Florida 4-H Members Compete at national 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference

Rounding out both the NAILE itself and Florida's participation in the event, the National 4-H Poultry events also took place last week and Florida had contestants in two events there that each brought home awards!

Florida 4-H Members Compete at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference

Not only do youth in Florida judge livestock and horses, there is also a thriving poultry program found in counties across the state with both judging and barbecue events. Two Florida 4-H Youth Development Program counties recently sent their state winning contestants to compete in their national events at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference at the NAILE in Louisville, Kentucky from November 18th-19th.

Florida's national poultry judging team consisted of UF IFAS Extension - Levy County 4-H members Sydney Allen, Tenlee Beauchamp, Emily Horlocker, and Jared Twombly who placed 6th Overall in the national contest. Individual contestant Dakota Horlocker, also of Levy County, placed as 1st High Individual Overall in the event. Finally, Volusia County Florida 4-H member Abby Marion competed in the national chicken barbecue contest and placed 6th Overall in the national event.

Florida has always had great representation and results from this event and this year is no exception from this year's event with all contestants receiving awards in their event. The state is also grateful for the support of Dr. Michael Davis and Dr. Ben Mather towards the state poultry events. Poultry events stretch beyond teaching if the chicken or the egg came first, teaching youth skills in consumer selection, food safety, public speaking, decision making, time management, and more. For more information, visit the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference Facebook page.

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(Photo from National 4-H Chicken Barbecue 2015 - Florida)