Posted: April 18, 2022

Penn State’s Collegiate Poultry Judging Team placed third in the nation at the 73rd USPOULTRY Foundation Ted Cameron National Poultry Judging Contest held at Louisiana State University on April 6-8, 2022.

Penn State Collegiate Poultry Judging Team, from left:  Phillip Clauer, Patrick Rush, Maci Raybuck, Jonathan Nace, and Rogen Shaffer.

Penn State Collegiate Poultry Judging Team, from left: Phillip Clauer, Patrick Rush, Maci Raybuck, Jonathan Nace, and Rogen Shaffer.

Penn State’s Collegiate Poultry Judging Team placed third in the nation at the 73rd  USPOULTRY Foundation Ted Cameron National Poultry Judging Contest held at Louisiana State University on April 6-8, 2022.

The Team placed

  • 1st in the Market Products Division
  • Tied for 2nd and placed 3rd due to tie breaker in the Breed selection Division
  • Place 6th in the Production Division

Individuals placed extremely well; all are Animal Science Majors, with Nace, Shaffer and Raybuck being Poultry minors.

Individual results are:

  • Jonathan Nace, Richfield, PA
  • Tied for 1st and placed 2nd due to tie breaker in the Breed Selection Division
  • Placed 3rd in the market Product Division
  • Placed 4th place overall
  • Rogen Shaffer, Pillow, PA
  • Placed 2nd in the Market Products Division
  • Placed 3rd in the Production Division
  • Paced 9th overall
  • Maci Raybuck, Punxsutawney, PA
  • Tied for 3rd and placed 4th due to tie breaker in the Breed Selection Division
  • Placed 5th in the market Product Division
  • Placed 7th place overall
  • Patrick Rush, Collegeville PA
  • Placed 5th in the Production Division
  • Placed 6th in the Market Products Division

Phillip J. Clauer, Associate Teaching Professor in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science, coached the team. He said, “I am extremely proud of these four students and the outstanding results they have achieved. After winning the Fall national contest in Arkansas the Penn State team came so close to winning both National contests in the same academic year.”

Louisiana State University placed first in the contest, 10 points ahead of the Penn State team; University of Arkansas placed third; Texas A&M, fourth; and Mississippi State, fifth. Others who participated in the contest were North Carolina State University, University of Wisconsin River Falls, Ohio State University, University of North Georgia, and Auburn University.

The students prepared for the competition through a rigorous training program as part of a 14-week poultry science course. To earn a spot on the Penn State team, they competed with fellow students during a 1700-point midterm exam. The competition allows students the opportunity to demonstrate how well they have mastered their knowledge of breed selection for meat production, egg production and purebred chicken defects as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture rules and regulations governing the grading of eggs and poultry carcasses.

Clauer notes that employment opportunities abound for graduates in poultry science. Anyone interested in a career in the industry should contact Clauer at (814) 863-8960 or by email at pclauer@psu.edu.

The judging team received partial funding from the Office for Undergraduate Education “Student Activities Fund” to enable them to travel to this event.