With the Cattle Judging portion of the Manitowoc County Fair taking place today, we decided to figure out how the judging is actually performed.
We spoke with Brian Behnke, who judges cattle all around the state.
He said there are a few things he looks for.
“Dairy cattle have to look dairy, and have some quality to them along with balance,” he explained. “When they are in the milking cow class, they need to have a good mammary system and excellent feet and legs.”
Contrary to what many may believe, there are no scores involved in judging cattle.
“You are actually just comparing one animal to another,” he said. “First place probably going to be more dairy or walk more correctly than the one that’s in second.”
Behnke, who has been involved in the dairy industry his entire life, said that compared to other County Fairs around the state, Manitowoc has a much high number of cattle being shown.
The judging began this morning at 9:00 in the Ice Center show ring.
For the full rundown of events, you can visit Fair.ManitowocCountyWI.gov.
