When you step off a plane in a different country, it’s not just the scenery that looks different—the livestock do, too. A group of nearly 75 4-H and FFA members from the U.S. recently traveled across the Atlantic for the International Livestock Judging Tour to Scotland and Ireland, discovering just how much priorities shift when you cross “the pond.”
For nearly 50 years years, AgroTours has organized this opportunity for qualifying youth to evaluate livestock in a global context. CL McGill, an ag teacher from Tuttle, Oklahoma, brought his first team in 1996. Now on his eighth trip, he continues to prioritize the experience for his students.
“The camaraderie they develop on the buses is very special,” McGill says. “The European experience is different for them, and it’s good to see that, but the friendships they build make it worth it to me.”
Megan Gross, a mother and chaperone from Johnson County, Texas, agrees. She traveled with her son, Brendan.
“The livestock world is small and competitive,” Gross says. “These kids have formed bonds they’ll carry through college and into their careers. This trip has allowed them to form friendships that will last a lifetime.”
Beyond the social aspect, Greg Rupert, coach of the Columbia City Livestock Judging Team in Indiana, sees the trip as a vital lesson in understanding agricultural diversity.
“They are tomorrow’s leaders of agriculture,” Rupert says. “Recognizing the differences in livestock production practices between these two regions is essential to their growth.”
The Show Ring Shift
The consensus among the American students and coaches is that while the U.S. prioritizes longevity, structure, and maternal ability, the Scottish and Irish systems favor carcass yield, muscle and efficiency on grass.
“Over there, the show world and the production world are very closely related, whereas in the U.S., they are more separated,” observes Lane Beyers, a member of the Champaign County 4-H team in Illinois.
Coach Rupert adds that resources and regulations dictate these different phenotypes.
“With grass as their most economical commodity for feeding livestock, they don’t see extremely heavy skeletons or big bodies as advantageous as we do,” Rupert says. “They have to use extremely heavy muscled genetics to compensate for the lack of high protein diets we can rely on here in the states.”
The evaluation process itself offers a culture shock. When judging sheep in Scotland, McGill notes that Suffolks are “stouter and heavier boned.” However, the judging style is what really stands out.
“They bring the sheep in like a normal class, but then they let them go. The ring stewards gather them in a corner while the judge evaluates them without a handler.”
“They bring the sheep in like a normal class, but then they let them go,” McGill explains. “The ring stewards gather them in a corner while the judge evaluates them without a handler. The judge touches the sheep he wants to inspect with a cane; only then does the showman set the animal up. Eventually, the judge uses that same cane to signal the final placing.”
The contests also move at a breakneck pace. At the Royal Highland Judging Contest in Edinburgh, Scotland, students had just four minutes to judge each class and one minute to turn in their cards—less than half the time allowed in U.S. contests.
“The organizations of their contests are quite different,” says Callie Turner, a member of the Champaign County 4-H judging team from Illinois. “They are a little more laid back than we are when it comes to the structure of oral reasons. We also didn’t get to see the livestock for very long. However, it was neat to see how people do things differently and adapt to the way they do things.”
That adaptation extends to the species list itself. U.S. contests include pigs and goats and the Scotland and Ireland contests only have cattle and sheep divisions.
The Cattle Comparison
For Levi Malinowski, a repeat participant of the trip from Bellville, Texas, the main difference he saw was cattle phenotype, driven by the stark contrast in climate.
“In the U.S., we like big, deep, soggy bellies on our cows,” Malinowski says. “They believe that’s a waste. They’ve got lush grass where they don’t have to worry about feedability or maintenance, whereas we need females that can maintain themselves easily in drier environments.”
Wyatt Gandy, a member of the Johnson County, Texas 4-H team, says the difference in rainfall and grass production was one of his big takeaways.
“In America, we don’t have the plentiful rain or grass that they have over here, so cattle are not expected to be as easy fleshing and maternal in their look.”
“In America, we don’t have the plentiful rain or grass that they have over here, so cattle are not expected to be as easy fleshing and maternal in their look,” Gandy adds. “In addition, with the shortage of land they have here and the influx of people, it is required these cattle are as heavy muscled as possible, whereas in the U.S. we can give up some muscle as we have more resources to raise our cattle.”
Emerson Tarr, coach of the Kansas 4-H All-Star team, had to shift her perspective on structural integrity.
“The cattle here are functional, but they prioritize mass over structure,” she says. “I had to learn to look through a different lens.”
Gandy was also surprised by the docility of the animals.
“The cattle here are kept in barns for 200 days of the year, so they have to be calm,” he says. “We saw a 50-year-old sale barn that looked like it was built yesterday because the cattle don’t tear the infrastructure apart. It was a major culture shock.”
An Irish Perspective
Garrett Behan of Clonagh Pedigreed Herds in Southern Ireland confirms that the environment dictates the animal.
“In Ireland, we run an intensive grass-based system. Our herd gets fresh grass every day, so locomotion is always important,” Behan says. “But when it comes to body capacity needs, they are very different here than in the U.S. We have higher quality forage so our cattle don’t need to eat as much of it. They don’t need the body capacity.”
Because they grow lush grass in Ireland every day of the week, they prioritize other traits that ‘pay’ better like muscle, he says.
As a prominent judge in the region, Behan enjoys the exchange of ideas. That’s why he is a repeat host of the International Livestock Judging Tour from the U.S.
“I enjoy hearing other people’s opinions and perspectives of what they do on their farms and how it compares to ours,” Behan says. “When you host farm tours, you learn something new every day. I enjoy hosting the young people from the U.S. and learning from their viewpoints.”
Lessons for the Home Front
The students aren’t just taking home souvenirs; they are taking home management strategies. Gandy is already considering how Irish rotational grazing might boost his herd in Texas, while Malinowski notes how the UK’s higher stocking rates challenge his view of pasture management.
“We’ve been able to tour many cattle ranches and see their perspective on how they do things here,” Gandy explains. “I believe seeing a different perspective from a different type of management has provided me with the resources to go home and look at things that could boost my cattle herd and set me apart from other operations.”
Ultimately, Coach Tarr believes the trip teaches that there is no “right or wrong” in global livestock production.
“Livestock from other countries may not fit your ‘mold’ as an evaluator, but this trip teaches us how they fit someone else’s program,” Tarr says. “The pride they have for their livestock is refreshing. I hope these kids see that even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with a committee or a competitor, the world still goes ‘round—and it’s a lot bigger than your home pasture.”
