On Thursday, Aug. 8, FFA and 4-H members participated in the 2024 Youth Swine Skillathon at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. Participants competed in three age brackets during the contest, which is sponsored by the Missouri Pork Association and the University of Missouri Extension.

The top three winners in each category received a cash award, and the top individual in each category also received a plaque.

The first part of the three-stage contest is a hands-on swine management test including breed identification, equipment identification, ear notching, calculating medication withdrawal times, figuring growth performance, identifying pork carcass wholesale and retail cuts, environmental issues and feed ingredient identification. The second section is a short quiz that covers current events and general information about the swine industry in Missouri, the United States and internationally. The final stage is a 5-minute personal interview about their swine project and the Youth Pork Quality Assurance Plus Program.