Marshall-Putnam County 4-H Junior Meats Judging Team takes 3rd place

The Marshall-Putnam County 4-H Junior Meats Judging Team competed at their first Meat Judging Contest on Saturday.

The team consists of Raylen Campbell, Hunter Heckman and Carter Keller. All three are members of the PC Progressors 4-H Club and first year members of the M-P Junior Meats Judging Team. The other members of the team are Chase Hattan and Cooper Hattan of the Steuben Rangers 4-H Club.

The team has been practicing grading carcasses, identifying cuts and evaluating the quality of carcasses and cuts. Saturday, the team put its knowledge to the test and placed third overall in its first competition. The M-P 4-H Junior Meats Judging Team is coached by John Heiser and Darin Blunier.

The invitational contest was at Raber Packing Company in West Peoria. The competition was organized by the Illinois Association of Meat Processors and the University of Illinois Meats Judging. The next Meat Judging competition will be Saturday, Feb. 8, at Eickman’s Processing in Seward.