Two Chattooga County Teams competed at the UGA Top Hand Stockmanship and Stewardship Contest May 3rd in Forsyth, Ga. The competition is a hands-on contest for students with real world application in the beef cattle industry. CarolAnn Cash, Evelyn Mae Lutz and Eme McCary were named the state winners at the 4rd Annual Contest. Hannah Hasty, LeeAnna Moseley and Harmon Hasty were reserve champions.
The program consists of four regional competitions designed to educate and equip Georgia’s youth with the skills, knowledge and confidence to be successful advocates and/or employees for the beef industry. The top two teams at each regional competition advance to state. In order to compete in this competition students have to obtain Beef Quality Assurance certification, complete processing maps and work cattle administering vaccines, parasite control and tagging.
CarolAnn Cash has been a part of these competitions for the past three years. She said “Top Hand is a unique competition that blends classroom knowledge with hands on experience within the cattle industry in a competitive platform. It’s a wonderful competition for students who have a passion for the beef industry and wants to gain knowledge in working cattle safely and efficiently.”
Lauren Jarrett, Chattooga County Schools Young Farmer Teacher and animal science instructor is the coach for the teams. Jarrett said she took an interest in this competition several years ago because of the hands-on approach for students. “It gives real work application that will be useful for these students in their future as cattle owners, beef industry employees and advocates,” she said.
“The top hand competition has been a great experience the past three years,” said LeeAnna Moseley. I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait for next year.”
Jarrett says as the young farmer teacher it allows her the opportunity to connect local beef producers with high school students for on the farm practices and mentoring.
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