Blinn's virtual livestock judging camp draws 92 participants
Youths from nine states take part in innovative online sessions
June 25, 2020
The Blinn College Agricultural Sciences Department’s innovative virtual livestock judging camp held earlier this month attracted 92 participants from around the country.
“It was a tremendous success,” Livestock Judging Coach Brice Mund said. “We initially put a cap of 75 students on the camp, but we had to bump it up.”
Blinn normally holds the popular camp on its Brenham Campus each summer, but the department shifted to a virtual format this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Holding the camp online allowed it to reach even more youths, Mund said.
This year’s camp included virtual tours of the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex and a new 6,000 square-foot building that opened earlier this year, as well as the entire Brenham Campus.
“We had participants from nine different states and still had a large number from our service area,” Mund said, “so the outreach part of the camp, I believe, was very successful.”
Blinn partnered with Judge 2 Win, an online service that provides livestock judging training tools. The company is co-owned by Hayden Brown, an alumnus of Blinn’s Agricultural Sciences Program and award-winning livestock judging team. The camp utilized Judge 2 Win’s platform and technology, using segments that featured the department’s instructors.
Mund said the response from participants was very positive.
“The hope is that this time next year, we can have our campers back on campus,” he said, “but we now know we have the capability of doing something virtual if the need calls for it.”
The camp included two sessions – one for novices and a second for experienced judges.
The camp wrapped up with judging contests in each session. Paisley Groshke of Riesel, Texas, won the Junior Division. Sunny Cowley of Amarillo won the Senior Division.
In the Junior Division, Duke Groshke of Reisel placed second; Wyatt Luddeke of Cuero, Texas, was third; Kyler Wendt of College Station was fourth; and Caiden Meurer of Abbott, Texas, placed fifth.
Other top five placings in the Senior Division were Gunner Coburn, Sterling City, Texas, second; Lane Hogan, Sterling City, third; Dylan Hartman, Cuero, fourth; and Tate Hogan, Sterling City, fifth.
With the 20,200-square-foot Rankin Complex serving as its hub, Blinn offers agricultural science classes in Brenham, Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy, and has one of the most active extracurricular programs in the state, including award-winning livestock judging teams, Agriculture Club, and Ag Mechanics Club. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/agricultural-sciences.
