By Dr. Sherrlyn Olsen
This past weekend the 2017 ISU Meat Judging Team competed in the Southeastern Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest hosted by The Ohio State University – Columbus and the University of Kentucky – Lexington. The team earned 3rd place honors behind Kansas State University and Florida. Twelve full teams vied for the champion trophy and each competitor was eligible for individual awards. The Cyclones finished with divisional honors: beef judging – 1st; lamb judging- 1st; total reasons – 1st ; overall beef – 2nd; specifications – 2nd; beef grading – 7th; and total placings – 8th.
Individual honors included: Annika Johnson (Hartford) – 2nd in total reasons; Austin Lanphier (New Sharon) – 9th in beef grading; Stephani Martin (Vincent) – 5th high individual in overall contest, 1st in lamb judging, 2nd in specifications, 3rd in total reasons, 5th in pork judging, and 7th in total placings; Drew Wilson (Delhi) – 6th high individual in overall contest, 1st in beef judging, 1st in total placings, 5th in overall beef, 7th in specifications, and 10th in total reasons; Beth Zuber (Marengo) – 1st in total reasons and 2nd in beef judging. Taylor Wulf (Hudson) is also a team member.
As the 2017 team was competing in the Southeastern, members of the 2015 meat judging team were in the coolers at Kansas State University – Manhattan competing in the 2017 NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest where they earned champion honors. Their successes in the cooler contributed to the college efforts where Iowa State University won the 2017 event. Team members included Alex Conover, Holstein; Carl Frame, Osseo, WI; Natalie Hanson, LaPorte City: and Regan Sippy, Cedar Rapids. Individual honors included: Conover – 2nd high individual in overall contest, 1st in beef grading, 1st in total placings, and 1st in questions; Frame – 3rd high individual in overall contest.
Non-related meat judging news includes: Carl Frame – recipient of the 2017 LN Hazel Award, an Iowa State University Department of Animal Science award in recognition of seniors who have excelled in service to the department and university throughout their career; and Natalie Hanson – inducted into the 2017 class of the Iowa State University Cardinal Key Society recognizing students excelling in character, leadership, scholarship and service, while maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Less than one percent of Iowa State University juniors and seniors are selected for this prestigious honor.
Congratulate each student for representing the Iowa State University Meat Judging Program very well this weekend, and we look forward to what the future holds for each of them.