Sophomores Miles Bockenstedt, Cooper Eschen, Holly Gudenkauf, and Hunter Rave stride confidently to the class of livestock, ready to begin their evaluation.

After evaluating the cattle in a livestock class, the sophomores turn their backs on the class of four and rank the cattle from best to worst within ten minutes. 

Once placements are recorded, the sophomores move to the next class, which goes on for 10-15 classes.

After the rankings, the sophomores record the rationale for their placement.  

“We sit down and give a set of reasons,” Eschen said.  “We have an hour to look at our notes and give a reason why we placed the livestock the way we did.” 

The four have had lots of practice and preparation for judging cattle, traveling all over the tri-state area from six to eight contests a year.

“The more you do it, the better you’ll be,” Rave said.

It all started in Agricultural Exploration class, where Bockenstedt, Eschen, Rave, and Gudenkauf learned the basics of judging livestock. This experience sparked their interest in doing more.

“We have a unit where we learn about livestock judging, and we learn a lot about how to evaluate the cattle and all the other species,” Gudenkauf said. “It helps us learn how to evaluate the animal correctly.”

Rave feels that livestock evaluation teaches the qualities of good livestock, so in the future, they will know what to look for when purchasing livestock on their own.

Bockenstedt and Eschen have been judging livestock for three years, with Rave and Gudenkauf in their second year.

“We travel around Iowa, and right now we’re judging in Illinois, and we go up into Wisconsin sometimes too,” Bockenstedt said.

They’ve had many experiences that they’ve learned from. 

“I’ve enjoyed meeting new people, building confidence, and learning public speaking skills,” Bockenstedt said.