COLUMBIA, Mo. – Jenna Hasekamp, a member of the Audrain County F&L Hustlers 4-H Club, is helping to pioneer the participation of Missouri community college teams at livestock judging contests.

This fall, Hasekamp will join North Central Missouri College’s livestock judging team, which started last fall and is currently the only Missouri community college team competing in livestock judging.

“Jenna is looking forward to helping this team better their skills and knowledge and build a reputation,” says Maria Calvert, University of Missouri Extension state 4-H agriculture and natural resources educator.

After completing her coursework at NCMC, Hasekamp plans to transfer to MU to earn a degree in animal sciences.

Sitting on the sidelines of a show ring as a 4-H Clover Kid sparked her interest in livestock judging. After watching others show livestock and listening to the judges give critiques, she would go home and evaluate her family’s cattle.

When a club volunteer approached her about participating in livestock judging as a 4-H project, she thought it sounded cool and decided to try it. The summer before seventh grade, she competed in her first livestock judging contest at the Audrain County Fairgrounds, where she judged classes of cattle, swine, sheep and goats.

“The more I practiced, the better I got,” Hasekamp said. She has competed every year since then. In 2020 she was part of the Missouri 4-H team that competed at the American Royal National and the National Western Stock Show contests.

She credits 4-H with offering opportunities to try a variety of things and develop leadership skills such as public speaking. “I can go into a classroom and speak to youth about agriculture, something I am very passionate about, and 4-H started that for me. A lot of the things you use in your daily life you will learn in 4-H.”

Hasekamp encourages younger members to “go out and try something new. If you are on the edge about wanting to try something or not, just go out and try it.”

About 4-H

More than 55,000 members strong, Missouri 4-H is an active, dynamic organization of young people who are learning, growing and preparing to be the leaders of today and tomorrow – making a real difference in their community, country and world. 4-H is the youth development program of the University of Missouri and the nation’s Cooperative Extension System. For more information on Missouri 4-H or how to get involved in the livestock judging project, visit 4h.missouri.edu.

Photos available for this release:

https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/2021/20210415-4hlj-1.jpg
Jenna Hasekamp, right, with Jack Green, agriculture instructor and livestock judging coach at North Central Missouri College.

https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/2021/20210415-4hlj-2.jpg
Jenna Hasekamp showing livestock at the 2011 Centralia Cattle Show, her first as a 4-H’er.

https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/2021/20210415-4hlj-3.jpg
Jenna Hasekamp at a recent livestock judging contest in Elsberry, Mo.