UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State poultry judging team recently captured first place in the National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held by the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.

Penn State's team consisted of Gina Lehman of Mechanicsburg (Cumberland County), Paul Hostetter of Holtwood (Lancaster County), Jeremy Ranck of Christiana (Lancaster County) and Mike Cressman of Telford (Montgomery County). The team is co-coached by Phillip Clauer, senior extension associate in poultry science, and Dirk Wise, manager of Penn State's Poultry Education and Research Center.

The two-day contest was an opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge of genetic traits that influence egg and meat production and their mastery of U.S. Department of Agriculture rules and regulations governing the grading and quality of eggs and poultry meat.

"Competition would last somewhere between two and a half to three hours a day," says Lehman. "We had to judge everything from broilers to turkey carcasses to the quality of eggs."

The team placed first in the Breed Selection and Carcass Quality Division and second in the Egg Production and Quality Division, to beat out nine other schools for the national title.

In individual competition, Lehman placed second in the Egg Production and Quality Division, third in Breed Selection and Carcass Quality and second overall. Hostetter placed fourth in the Egg Production and Quality Division and tied for 10th overall. Ranck was second in the Breed Selection and Carcass Quality and fifth overall. Cressman was seventh in Breed Selection and Carcass Quality Division and tied with Hostetter for 10th overall.

The team spent several months preparing for the competition. "We had a poultry selection and evaluation class that started in the spring," says Lehman. "We participated in a competition in Louisiana in the spring and we continued the class through the fall. In addition, we practiced outside the classroom about two hours a week during the fall."

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EDITORS: Contact Phillip Clauer at 814-863-8960 or by e-mail at pjc19@psu.edu.

Writer: Ryan Szivos Editor: Jeff Mulhollem Penn State Ag Sciences News Phone: 814-863-2719