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The University of North Georgia’s (¹û¶³´«Ã½) poultry team placed sixth overall at the 57th National Poultry Judging Contest held from Nov. 5-8 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This year’s team members were Amy Arellano, Eric Brockman, Ashley Davis, and Kayley Edwards, coached by associate professor Dr. Linda Purvis and ¹û¶³´«Ã½ junior Jacque Conner.

"I am incredibly proud of them and can't wait to see how they do in the spring," Purvis said.

The team took a fifth-place ranking in the Division 1 category, consisting of judging live production hens and market egg products, and sixth in Division 2, which consisted of live production meat birds and products.

Mother of two and first-time competitor Arellano is pursuing an associate degree in poultry science for career advancement in her current role as a food safety and quality assurance manager for Trilogy Foods LLC. Her mentor Purvis specifically asked her to join the team to offer her insight from the field.

Having only experienced the parts side of poultry, Arellano was eager to learn more about the live part.

"Being a nontraditional student, the college experience is something I had never had before. One of the benefits of competing is progress and knowing next time we compete we will be better," Arellano said.

The team went up against colleges and universities with poultry programs that had access to live birds, which ¹û¶³´«Ã½ does not. In addition, ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s poultry team was able to place with fewer than 10 hour-long practices.

Conner was a past team member, who due to competition rules wasn’t allowed to compete again. Having participated in 4-H’s agriculture program since elementary school, she has always been interested in poultry judging. Now she’s able to experience it as a co-advisor.

"It was a little weird bossing around my peers, but was a good experience to solidify the fact that I knew this information," Conner said. "Since I was on the team last year, it helped me relate to the competitors."