Livestock Coaches Workshop
Dr. Tim Marshall
Professor
Department of Animal Sciences
University of Florida
Youth Programs:
Meat Animal
Current Status and Future Directions
7/26/2016
Objectives of
Youth Livestock Programs
Inspire youth to pursue a career in the livestock industry
and empower them to begin the mission of “learning to
learn”
*also to recruit for the UF College of Ag/Animal
Sciences
Enlighten future voting citizens to vote in support of
programs, policies and people who will support and
sustain agriculture and food production

Current Status
Livestock/Meat Evaluation Program
Adult Leader workshops, Youth workshops, material access
through the ANS INTERNET site, Contests
4-H and FFA
State Fair Steer Futurity
Hog/Ham Project (4-H)
Middle School Meat Curriculum
4-H Congress: Industry Leadership Programs
Junior Florida Cattlemen’s Association
INTERNET Site
State Fair Skillathon
Proposed Future Directions
 Beef Industry University: Travel Course for Teen
Leaders (Junior FCA)
 Stocker Steer Project
Simple Steps to Using a Judging
Team with Young People
 Competition vs Education
 Winning vs Learning
 Recognition vs Professional Development
 Coaching vs Teaching
Judging Team
 Time needed to reach goals could be months or
years
 Kids are individuals – each with their own
inherent ability, learning style, work ethic
 There is much that should/can be done before
ever seeing an animal
 Be inspirational – create a joy for learning
Steps
 Teach the industry
 Teach anatomy and physiology
 Teach the language spoken in the industry
 Teach the economically important traits
 Teach evaluation of phenotype and genotype
 Teach the incorporation or these aspects
Questions and Reasons
into
Judging
 Evaluation
 Comparison
 Selection
 Ranking
 Discussion/Defense
Step 1: Teach the Industry
 In order to select the best individual for the
prescribed use…one must understand the
industry in which the animal is required to
function.
 Which animal should be most profitable?
 Team members must be personally engaged in
the industry!
How do you teach the industry?
 Magazines
 INTERNET
 Industry activities (sales, workshops, etc.)
 Membership in groups
(ie.: Junior FCA)
 Regular communication with knowledgeable
people about the industry
 Jobs
Step 2: Teach Anatomy and
Physiology
 Identification of body parts using the terms used
in the industry
 Understand the function of each part and the
needs to enable the parts to work properly
 Be able to differentiate between fat, muscle,
bone, hair; and understand the optimum amount
of each
Step 3: Teach the Language
 Terms and phrases
 Methods of communication in the industry
 Learn to Talk like what you are supposed to be
Step 4: Teach the economically
important traits
 What are the traits?
 What is the economic value of each trait?
 What is the unit of measure of each trait, and
what is the amount of change that causes a
significant change in value?
Step 5: Teach evaluation of
phenotype and genotype
 Visual Evaluation
 Performance Data Evaluation
Step 6: Teach – questions and
reasons
 Teach the ability to answer questions
 Teach the ability to orally defend the selections
made
2002 State 4-H/FFA Livestock
Judging Contest
April 6, 2002
Horse Teaching Unit
University of Florida
Department of Animal Science
FFA Preliminary Contests
 Tampa, State Fair: 2/8/3
 Chipley: 2/21/3 ???????????
 Orlando, Central Florida Fair: 3/3/3 ????
Other Opportunities
 State Fair can be used by 4-H (originally planned
for younger members)
 Sarasota Contest: 1/25/3
 Many other contests at county fairs
State 4-H and FFA Livestock
Evaluation and Judging Contest
April 5, 2003
UF Horse Teaching Unit Arena
Gainesville, FL
Coaching Reasons
Objectives
 What are reasons/why important
 Where to begin on coaching reasons
Terminology
Note taking
Reasons format
Presentation
 Different instructional techniques that can be
employed
What are reasons?
 Brief (1-2 minutes, no more) justification of why
the student placed the class the way they did.
 When scored, the judges priorities are:
ACCURACY - no matter how good it sounds, a lie is
still a lie!
Organization - logical flow
Presentation/Delivery
Why Are Reasons Important?
 Oral Communication
 Note-taking Skills
 Critical Thinking
Make a logical decision
Defend that decision
Where to Begin?
 Step One:
Terminology
Make sure the youth understand the parts of the
animal!
Fancy, wordy terms are not worth any more than
honest, simple terms used correctly!
Where to Begin?
 Step Two/Three:
Note taking
Teach the students a system for taking notes
Easiest way - take notes that follow the reasons
format
Youth need to be able to visualize the animals, not
memorize the notes
Where to Begin?
 Step Two/Three:
Reasons Format
Keep it simple
Structure notes that fit directly into the format
Where to Begin?
