Changes to 4-H and FFA Poultry Events in Kansas

Poultry Judging

Poultry judging The stop movement order for poultry in Kansas means that no live birds may be used in judging contests for 2015. For the state 4-H judging competition at the 2015 Kansas State Fair, the judging completion will still be held but the format will switch to photographs of parts ID, part quality, etc. An example of what to expect at the KSF will be posted shortly.

We are also unable to use processed meats or eggs in the contests.

State Fair Entries

Because no live birds will be allowed at the KSF, some new classes have been added to the State Fair book for 4-H. these will be open to all participants, whether or not they entered a poultry event in county fairs. Youth may enter a short video or a poster that will be judged and displayed in the Poultry Barn on the Kansas Fairgrounds. More information is posted on the Kansas 4-H website.

4-H State Contest Poultry Judging

I know that many of you are starting to prepare teams for the state contest at the Kansas State Fair. KEEP PREPARING! The contest is on, but it will be very different. We will be using an all-picture contest because no live birds or tissues can be used in the event. So, I am preparing our first (and hopefully last) digital 4-H poultry judging contest! This will not be online, but will consist of pictures at the Kansas State Fair contest. Please note that we will have the contest in the cage area of the poultry exhibit on the South side of the fairgrounds and NOT at the Encampment Building.

Here I have posted the classes we will be judging and some sample slides that I hope to use. Click on each of them for the sample slides. They are in Powerpoint and PDF format. I do not have the candling slides - I have not been able to take pictures that are usable. Check back for more information and updates as I get them together and posted.

The judging classes will be:

Past-production hen to be placed on pigmentation - (PDF)
Broken out eggs - (PDF)
Exterior eggs - (PDF)
Carcass quality grading - (PDF)
Parts ID - (PDF)

Prepare your teams like you've always done. They still need to know basic USDA information to grade the items or ID them. Unless the national program makes changes, there will still be a winning team representing Kansas in Kentucky. So, get to work!

Dr. Scott Beyer, KSU Extension Poultry Specialist

More Information

FFA Poultry Judging

At this time I do not have any regional or district FFA poultry judging events scheduled during the stop movement order for 2015. All districts have scheduled their contests starting in early spring of 2016, which is past the current stop movement order set to expire on December 31, 2015.

So, in theory, everything is a GO for 2016! However, we don't know what's going to happen with the flu popping up on the fall migration. If contests are cancelled, I will put together an electronic contest for everyone. All be can do is stay tuned and hope for the best!