UW-River Falls Students Compete at National Collegiate Meat Animal Evaluation Competition

March 20, 2012 -- Ten University of Wisconsin-River Falls students participated in the 2012 National Collegiate Meat Animal Evaluation Competition hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln March 14-16. Sixty-two contestants from eight universities took part in the 2012 event.

The UWRF team received the title of Champion in the Market Animal Division competition. In addition, the team finished third in the Sheep Evaluation competition, fourth in the Swine Evaluation contest, and finished fifth overall. Individually, Jordan Dailey of Weyauwega was first in the Market Animal Division; Matthew Colle of Luxemburg placed fourth in both the Market Animal Division and Swine Evaluation; Colle also took seventh place in Sheep Evaluation and seventh overall; Dailey took eighth place in Sheep Evaluation; Jerad Jaborek of Vesper finished sixth in the Market Animal Division and Nathan Brandt of Lakefield, Minn. took eighth in the Market Animal Division.

Other team members included Laura Monson of Fort Atkinson, Steve Rebhahn of Viroqua, David Schroeder of Black Creek, Mary Waytashek of Little Falls, Minn., Bailey Sherwin of Ellsworth, and James Mihalek of Ashland. The team was coached by assistant professor of Animal Science Justin Luther.

The competition dates back to 1955 when the National Livestock and Meat Board in Chicago sponsored a clinic for animal science students; by the mid-1960s the clinics evolved into an intercollegiate competition. The competition includes four separate components for each of three species (beef, sheep, swine): the evaluation of market animals, breeding livestock, meats or carcasses, and a communications challenge where teams are given a set amount of time to prepare a presentation on a topic relevant to animal agriculture.

Photo:
Back row, left to right: Coach Luther, David Schroeder, Nathan Brandt, Jordan Dailey, James Mihalek, Steve Rebhahn, Matthew Colle and Jerad Jaborek.
Front row, left to right:  Laura Monson, Maria Luther, Mary Waytashek, and Bailey Sherwin.