Front Row (L to R): Emmy Bibbings, McCall Kemp, Scarlett Hicks, Aubrey Hicks, Willow Lawrence
Throughout the month of September, twelve Smith County 4-H’ers have been hard at work
learning all about chickens and eggs by participating in 4-H Poultry Judging. On Thursday,
September 25, 2025, these 4-H’ers traveled to the Rutherford County Community Center in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to test their knowledge at this year’s Central Region 4-H Poultry
Judging Contest.
180 youth from all across the Central Region competed in this contest, and several of our Smith
County 4-H’ers received individual and team awards.
Our Junior Team, made up Josie Harville, Scarlett Hicks, McCall Kemp, and Willow Lawrence,
placed 3rd in their division. Josie was the 10th place individual.
Our Junior High Team, made up of Charlotte Driver, Tana Harville, Oakley Lawrence, and
Everett West, placed 6th in their division. Tana was the 7th place individual. Aubrey Hicks also
competed in the Junior High division.
Our Senior High Team, made up of Easton Bibbings, Emmy Bibbings, and Turner Harville,
placed 2nd in their division, which qualifies them to move on to the state contest. Emmy was the
6th place individual, and Turner was the 3rd place individual.
I would describe that as an egg-cellent day! Congratulations to these 4-H’ers for a job well done!
Through our Poultry Judging practices, 4-H’ers learn how to evaluate live birds for their laying
capacity, how to grade eggs by evaluating their interior, exterior, and broken-out quality, how to
identify various ready-to-cook poultry parts, as well as how to grade those parts and whole
chicken carcasses for quality. Our 4-H’ers also learn how to identify defects in further processed
poultry products like chicken nuggets and chicken patties.
The various components of the Poultry Judging contest help our 4-H’ers develop their critical
thinking skills, be better stewards of their own poultry flocks at home, and even prepare them for
future careers in the agriculture industry.
If you have any questions about how to get involved in Poultry Judging or any other aspect of the
4-H Poultry project, please call the Smith County Extension Office at 615-735-2900 or email
rpetty@utk.edu.
