In 1855, the Farmer’s High School of Pennsylvania was founded in State College, Pennsylvania. Seven years later, it became known as the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. Since then, it became the Pennsylvania State College. In 1953, almost a century after its founding, Dear Old State has become what we know today as the Pennsylvania State University.

Among the hundreds of extracurricular clubs offered at Penn State, there is one that embraces the agricultural history of Penn State in a not-so-common way.

This club, or team might I say, is the Penn State Livestock Judging Team.

That’s right. Humans aren’t the only species to be judged, here at Penn State a select group of undergrads judge cows, pork, and sheep.

This team is taking #OneTeam to a whole different level.

The Livestock Judging Team travels across the country to compete in contests, such as the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest (say that five times fast) held at LSU and the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, KY.

Am I the only one who is genuinely dumbfounded by the mere fact that there is actually a U.S. POULTRY AND EGG ASSOCIATION?? And they hold a NATIONAL POULTRY JUDGING CONTEST! Wow…

According to the group’s page on the College of Agricultural Sciences website, interested students should consider taking the following courses: AN SC 324 (Value Determination of Meat Animals), AN SC 424 (Livestock Breeding, Evaluation, and Selection), and AN SC 426 (Advanced Livestock Judging). From the names of these classes, it seems like those on the Livestock Judging Team are the last ones to fall ill from mad cow disease!

The team is coached by Wendall M. Landis, Penn State’s very own Beef/Sheep Complex Manager. FYI, the Beef-Sheep Center is located on Orchard Road, between the Nittany Medical Center and Beaver Stadium.

From the staff at Onward State, we wish the Penn State University Livestock Judging Team a successful season.