 Finally:
Presentation
Keep it natural
Make it fun
Take it one pair at a time
Terminology
 Parts of the animal
Make jigsaw puzzle pieces out of the parts.
Have the students name each part as they put the animal
together.
Ask questions about the function of each part.
If the students do not know the parts of the animal, they
will never be able to give an accurate set of reasons
Terminology
 The “Term Game”
While traveling, pick a topic (ex. Muscle) and have
the students come up with as many different ways of
describing muscle differences as possible.
Reasons Format/Note Taking
 Need to know the format
Set of Reasons
Introduction
Top Pair
Middle Pair
Bottom Pair
Reasons Format/Note Taking
A Pair
Comparison
Grant
Criticism
Reasons Format/Note Taking
 Easiest way for youth to take notes is to mimic
the reasons format
 Develop a “shorthand” system to keep notes
uncluttered and easy to read
Reasons Format/Note Taking
General Comments about
individual animals or the class
1/2
Comparison Grant
2/3
Comparison Grant
3/4
Comparison Grant
Criticism
Criticism
Criticism
Reasons Format/Note Taking
 Teaching the format
Use common objects first
– Ink pens, pocket knives, hats, shoes
Give the students a scenario for the objects
Make sure to have a copy of a reasons format
available for the m to follow as they write reasons for
the objects
Have them work in pairs and share with the group
Reasons Format/Note Taking
 Teaching to visualize the animals
 Ask QUESTIONS!!!
Have students place a class, turn their back to the
class and answer several questions about the class.
 Ask questions while driving or at the end of a
practice
“What did the #3 look like in that first class that we
judged?”
Presentation
 Students can be TERRIFIED - so make it fun
 Start by giving an introductory statement
“I place this class of Market Hogs 1-2-3-4. 1 wins as she
best combines balance, muscling and femininity.
 Sometimes sharing with the group eases tension,
sometimes not!!!
Presentation
 After comfortable with intros, add the top pair.
 At each stage make sure grammar is correct and
the format is being followed.
 Gradually add to the sets until students are
giving a full set of reasons.
Instructional Techniques
 Additional ways of improving reasons
Have them give the same set to each other,
simultaneously
In a circle, have each student give a sentence, building a
full set of reasons
Record with video or audio and go over with the students
to help them understand where they need to improve
Writing and Asking Questions
 Questions should be brief and have only one
correct answer – not left to opinion.
 Questions should be answered by giving the ID
of one animal. Can have T/F, or “how many” Qs.
 Include questions answered by visual evaluation,
performance evaluation, or the combination of
the two.
When to ask questions ?
 New team members: turn back to class, answer
questions, turn around and review/score
 Experienced team members: wait for at least an
hour, preferably after they have seen more
classes. This will test their notes and memory.
How many questions?
 As many good educational questions as
possible.
 Traditionally 5 or 10
 3-5 good questions is better than 3-5 good ones
plus 5 questions with questionable answers.
*Don’t cause problems with creating monsters!
Slaughter Cattle Evaluation
 Target: 1100 – 1350 #, at least average muscle,
Choice Quality Grade and better than 3 Yield
Grade
 Contest Evaluation: Quality and Yield Grade
Must be able to evaluate FOE, muscle, KPH,
marbling, maturity
Beef Yield Grade
 1. Evaluate Fat over the Ribeye (in)
.2 = 2.5 PYG; .4 = 3.0; .5 = 3.25; .6 = 3.5;
.7 = 3.75; .8 = 4.0 PYG
 2. Adjust for muscle using visual evaluation
+.3 = 1 in less REA than needed for his weight
-.3 = 1 in more REA than needed
 3. Adjust for % Kidney, Pelvic and Heart Fat
most cattle have 2 or 2.5% (don’t waste time)
Factors affecting marbling score
 Fat over the ribeye
as total body fat increases, marbling may
increase to a certain point; varies with genotype
 Genetics for marbling
most cattle have a set maximum level of
