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Bedford County students win state honors in meat judging competitions

By TERENCE CORRIGAN ~ For the T-G
Posted 10/25/19

If you're hoping to buy the best steaks at the grocery store, you might want to see if Allison Davis or Nick Moore will go along and help you choose. But, if Davis or Moore is not available then try and get in touch with Ian Alcox or Dorothy Brandon...

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Bedford County students win state honors in meat judging competitions

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If you're hoping to buy the best steaks at the grocery store, you might want to see if Allison Davis or Nick Moore will go along and help you choose. But, if Davis or Moore is not available then try and get in touch with Ian Alcox or Dorothy Brandon.

These four young people are the winning team -- in competition with 22 other teams -- in the 2019 Future Farmers of America Meat Judging Contest. They also took first place in the 2019 4H Tennessee Meat Judging contest. They will go onto national competitions starting in mid-October, first at the 4H competition in Kansas City and, at the end of the month, at the FFA contest in Indianapolis.

Allison Davis was the top individual in the state FFA Meat Judging Contest and, with her teammates, Moore and Alcox, who placed 6th and 2nd respectively, will go on to the national competitions.

Because she won last year, Brandon was ineligible to compete again this year in the state FFA meat judging contest.

The four Bedford County FFA students sat down for interviews, a week and a half before they were to head out to Kansas City.

*** Allison Davis, 15

When it involves beef, Allison has an advantage. She grew up on the family cattle farm.

Her family has a cow/calf operation with around 40 Angus. Her family owns a 45-acre farm and they rent an additional 200 acres.

Farming for Allison was a given. "I didn't really have an option," she said. "Since I was born I've just gone out and helped. I never really thought about it."

Allison is an "all A" student. She plans to go to a four-year college after she graduates high school. She's considering Kansas State or Ohio State. Her parents met in college at Ohio State, so it seems likely she's going to be a Buckeye graduate.

When Allison is not working on the family farm, she and her parents show their cattle. Her entry in the Bred & Owned Cow-Calf Pair class at the 2019 National Junior Angus Show in Louisville was judged Grand Champion.

*** Ian Alcox, 16

Ian was a latecomer to FFA. He is not sure if he wants a career in agriculture. He decided to enter the school district's FFA program in his sophomore year. "I like the people and I like the courses," he said.

Ian is intrigued by science. "As a child, I was always stuck to the Science Channel," he said. Ian likes learning new things and competing in knowledge-based competition. "I like studying and learning everything about the area we're competing in."

Ian also likes music. He plays alto saxophone in the Shelbyville Central High School marching band. But the music Ian likes to listen to is not marching band material. He's a fan of classic rock bands, like Led Zeppelin and Van Halen, and metal and thrash bands like Mettalica and Revocation.

Ian knows he will go to college but he's not sure whether he wants to go into agriculture. "I can't say for sure if I'd enjoy farming," he said, "but I might try it out."

*** Nick Moore, 16

A newly formed sixth-grade friendship drew Nick into agriculture. He started going to his friend's family farm, often spending weekends there during the school year and "hanging out" during summers. "I liked the atmosphere of being out there on a farm," he said. "Hopefully I can do that."

Nick has two career choices in mind: either as a farmer or a large animal veterinarian. He's debating whether to go to a technical college or to the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Nick plays drums in church where he and his sister are youth leaders

For now, Nick works part-time, for gas money, on a farm. His job includes "everything," he said. "They have pigs and ponies, goats and dogs...."

*** Dorothy Brandon, 16

Dorothy is clear on what she wants to do for her career. She wants to work for the USDA. When Dorothy was asked about her ability to pick out a good steak, she said, without hesitation, "Oh yeah."

What sparked her interest in FFA was food.

"I want to know where my food comes from, the process that gets food from the farm to the table," she said.

Dorothy is interested in all facets of agriculture. She's competed with great success in various ag competitions and this year she plans to compete in the dairy foods, dairy cow judging and environment contests.

"It's important to learn all that [environmental] stuff," she said, "because we have those problems today."

Dorothy has no doubts about her college education. She will go to the University of Tennessee Knoxville and major in Food Science.

Dorothy has recently become interested in photography and she's an avid non-fiction reader.

"I don't deal with fiction because it messes with my head," she said.