Lebanon County 4-H and FFA Livestock Judging Teams Excel
MILLIE BUNTING
Market Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Two Lebanon County youth live
stock judging teams secured their
spots in the county’s agricultural
record books by winning both the
Pennsylvania 4-H and FFA state
livestock judging contests.
Capturing first place in the
Pennsylvania FFA Livestock
Judging Career Development
Event (CDE) in June were Cedar
Crest FFA chapter members
Billie Jo Atkins, Gretchen Artz,
Nate Artz, and Carl Eisenhauer,
Jr. They are also members of 4-H
clubs.
Competing as the Lebanon
County 4-H team were Travis
Adam, Kyle Fleener, Tim Schaef
fer and Nate Tice. They are all
members of county 4-H clubs and
came together as a team coached
by a veteran in livestock judging,
Brian Kreider, who is a Penn
State graduate in animal science
and a Lebanon County crop and
beef farmer.
By winning their state events,
both teams earned their way to
the national events.
The Cedar Crest FFA team
members traveled to the National
FFA Convention Oct. 24-27 in
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Winners To Be Announced In Jan. 12 Issue Of Lancaster Farming
Lebanon County 4-H livestock Judging team which placed first in state competition
and third overall at the national event: Seated, from left: Travis Adam, Fredericksburg;
Kyle Fleener, Robesonia; Tim Schaeffer, Myerstown; and Nate Tice, Lebanon. Standing:
Brian Kreider, team coach, Lebanon County beef and crop farmer. .
Louisville, where they did rela
tively well competing as individu
als and qualified as a Bronze Em
blem Team. Billie Jo Atkins was
a Silver Emblem Individual
award winner and Gretchen
Artz, Nate Artz, and Carl Eisen
hauer, each received a Bronze
Emblem Individual award.
Culminating the Lebanon
County 4-H team’s year was
placing third overall at the 78th
National 4-H Livestock Judging
Contest, Nov. 12-13, during the
North American International
Livestock Exposition. The 4-H
The Original Old Fashioned
6 Qt. Hand
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Lancaster Farming
national event also took place in
Louisville.
At the national event, 32 teams
from across the United States
competed as individuals in the
four classes: sheep, swine, cattle,
and oral (reasons). Their individ
ual scores were tallied for a team
total. Illinois was the first place
overall winner with 2226 points,
followed by Texas second with
2198 points; Pennsylvania, third
with 2191 points; Ohio, fourth
with 2159 points; and Indiana,
fifth with 2156 points.
PHONE:
Travis Adam was second in
the individual rankings, only one
point behind the first place fin
isher, Craig Steck, from Knox
ville, m. Sealing their Pennsylva
nia team’s third pace overall was
Kyle Fleener, who was the fourth
highest individual winner.
The Pennsylvania 4-H team’s
coach certainly is to be congratu
lated for all their achievements.
Kreider has spent countless hours
working with each member of the
Lebanon County’s Cedar Crest FFA livestock judging
team which placed first in the state FFA Livestock
Judging Career Development Event (CDE): From left: Nate
Artz, Gretchen Artz, Billie Jo Atkins, and Carl Eisenhauer
Jr.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 22,2001-815
team and accompanied them to
many events. Considering prac
tice took place almost every
weekend since early in 2001, and,
add to that the traveling to com
petitions, Kreider’s dedication
paid off for his team.
Other major events for the
Pennsylvania 4-Hers and their
team placings were: Eastern Na
tionals, Sept. 22 in Maryland,
fourth overall; Keystone Interna
tional (KILE), Oct. 6, fifth; and
the American Royal Livestock
Exposition, Oct. 27, in Kansas
City, second overall.
The Lebanon County team
started participating in judging
contests in March. They first
competed at a Spring contest at
Penn State, and then the South
east 4-H Regional livestock
roundup in Chester County
where they won first place.
An out-of-state event in which
they placed first for the second
year in a row was the Cattail
Classic at the Mullinex farm in
Maryland. Travis Adam who was
the first place individual winner
won a two-year scholarship to
Butler College in Kansas where
Chris Mullinex coaches the live
stock judging team.
All of the members of the two
Pennsylvania State champion
teams, both FFA and 4-H, be
came interested in livestock
judging in the 4-H program, be
ginning in elementary school.
Some were as young as eight
years old. These outstanding
eight teenagers and their parents
and coaches deserve congratula
tions for their outstanding
achievements.