Meat Judging Team

History

The Michigan State University Meat Judging Team program was founded in 1947 by Dr. Lyman Bratzler and first competed in 1950. MSU has competed in the Senior College or American division in over 50 of the past 70+ years. Over 300 undergraduate students have been a part of the meat judging program at MSU during that time.

Current Activity

Organized through the American Meat Science Association, Michigan State competes in five contests each year. These include:

Southwestern Meat Judging Contest, Ennis, TX or South Plains Meat Judging Contest, Hereford, TX
Southeastern Meat Judging Contest, The Ohio State University and University of Kentucky
Eastern National Meat Judging Contest, Wyalusing, PA
American Royal Meat Judging Contest, Omaha, NE
International Meat Judging Contest, Dakota City, NE

Each contest consists of placing classes, reasons, quality and yield grading, and specifications. Team members learn evaluation skills and writing skills in addition to how to quality and yield grade beef carcasses. All of these skills are valuable to employers for future careers. All the while, participation in the meat judging program grows a person’s networking and allows them to be better leaders and teachers in school activities, careers and the community.

Follow the team on social media:

Michigan State University Meat Science (https://www.facebook.com/MSUMeat) MSUMeatJudgingTeam (https://www.instagram.com/msumeatjudgingteam/)

Complete results from all contests can be found at www.judgingcard.com

Get Involved

Participation on the meat judging team is open to all undergraduate students at MSU. Email Dr. Andrea Garmyn (garmynan@msu.edu) with questions or to express interest in meat judging. Dr. Garmyn offers ANS 200B – Introduction to Meat Evaluation every fall semester to prepare students for participation on the judging team. Animal Science students can earn their experiential learning credit by enrolling in ANS 300B – Advanced Meat Judging during semesters when they are competing on the meat judging team.

Support the Meat Judging Team

Sponsor or participate in our largest fundraising event of the year – Spartan Livestock Open Golf Outing. The event is held annually late May at El Dorado Golf Course in Mason, MI. Follow the judging team on Facebook for event details. Reach out to Andrea Garmyn to receive information on how to register a team or sponsor the event. Sponsors can also donate directly through MSU Online Giving.

Give online: https://give.msu.edu/?appeal=ONLINE
Find areas to Support: A105096 = Animal Science Spartan Livestock Open Fund
Enter Your Gift Amount.

Contact Dr. Andrea Garmyn (garmynan@msu.edu) to learn about other fundraising activities or other ways you can support the team.