State 4-H Meats Judging Contest Results

Share on


Carmen Burgos, Extension Specialist

The State 4-H Meats Judging competition was held Tuesday, June 6 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Participants qualify to compete at the state level by first participating in a regional competition. Teams from across the state judged wholesale and retail cuts of meat, identified cuts of meat as to species, gave name and type of cuts and recommended method of cooking.

The Bedford County A team, Lawson Lemmon, Brett Harden, Hunter Lemmon and Emily Crabtree, came away with top honors and will represent Tennessee at the National 4-H Meats Judging Contest, October 17-18, 2017, in Manhattan Kansas. The team coaches are Emily Osterhaus, Tommy Green and John Teague.

Sponsors of the contest are Tennessee Farmer’s Cooperative, Tennessee Live- stock Producers, Lower Middle Tennessee Beef Producers, and the Hardeson- Melton Meat Science Endowment.

Thank you to our meat providers: Tyson and Benton’s Smokey Mountain Country Ham.

A special thank you to Nathan Miller, Darrell Ailshie, Kandace Ailshie, Greg Hensley, and Dr. Dwight Loveday for officiating the contest, along with all the agents, coaches and staff who made the contest possible.

Results for the contests are as follows:

Meats Judging (Top Four Teams)

  1. Bedford County, Team A
  2. Weakley County
  3. Lincoln County
  4. Wilson County

Meat Judging Overall High Individual

  • Brett Harden, Bedford County
  • Allison Davis, Weakley County
  • Caelan Paul, Monroe County
  • Alex Moore, Lincoln County

Meat Judging Individual Awards

  • Judging:   Alex Moore, Lincoln County
  • Retail ID:   Brett Harden, Bedford County
  • Reasons and Questions: Brett Harden, Bedford County