team member Michaela Lubbers for high overall identification for ready to cook.

A sophomore, Lubbers placed sixth in judging live birds and second in overall judging. She was ecstatic when talking about how the team’s hard work paid off.

“To some degree you never really expect it, but then what would you do if you didn’t? It’s just a really awesome feeling,” Lubbers said. “The trip was worth every moment of work in of itself.”

Caroline Carter, a junior, placed third overall in the national competition and in the top three in market poultry division. Ben Branch, a junior, finished twelfth in high individual overall and was second high overall in market eggs.

For more about Georgia 4-H programs, like poultry judging teams, see the website Georgia4H.org.

Clint Thompson is an agriculture writer based in Tifton, Georgia.

Authors:
Clint Thompson
Experts/Sources:
T. Brian Tankersley
Tift County's 4-H poultry judging team won its third national championship in four years last week. Pictured are, from left, Tift County Extension Coordinator Brian Tankersley, Ben Branch, Dr. Joe Mauldin, Carolina Carter, Dr. Claudia Dunkley, Michaela Lubbers, Dr. Casey Ritz, Miles McDonald and Tift County 4-H agent Ashley Davis.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
HurricaneHeleneGreenhouseDamageCropped CAES News
UGA Extension supports resilience in Georgia farm communities after Hurricane Helene 12/19/24 Emily Cabrera
Hurricane Helene wrought sweeping devastation across Georgia’s agricultural sector in late September, leaving an indelible mark on both the land and the people who tend it, bringing focus to vulnerabilities in Georgia’s farming industry and the need for more robust safety nets. In addition to the physical destruction, the hurricane took an emotional toll on Georgia’s farmers. In response, UGA Extension has prioritized mental health support.
CAES doctoral students Sofia Varriano and Leniha Lagarde follow farmer Clay Brady to the pasture where many of his chickens are kept. CAES News
UGA researchers study how free-range chickens influence farm sustainability 10/31/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Researchers in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are studying how pastured and free-range chickens impact ecosystems on integrated crop-livestock farms. Supported by a $749,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, entomology doctoral student Sofia Varriano and her thesis advisor, agroecologist and systems biology Professor Bill Snyder, are testing the promise of integrated crop-livestock agriculture to increase the sustainability of smaller farms.
Helenedamage web CAES News
Hurricane Helene: Preliminary damage assessment on Georgia agriculture and forestry industry 10/10/24 Claire S. Kinnard, Matthew Agvent
Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, in coordination with Governor Brian P. Kemp, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Georgia Forestry Commission, announced the preliminary estimate of Hurricane Helene’s economic impact on Georgia agriculture is $6.46 billion. This figure represents the sum of direct crop losses, losses to businesses that support agriculture and forestry, losses to workers in those related industries, and estimated recovery and restoration costs that agricultural businesses will face.
The First Flock was established at the Georgia Governor's Mansion in July 2021. CAES News
Inaugural First Flock retires to 4-H center as 15 new hens move to Governor’s Mansion 03/18/24 Josie Smith, Lily Thomas
Georgia’s inaugural First Flock is retiring to Fortson 4-H Center almost three years after they came to roost at the Governor’s Mansion in 2021. Six members of the original flock traded places with 15 new hens during a ceremonial swap on Feb. 1 at the First Flock’s custom coop on the eastern side of the 18-acre mansion grounds in Atlanta. The idea for the project was hatched in 2020 when Georgia first lady Marty Kemp expressed her desire to include agricultural education via residential hens at the mansion.
Exterior of the completed Poultry Science Building. CAES News
New UGA Poultry Science Building welcomes its first students 01/16/24 Jordan Powers
As students return to campus fresh from holiday break, one building is welcoming students for the very first time. Situated on University of Georgia’s South Campus, the 70,000-plus square-foot Poultry Science Building is the new home for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Poultry Science. The new building provides nearly double the space per student in each classroom, growing from roughly 17 square feet to 28 to 30 square feet per student.
At Gwinnett County's Archer High School, juniors juniors Nick Spoto (left) and Jordan Leyva with one of the chickens, named Bentley by Leyva, they have helped raise as part of the AgSTEM program's chicken coop, which was built by students. CAES News
Bringing poultry science to public K-12 classrooms 12/21/23 Maria M. Lameiras
Poultry has grown to become the top commodity in Georgia’s No. 1 industry, agriculture. Acquainting school-aged students with potential career paths in avian science is critical to staffing the state's poultry sector. Building on the foundation set by Avian Academy, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences worked with the Georgia Department of Education to create middle- and high-school poultry science curricula.