Victory Valley 4-H Club did indeed reign victorious as they placed firest tin the recent Stanly 4-H Poultry Judging contest. Team members Angela Harvell, Samantha Talley, Brandy Cleveland, and Kayla Casico displayed their knowledge about the commerical poultry industry by taking part in several calsses of competition.

Their skills included comparison judging past production hends and indicating which has has produced the most eggs in her lay cycle by handling the birds to examine the body capacity and by observing various indicators such as pigment loss. They judged ready-to-cook carcasses (just like we see in the grocery store) for proper grade. They also must be able to judge the exterior shell quality of an egg; the interior qualtiy of the egg by candling the eggs (viewing the interior of the egg with a lighted device), along with being able to judge eggs that have been broken out of their shell.

Angela Harvell led her team by placing first the State competition on indivdual score. BRandy Cleveland placed fifth and Samantha Talley placed eighth on their individual scores.

In November this top poultry judging team will be traveling to the National 4-H Poultry & Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky for national competition. Patti Talley, 4-H Agent, will be accompanying the team to Kentucky and says, " I am proud of these young ladies! As a state and National competitor in poultry judging myself, I can testify that they are not just putting alot of time and hard work into a competition; they are investing in their future! They are developing important life skills such as critical thinking and reasoning skills public speaking skills, as well as developing lifelong friends and contacts that they will use in their future careers."

Stanly County 4-H offers many opportunities for youth develop themselves in various interests. We have curriculum from agriculture to drama; from rock science to photography!  If you have a child interested in 4-H or if you are interested in starting your own 4-H club, contact Patti at the NC Cooperative Extension office in Stanly County by calling 704.983.3987 or by e-mail - patti_talley@ncsu.edu

Stanly County 4-H is a United Way support agency.

Photo: Angela Harvell, Samantha Talley, Brandy Cleveland, and Kayla Casico.