By Stephen Smoot
Every year as summer passes its social zenith, the halfway point when the previous school year ends and the next begins, thoughts of many farmers young and old turn to Moorefield’s West Virginia Poultry Festival.
Wednesday serves as “Youth Day” in the festival. Aspiring agriculturists and those who just love the camaraderie of the clubs show their skills on this day at Moorefield Middle School. Members of the group engage in different kinds of judging, watch a poultry processing demonstration, and some will even demonstrate culinary excellence in the barbeque contest.
Pendleton County youth joined teams from Hardy, Grant, and Monongalia counties.
Matthew Delawder, a Moorefield High School graduate working as a Pilgrim’s representative, explained, “Pendleton County always tears it up,” he said, praising the area’s student knowledge of poultry and all things farming. “They make you fear for your own team in the judging.”
The contestants go from station to station, using their knowledge of poultry to attempt to judge like an expert. Outside, stations of pullets and post-production hens awaited assessment. A pullet is a young hen that has not yet laid eggs.
In one of the locker rooms, a large group of chicken carcasses hung from metal bars, hanging over tarps. Each was in the form of a conventional roaster one might purchase at the store. In the gymnasium, two judging tables greeted the participants. One held a table with several breaded patties in various stages of quality. On the far table, each plate held a different part of a chicken. Students had to identify each part of the bird.
Brooke Alt, one of Pendleton County’s two West Virginia University Extension agents, related that, in addition to the other stations, students also evaluated the quality of eggs. She shared that “they like getting the birds out of the cages, handling them and getting to mess with them.”
Once students conclude their judging, they got to watch Pilgrim’s workers give a processing demonstration. “Literally, they will take a live bird and process it,” Alt remarked.
Alex Smith, Hardy County WVU Extension Agent, related the purpose behind the demonstration and the day itself. She explained that the events get “them exposed to the industry that keeps our area running.” She then added that they get to see the processes of what happens both at the farms and at the processing complex.
She added that the students gain much from the experience above and beyond the camaraderie with other clubs and learning about poultry. In the process of participating, they gain confidence in public speaking, develop thinking and communication skills, problem solving, and many other positive life skills.
Pendleton County, as predicted and expected, performed very well, as befitting one of the state’s top poultry producing counties. The senior team of Cole Harper, Lydia Heavner, Phoebe Pownell, and Vivian Pownell took first place and will represent the Mountain State in the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
The first-place junior team was composed of Jax Bennet, Tia Heavner, Katie Keyser, and Branson Smith. Pendleton County also had a second-place junior team of Tori Heavner, Bella Hoover, Kallie Keyser, and Marion Williams, as well as a fourth-place junior team with Gracie Hedrick, Adalyn Rumer, and Jaelyn Rumer.
Top 10 results for seniors included Lydia Heavner, first place senior and second place senior reasons; Ty Heavner, third place senior and 10th place senior reasons; Phoebe Pownell, fourth place senior and first place senior reasons; Vivian Pownell, sixth place senior and fourth place senior reasons, and Harper, seventh place senior and seventh place senior reasons.
Junior individual top 10 results were as follows: Kallie Keyser, second place junior and first place junior reasons; Bennett, third place junior; Williams, fifth place junior, Katie Keyser, sixth place junior; Adalyn Rumer, seventh place junior, and Tia Heavner, ninth place junior.
Williams earned the most unique recipe category in the barbeque chicken grilling contest. Tori Heavner also participated.
