Youth Livestock Resources
- Beef Showmanship: article with tips on how to show your beef animal.
- Breeds of Cattle: descriptions and pictures of cattle breeds.
- Beef Show Ring: description of fitting techniques in cattle (PDF).
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging. http://animalscience.tamu.edu/youth-projects/
- The Ohio State University has a good 4H Animal Science web site. This page contains links to other pages related to current events, marketing, and evaluation. http://www.ohio4h.org/statewide-programs/animal-sciences/livestock/livestock-resources
- The Ohio State University also has helpful resource handbooks for each of the livestock species; I would highly recommend these books for information related to stockmens or skillathon, http://estore.osu-extension.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2313. There is also a Livestock Judging Manual.
- Meat Goat Facts: publication on meat goats ranging from care to housing to health of meat goats (PDF).
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging. http://animalscience.tamu.edu/youth-projects/
- The Ohio State University also has helpful resource handbooks for each of the livestock species; I would highly recommend these books for information related to stockmens or skillathon - Goat Resource Handbook. There is also a Livestock Judging Manual.
- Swine Showmanship: basics to preparing and showing swine.
- Paylean: publication about what Paylean does and when Paylean should be used (PDF).
- Swine Showmanship: publication about basic swine showmanship practices (PDF).
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging. http://animalscience.tamu.edu/youth-projects/
- The Ohio State University has a good 4H Animal Science web site. This page contains links to other pages related to current events, marketing, and evaluation. http://www.ohio4h.org/statewide-programs/animal-sciences/livestock/livestock-resources
- The Ohio State University also has helpful resource handbooks for each of the livestock species; I would highly recommend these books for information related to stockmens or skillathon, http://estore.osu-extension.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2525. There is also a Livestock Judging Manual.
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging. http://animalscience.tamu.edu/youth-projects/
- The Ohio State University has a good 4H Animal Science web site. This page contains links to other pages related to current events, marketing, and evaluation. http://www.ohio4h.org/statewide-programs/animal-sciences/livestock/livestock-resources
- The Ohio State University also has helpful resource handbooks for each of the livestock species; I would highly recommend these books for information related to stockmens or skillathon, http://estore.osu-extension.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2290. There is also a Livestock Judging Manual.
- Livestock Judging and Oral Reasons Resource (PDF | 40KB)
- Approach to Placing a Market Steer Class: basics to placing a class of market steers.
- Evaluating Market Swine: evaluating and selecting swine.
- Reasons Terminology for Breeding Cattle
- Reasons Terminology for Market Lambs
- Reasons Terminology for Market Steers
- Sample Sets of Reasons: for livestock judging contests.
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging. http://animalscience.tamu.edu/youth-projects/
Online Practice
- Provides information on the judging basics. This does cost money to subscribe to. http://www.judging101.com/
Judging Tips
- South Dakota State University extension has a great bit of judging tips. http://pubstorage.sdstate.edu/AgBio_Publications/articles/YD4H402.pdf (PDF)
Using EPDs
- University of Kentucky has put together a 4-page informational piece on how to judge performance classes using EPDs. http://afs4hyouth.ca.uky.edu/files/skillathon/Judging_Performance_Classes_ASC_167.pdf (PDF)
- NC State also has some good information on how to use EPDs when judging. http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/4hyouth/Livestock%20Judging/usingepd.html
Oral Reasons
- Texas A & M extension provides great information and tips on how to give a good set of oral reasons. http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/beef-sample-reasons.pdf (PDF)
- Mississippi State University has great tips on giving oral reasons; they even suggest ways to organize your notebook to give the most effective set of reasons. http://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/publications/P2289_web.pdf (PDF)
- Bovine Myology: an interactive website to learn and identify cuts of beef.
- There are quite a few helpful documents available from Texas A&M University with information on everything from beef projects to livestock judging to meats judging.
- The American Meat Science Association has practice materials on their 4-H Meats Judging Program web site.
- University of Nebraska Meats Science Extension web site. Excellent on-line material including photos of wholesale and retail cuts and an on-line retail ID quiz.
- Texas A & M University Animal Science Department's 4-H Meat Judging page. Excellent information for contest preparation.
- Texas A & M University meats extension information. Good section information on meats judging.
- Texas A & M 4-H Meat Judging information
- University of Florida's information on meat judging and evaluation of meats.
- Meats Cut Identification and Judging
- National Pork Board
1776 NW 114th Street
Des Moines, IA 50325 - Catalog of materials
- National Pork Board
- Poultry Judging Resources from NC State.
- University of Arkansas has a web site developed for FFA Poultry Judging.
- Resources (you must pay for these) including poultry showing and exhibition and small flocks
- Small Scale Poultry Housing
- Small Flock Management Resources
- The Ohio State University has a good 4H Animal Science web site. This page contains links to other pages related to current events, marketing, and evaluation. http://www.ohio4h.org/statewide-programs/animal-sciences/livestock/livestock-resources
Breeds
- American Sheep Industry Association has excellent images of lots of breeds of sheep. Select the category (Meat, Fine Wool, Long Wool, etc.) from their sidebar to bring up a list of specific breeds. http://www.sheepusa.org/Directory_of_Breeds
- Oklahoma State University Department of Animal Science maintains a web site that includes a vast collection of information about breeds of livestock. There are many rare breeds shown as well as the more common ones. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/
- Steve Schmidt at Auburn University has a great online resource on breeds. It includes not only photos of breeds, but also an opportunity to quiz yourself. http://www.ag.auburn.edu/%7Esschmidt/breed_id2/index.html
Quiz Questions

Youth Livestock Topics
Contact
Katherine Carter
Extension Youth Animal Science Specialist
carterke@vt.edu
(540) 231-2257
Sandy Arnold
Extension Program Associate- Youth Animal Science
horse4h@vt.edu
(540) 687-3521
Scott Greiner
sgreiner@vt.edu
(540) 231-9159
Virginia 4-H Livestock Programs Endowment
The Virginia 4-H Foundation is spearheading the advancement of the Virginia 4-H Youth Livestock Programs Endowment. 4-H livestock programming is funded through a combination of private gifts, endowment income, gifts in kind, and participant fees.