Cattle Working Competition
Braden McCoy, Cody Harper, Emily Shaw, and Eli Shaw had to pass an exam before handling the calves. Photo submitted
Submitted News
Four students in Mrs. Lynn Hawkin’s agriculture classes recently competed in a cattle working contest. Cody Harper, Braden McCoy, Eli Shaw, and Emily Shaw competed in the Ky Jr Cattlemen’s Working Contest in Bowling Green.
These students joined the Ky Cattlemen’s Organization and had to become Beef Quality Assurance (BOA) Certified. This training was given by Metcalfe County Extension Agent Branden Bell. Students had to complete a best practices exam on animal handling before the actual cattle working contest. After the exam, students were given 3 calves to process through the chute. The students had to safely and ethically catch the 3 calves, vaccinate them according to weight, place an ear tag, and provide DNA samples. This was a timed event.
There were 13 teams from across the state chosen to participate. The students proudly wore Metcalfe County Cattle Catcher shirts and were featured in the Cow Country news magazine.
This was a great opportunity to put classroom learning to real-life application. Proper animal handling, safety, and the math used in calculating vaccine applications will be useful skills in these young people’s own beef herds. Kentucky is #1 for beef production east of the Mississippi River.
Metcalfe Ag Proud!
The calves the students worked with. Photo submitted
Students at the cattle pens waiting their turn. Photo submitted
