The 66th edition of the Wilmington College Aggies' annual Judging Contest on March 6 more than lived up to the tradition of offering a top-quality judging experience for high school students engaged in 4-H, vocational agriculture and Future Farmers of America.
Billed as among the first in the nation each year and the largest east of the Mississippi, the event unofficially attracted some 1,400 participants from Ohio and three neighboring states, who braved the morning’s fog and rain. They came to hone their skills in agronomy and judging equine, dairy and general livestock.
The Aggies' Judging Contest is Wilmington College's largest student-run event and is named in memory of Harold Thirey, a long-time agriculture professor and Aggies' adviser who died unexpectedly in 2021.
Aggies President Justin Beckner, a senior from Somerville, OH, with dual majors in agricultural business and agriscience education (grades 4-12), said the Judging Contest’s success year after year centers upon the quality livestock secured for the event coupled with the distinctness that it’s put on by college students.
Indeed, students run the show. They secure the animals, organize the logistics and get the word out to Ohio and neighboring states' schools, 4-H groups, FFA members and vocational agriculture classes. The contest represents a real-life application and a hands-on learning experience for both the high school students and WC’s agriculture students who stage the event. Participants use those judging skills fine-tuned at WC's contest at upcoming county and state fairs and other judging competitions.
“The most important thing for me was to make sure the students were served to the best of our ability,” he said, noting he’s pleased with the quality of the competition the Aggies staged again this year.
Agriculture constitutes the largest academic area at Wilmington College. WC’s Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree program features hands-on learning experience on the College Farm and other learning laboratory sites outside the classroom. The agriculture program features concentrations in agricultural business, agronomy, animal science, equine business management, agricultural communications, agricultural education and a new concentration in resource conservation & regenerative agriculture. WC also offers an ag-related major concentration in food policy and agriculture advocacy housed under political science. Related academic minors include agriculture, equine studies and sustainability.
PHOTO: High school students judge sheep at the Aggies 66th annual Judging Contest.