The Texas A&M Poultry Judging Team won the 75th USPOULTRY Foundation Ted Cameron National Poultry Judging Contest held at Louisiana State University (LSU).

TAMU poultry judging team poses as a group with trophies

Recently, the Texas A&M Poultry Judging Team won the 75th USPOULTRY Foundation Ted Cameron National Poultry Judging Contest, held at Louisiana State University (LSU). This is the team's second national title during the 2023-2024 judging season after winning at the 57th Annual National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest in Fayetteville, Arkansas last November.

Poultry evaluation builds a fundamental understanding of form and function of breeding and market animals. Students learn to assess conformation and general functionality related to modern-day poultry production standards.

Team member Kirby Richardson '26 from Wallis, Texas says she enjoys the competitiveness of judging. "Judging poultry has helped me further develop important skills like teamwork and critical thinking."

The team prepared for the contest through participation in the POSC 304 poultry evaluation course and rigorous practices outside of the classroom at the Texas A&M Poultry Science Research, Teaching, and Extension Center. The class focuses on training students in selection standards for meat and egg strains of poultry, grading standards for egg and live and ready-to-cook poultry. The travel team consists of the top five students from the course, with the top four students competing in the contest, and the top three scores counting towards the total team scores. The judging team competes in one national contest each semester.

Results

Team Awards:
• High Point Team Overall
• 1st Place Division 1: Production
• 1st Place Division 3: Market Products
Individual Awards:
• Naomi Boysen- 4th Place Division 3
• Kyle Frank - 11th Place Individual Overall, 2nd Place Division 3, 6th Place Division 1
• Kirby Richardson- 10th Place Individual Overall
• Camryn Wilder- 3rd Place Individual Overall, 1st Place Division 1, 6th Place Division 3
• Amya Hodges- Alternate

The team was coached by Brett Meisinger, Head Coach and Cheyenne Pinkerton, Assistant Coach.

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