The Southwest Regional 4-H Livestock Judging Contest was held on June 17, 2026, in Slayton. Murray County 4-H hosted 32 youth from the surrounding counties including Murray, Jackson, Lincoln, Brown, Lyon, and Pipestone County. Each participant was able to test their judging skills on classes of beef cattle, sheep, meat goats, and pigs. The participants took notes and judged ten different classes. They also had to answer questions and give oral reasons on various classes.
The contest had three different divisions: Beginner, Junior, and Senior. Here are results: In the beginner division, the top three individuals were Otto Johnson, Asher Kopperud and Brandt Altman. The first-place beginner team was Lincoln/ Pipestone County (Otto Johnson, Evan Johnson, Micah Fruechte and Andi Weber) In the junior division, the top three individuals were Brayden Van Dyke, Wacey Weber and Cooper Nelson. The first-place junior team was Lincoln/Pipestone County (Brayden Van Dyke, Wacey Weber and Keagan Steck).
In the senior division, the top three individuals were Noah Gravenhof, Nolan Verlinde and Kate Schmidt. The first-place senior team was Jackson/ Nobles/ Brown County (Noah Gravenhof, Kate Schmidt, Emma Heitbrink and Levi Thompson).
For official results, please visit: https://www.judgingcard.com/ Results/Events.aspx?ID=28914 Murray County 4-H would like to sincerely thank all that helped contribute to making this contest a success, and our largest event yet. A big thank you to the contest official, Brady Allan. We would also like to thank the Murray County families that brought animals to be judged during the contest. Thank you to the Amy and Joel Kruse Family, Kelly Nelson, Wayne Drew, Dale and Ryan Vos, Jason Larson Family, and Todd Kramer. We appreciate the high-quality livestock and your support to help our local 4-H members learn about livestock judging! Lastly, Murray County 4-H would like to extend a special thank you to Compeer Financial and the Murray County Cattlemen’s Association for sponsoring meals and the financial support of this program. Thank you to Jason Larson for grilling burgers for this event on behalf of the of the Murray County Cattlemen’s Association.
