February 2009

Junior Results (PDF)
Senior Results (PDF)

University of Missouri Extension 4-H members from across Missouri competed in the State 4-H Meats Judging Contest on the MU campus in Columbia. The young people identified 30 cuts of meat and ranked the meat in several classes from best to worst. The 4-H members also gave reasons for their rankings.

This year, the top junior and senior teams were from Monroe County. The teams were coached by Charlie Rosenkrans, retired MU Extension livestock specialist. This wasn’t the first time that both of his teams had won, but he was very pleased.

“I’m just tickled to death with all of their performances,” he said.

Rosenkrans has been training meats judging teams for more than 35 years and still finds the skills learned in preparing for the contest valuable.

“To me, this is one of the contests young people can enter and use weekly for the rest of their lives. Once you learn, it’ll stick with you,” he said.

“It makes the MU Extension 4-H members more informed consumers,” added Ben Gallup, MU Extension 4-H state youth specialist. “Members learn how to identify and select cuts of meat based on marbling, size, color and cut.  They also learn cookery techniques.” 

Rosenkrans’ senior team will advance to the national contest in the fall at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.

The state contest was sponsored by the Missouri Beef Industry Council and MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.