marbling that will never be exceeded, no matter
how fat the cattle becomes
Beef Quality Grade
 Use FOE and visual indicators of breed type
<.2 inches: High Standard
.2-.35 inches: Select
.4 - .5 inches: Low Choice
.55 - .7 inches: Average Choice
 Be conservative since we will only have
ultrasound data at the time of the contest
Steer 4
Live WT
Carcass WT 831
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .5
PYG 3.2
REA 12.2 / +.5
KPH% 2.0 / -.3
Marbling Mt50
Maturity A50
QG C
YG 3.4
Steer 7
Live WT
Carcass WT 743
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .7
PYG 3.7
REA 13.0 / -.1
KPH% 2.5 / -.2
Marbling Sm70
Maturity A50
QG CYG 2.7
Steer 10
Live WT
Carcass WT 701
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .5
PYG 3.2
REA 12.6 / -.2
KPH% 2.5 / -.2
Marbling Sl90
Maturity A40
QG Se+
YG 2.8
Steer 16
Live WT
Carcass WT 615
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .3
PYG 2.7
REA 11.6 / -.2
KPH% 2.0 / -.3
Marbling Sl50
Maturity A50
QG Se+
YG 2.2
Steer 37
Live WT
Carcass WT 776
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .3
PYG 2.7
REA 16.2 / -.9
KPH% 2.5 / -.2
Marbling Sm0
Maturity A40
QG CYG 1.6
Steer 23
Live WT
Carcass WT 587
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .4
PYG 3.0
REA 9.9 / +.3
KPH% 2.5 / -.2
Marbling Md20
Maturity A30
QG C+
YG 3.1
Steer 20
Live WT
Carcass WT 580
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .5
PYG 3.2
REA 9.6 / +.3
KPH% 2.5 / -.2
Marbling Sm10
Maturity A50
QG CYG 3.3
Steer 38
Live WT
Carcass WT 662
Dressing %
FOE Adjusted .3
PYG 2.8
REA 12.3 / -.2
KPH% 2.0 / -.3
Marbling Sl70
Maturity A40
QG Se+
YG 2.3
Steer 107
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Live Wt = 1000 lbs
HCW = 625
DP = 66.4%
FOE = .25/.25
REA = 16.2
KPH = 2.0
YG = 0.6
Mat = A
Marb =Slight80
QG = Se+
Steer 957
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Live Wt = 1260 lbs
HCW = 808
DP = 64.1%
FOE = .45/.5
REA = 13.5
KPH = 2.5
YG = 3.0
Mat = A
Marb =Slight70
QG = Se+
Steer 429
Live Wt = 1380 lbs
 HCW = 849
 DP = 61.5%
 FOE = .7/.9
 REA = 14.3
 KPH = 2.0
 YG = 3.8
 Mat = A
 Marb =Moderate90
 QG = Ch+
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Steer 939
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Live Wt = 1275 lbs
HCW = 785
DP = 61.6%
FOE = .1/.15
REA = 14.4
KPH = 2.5
YG = 1.7
Mat = A
Marb =Slight40
QG = Se-
Swine Evaluation
Industry Target: Market Hog
 260 to 280 pounds
 .5 - .8 inches of LRBF
 Above average muscle
 No stress – prone pigs
 Must have acceptable quality (belly)
Formula System of Calculating
USDA Market Hog Grade
 Last Rib BackFat (LRBF)
 USDA Muscle Score (MS)
 USDA Grade = (4 * LRBF) – MS
Examples
 (4 X 1.3) – 2 = 3.2
 (4 X .7) – 3 = -.2 or USDA 1
 (4 X 1.1) – 1 = 3.4
 Pig with 1MS can be no better than USDA 2
Preliminary Grade System
LRBF : PYG
<1.0 in Last Rib Backfat = USDA Grade 1
 1.0 – 1.24 in = 2
 1.25 – 1.49 in = 3
 1.5 in and higher = 4
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Adjust for Muscle Score
1 = inferior, 2 = average, 3 = superior
Adjust down one USDA Grade for 1 and up one for 3
Evaluating Fat
 Where to evaluate?
Jowl
Forerib
Shoulder Blade
Elbow Pocket
Loin Edge
Flank
Tailhead
Seam of Ham
Evaluating Fat
Evaluating Muscle
 Where to Evaluate?
Shoulder
Forearm
Loin
Stifle
Ham
Evaluating Muscle
Pig #1
Live Wt = 290 lbs
 HCW = 210
 DP = 72.4%
 LRBF = 1.0
 Muscle Score = 2.70
 USDA Grade = 2.0
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Pig #2
Live Wt = 240 lbs
 HCW = 179
 DP = 74.6%
 LRBF = 1.3
 Muscle Score = 2.40
 USDA Grade = 3.2
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Pig #3
Live Wt = 230 lbs
 HCW = 170
 DP = 73.9%
 LRBF = 1.4
 Muscle Score = 2.20
 USDA Grade = 3.6
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Pig #5
Live Wt = 225 lbs
 HCW = 165
 DP = 73.3%
 LRBF = 1.4
 Muscle Score = 2.10
 USDA Grade = 3.6
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Pig #6
Live Wt = 265 lbs
 HCW = 198
 DP = 74.7%
 LRBF = 0.7
 Muscle Score = 3.10
 USDA Grade = -0.2
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