University of Wisconsin - Extension

Contact: Bernadette O’Rourke, 608-263-4304, borourke2@ansci.wisc.edu

Madison, Wis. – The Youth Animal Welfare Judging Contest will be held on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Youth who want to compete should pre-register by Dec. 5. Registration for the Animal Welfare contest will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday night in Room 209 Animal Sciences Building, with the contest starting at 7 p.m.

Project areas invited are: goats, rabbits, poultry, dairy, beef, sheep, horse, swine, and veterinary science. The cost to participate in the competition is $2. There are two age divisions in the Youth Welfare Judging Contest. The junior division is for teams with 3 to 4 members who are under 14 years of age as of Jan. 1, 2008. The senior division is for teams of 3 to 4 members who are all 14 years of age or older as of Jan. 1, 2008 but have not reached their 19th birthday prior to Jan. 1, 2008.

This contest allows 4-H and FFA members to develop the skills to critically examine a situation to gather unbiased information, and use that information to make a subjective but educated assessment of welfare quality in a fun and competitive atmosphere. The youth competition is based on materials that members have access to through enrollment in the various livestock projects. The youth will evaluate scenarios individually and also in a team category. Teams will be asked to answer a set of questions regarding the scenarios.

The Livestock Quiz Bowl Competition is set for Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007 at UW-Madison. Entries for the competition are due November 28. This is a firm deadline as brackets are made before the event. The event this year will be at the Animal Sciences Department, starting at 9:30 a.m. with registration. All teams will be in place for a 10 a.m. start. The cost of this event is $15 per team.

Livestock Bowl is a quiz competition where all the questions are about beef, sheep, swine, and meat goat topics and students use a buzzer in order to answer the questions. Teams compete in a double elimination format by giving oral answers to questions posed by a moderator. Each match has both an individual and toss-up question round. The teams are divided into three age divisions. The junior division is made up of four member teamss who are under 14 years of age as of Jan.1, 2008. The senior division is for teams of four members who are all 14 years of age or older as of Jan. 1, 2008. A mixed team must contain at least one youth from each age division.

Youth are encouraged to participant in both contests. Hotel and other information are available on the Extension Youth Livestock Website at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/animalscience/youthlivestock/index.cfm. Please contact Bernie O’Rourke at (608)263-4304 or borourke2@ansci.wisc.edu or Terry Jobsis at (608)265-3273 or ctjobsis@ansci.wisc.edu for more information.