Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner - North Carolina 4-H Youth Have Something to Crow About at National 4-H Poultry & Egg Conference
(Updated: Nov. 18, 2022, 6:44 a.m.)
Congratulations to the North Carolina 4-H Avian Bowl Team, 4-H Poultry Judging Team, and 4-H Egg Chef Challenge, Chicken BBQ, and Turkey BBQ youth participants!
At the National 4-H Poultry & Egg Conference held Nov 16-17, 2022, 130 youth from across 24 states competed in Louisville, KY Nov 16-17, 2022 at the National 4-H Poultry & Egg Conference. North Carolina 4-Hers decisively demonstrated poultry cooking and judging capabilities! Despite the cold (a high of 35°F) 4-H Turkey BBQ competitor Isaac Linton from Wayne County grilled and presented his way to 1st place winning a plaque, pin, and check.
2022 Nationals 4-H Turkey BBQ - Isaac Linton, 1st place winner on the right firing up his grill
Another Wayne County youth, Gideon Linton, also proved his speaking and grill skills with his 1st place win in 4-H Chicken BBQ securing a plaque, pin, and check (and yes, they are brothers!) These brothers' 1st place efforts also garnered two plaques of recognition for their coach, Dr. Fosnaught.
2022 National 4-H Chicken BBQ - Gideon Linton, 1st place winner answering questions after his presentation
Eggs were not left off the menu by North Carolina 4-Her, Addie Dillon of Lincoln County, who won 2nd place in the Egg Chef Challenge, winning a check and pin.
2022 National 4-H Cookery Winners from North Carolina: Gideon Linton, Isaac Linton, and Addie Dillon
The North Carolina 4-H Poultry Judging Team, Isaiah Leonard, Talton Correll, Brinley Batts, and Sarah Waller from Rowan County coached by Laura Allen and Morgan Watts clearly demonstrated their poultry judging aptitude having multiple Individual and Team wins.
2022 Nationals 4-H Poultry Judging 2nd Place Team - Isaiah Leonard, Talton Correll, Brinley Batts, and Sarah Waller
As a team, they won 2nd place Overall winning a trophy, check, and gold pin, and as a team they also were recognized as the 3rd highest team in the Production Hen division and the 5th highest team in the Market Poultry division. For their individual scores in 4-H Poultry Judging, these 4-Hers also were recognized.
Individual youth with the top 20 highest scores overall were recognized with checks and pins; Sarah Waller had the 14th, Brinley Batts the 7th, and Talton Correll the 6th highest individual score out of 130 participants.
Brinley Batts had the 8th highest score in Market Poultry in the entire contest winning a bronze pin; Talton Correll had the 6th highest individual score in Market Eggs overall winning a bronze pin.
2022 Nationals 4-H Poultry Judging - Sarah Waller entering scores during poultry judging production hens
The North Carolina Avian Bowl team, Lauren Ruppe, Grafton Corbett, and Gill Corbett was from Rutherford County and coached by Cynthia Robbins. They competed in a double elimination round against 15 teams. Although they did not place in the top teams that were recognized, they demonstrated knowledge and tenacity against a very challenging docket of competitors.
We would like to thank all our supporters that made this experience possible, but a special thank you to our NC donors including the Wilkes Area Poultry Federation, Carolina Farm Credit in Statesville, NC, and Prestage Department of Poultry Science. Also, thank you to NC A&T University for hosting us for a mock Poultry Judging contest for our team and to Richard Hoyle, Mark Paylor, and Jonas Asbill for assisting to set up this contest; thank you to Wayne County Extension Office for hosting us to do a practice grilling session for our BBQ competitors.
