ONE What is your involvement in the livestock industry? My wife, Tammy, and I own a registered cow-calf operation in southwest Missouri. We primarily raise Angus and Simmental cattle, and host an online sale each spring and fall to market a select group of show heifers. Our son, Sam, and his wife, Morgan, also live and work on our farm with their newborn son, Beau. We also have one daughter, Paige, who helps market our operation throughout the year and currently lives in Winterset, Iowa with her husband, Marcus. TWO What inspired you to become a judge? I didn’t grow up immersed in this industry like my kids did. I didn’t start showing cattle until I was 13 and there were plenty of instances where I was last in class. Over the years I started working for reputable cattlemen who taught me a lot and gave me opportunities to learn more about raising cattle. I was 28 and working for Brady Land & Cattle in Knob Noster, MO when I judged my first show and the second show I ever judged was the American Royal Angus show. Talk about jumping in headfirst. It’s always an honor to be asked to evaluate cattle at any level of shows and I’m not sure if any one experience inspired me to judge. Instead, many years in this industry and the influence of others provided me with opportunities to jump in. THREE What has been your favorite judging experience? I always think it’s special to judge junior nationals because the entire focus is on the youth. We raise Angus cattle so it is humbling to have judged the National Junior Angus Show twice. One of those years was even more special because my daughter, Paige, was Miss American Angus and so she was able to work the ring with me all week.
FOUR What is the best heifer you have ever judged? I don’t know that I could pinpoint one particular heifer over the years. There have been a lot of really good ones! FIVE What will be your approach to judging the Supreme Drive in Louisville? At that level, with that much quality in the ring, all of the heifers are probably worthy to be Supreme Champion. I believe judging supreme drives means I’m looking for the female that is the best individual for her respective breed. While I think it’s important to see where each animal fits within their breeds, my approach, similar to any other show, would be to find the female who works best for me in my environment and the type I like, even though it might differ from someone else’s opinion. SIX What are you looking forward to the most at the NAILE? I am looking forward to just having it. With the turmoil in the world, we take for granted that we will have shows. So just having the show is what I look forward to. SEVEN If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be? To the youth, in this business anybody can be successful if you put in the time and always work hard. People will notice and opportunities will come to you. You just can’t be opposed to taking the jobs at the bottom of the totem pole to get started. EIGHT Why is Agriculture and the Livestock Show Industry so important to you? First off, I couldn’t have asked for a better industry to raise my kids in. This way of life is very important to my family and the opportunities it has given my kids have influenced their life and where they’ve ended up today. Plus, many of my best, lifelong friends are in this industry.
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NAILE SUPREME JUNIORHEIFER JUDGE ERNIEWALLACE ANSWERS EIGHT OF OUR QUESTIONS!
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