Cal Poly SLO Livestock Judging Team

10/04/2025

The team made the trip to Cow Palace & is bringing home some hardware!

Reserve High Team Overall
Reserve High Team Reasons
🌟Savanna Barcellos— 7th High Individual Overall
🌟Maddy Cameron—10th High Individual Overall & 5th High Individual Sheep
🌟Blake Lauppe— 3rd High Individual Beef
🌟Sophie Holland—10th High Individual Goats
🌟Ella Turjanis—9th High Individual Sheep

09/19/2025

This past month, the Cal Poly Livestock Judging Team took on the Midwest, competing at the National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota. 🐷

Along the way, we crossed four states off our list and toured some incredible places—including amazing show pig operations, the National Pork Board office, Iowa State’s Veterinary School, the John Deere headquarters, and even the SPAM Museum!
The trip was full of firsts for the team: many Casey’s gas station stops (complete with breakfast pizza), endless cornfield views, and plenty of hours on the road together.

A huge thank you to the National Pork Board, Schminke Genetics, Lewis Genetics, Heimer Hampshires, James Purkey, Abbie Brown (Cal Poly alum), Kelli & Cutter Klink, Nathan Ray & family, Hormel Foods/NBS, and our coach, Morgan Wonderly!

05/16/2019

Introducing Mahlon Owens of the 2019 team. Mahlon is the fifth generation born and raised on her family’s cattle ranch in Red Bluff, California. She grew up showing hogs and cattle through 4-H and FFA while jackpotting throughout Northern California and Oregon. She also competed in FFA Light Horse Judging, her team placing third in 2017 at California State Finals.

Mahlon is now a second year Agricultural Communications major with a minor in Agricultural Business. At Cal Poly, she is an active member of the Agribusiness Management Club, the Social Chair for Young Cattlemen’s Committee, the Beef Chair for Western Bonanza Junior Livestock Show, and an employee of the Cal Poly Beef Unit.

After college, she plans to work in the beef cattle industry before eventually returning to the family business of cattle and crop insurance.

05/04/2019

If walls could talk. The old judging pavilion has seen a few teams over the years and will again tomorrow. We are proud to host FFA Finals and wish the teams competing the best of luck on their quest to a state championship!

02/25/2019

You know what they say: work hard, play hard!
We got to do a little bit of sight-seeing while in Texas to compete at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. It was a fun competition and we enjoyed our time in the Lonestar State!

02/12/2019

Who is envious that we get to practice on animals like this? With a hog like "Peaches", who wouldn't be?

We are excited to see her sell at Western Bonanza on Friday. If you are there, keep an eye out for her at "The Best in the West" sale!

Introducing 8-2 aka "Peaches"

Dirty Bill x SLO Ride (Intake x Power Play)

Sells Friday February 15th @ 5:00 PM at the Cal Poly Western Bonanza, Paso Robles, CA https://www.facebook.com/pg/westernbonanza/events/

02/06/2019

The next member of the 2019 team is Katie Peterson. Katie grew up in Castro Valley, California where she spent time on her grandparent’s winery as well as showing sheep and goats though 4-H. Katie’s love for agriculture continued as she began her studies at Cal Poly. She is now a third year Animal Science major with double minors in rangeland resources and event planning.

Like many Cal Poly students, she is involved in a plethora of activities. Katie is employed at the local veterinary hospital, works as an undergrad research technician for beef cattle development research, is the Livestock Auction Assistant for Western Bonanza Junior Livestock Show, and serves as an officer for the Young Cattlemen’s Committee. After college, she hopes to pursue a career in the beef cattle industry working to educate producers on sustainable management practices.

Katie says that she is looking forward to developing her livestock appraisal skills as well as attending major shows, meeting peers from across the country, and making memories that will last a lifetime.

01/25/2019

We had a great time in Denver at the National Western Stock Show for the . As the dust settles from our trip, we are already looking ahead at San Antonio. See you in the Lonestar State!

12/12/2018

Introducing “Where are they Wednesday” with a member of our 2017 team, Morgan Wonderly. Morgan was born and raised in Bakersfield, California and attended Bakersfield College before finding her home at Cal Poly. She is currently a Master’s student studying meat science under Dr. Ike Kang. Morgan was the manager of the Cal Poly Swine Unit during her undergraduate studies and she attests that this is where she fostered her love for the swine industry. This summer Morgan served as the Producer Services/Outreach intern for the National Pork Board and U.S. Pork Center of Excellence in Des Moines, Iowa. After completing her Master’s degree, Morgan hopes to obtain her Ph.D. and ultimately become a professor of animal science. Her favorite judging memory is getting to visit Churchill Downs while competing at NAILE in Louisville, KY. She says “I will never forget some of the memories made on those long van rides across state lines and am so thankful for all of the experiences I gained while judging.”

11/21/2018

Meet the first member of the 2019 team, Eleanor Borba! Eleanor is from Atascadero, California where she grew up in the livestock industry competitively showing hogs and judging livestock in 4-H and FFA. The culmination of her efforts was in 2016 when she received FFA High Individual at California State Finals. As a sophomore Dairy Science major at Cal Poly, Eleanor is the manager of the Swine Unit and is excited to begin her season on the livestock judging team. Eleanor says “I look forward to growing with my teammates during the season and to traveling alongside some amazing individuals in the industry.” After college, Eleanor hopes to educate youth about agriculture and to promote the future of the industry.

10/19/2018

Check out this article that highlights the livestock judging program written by our very own alum Megan Farley for Cal Poly's AgCircle magazine.

Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu’s millions of monthly readers. Title: AgCircle Summer 2018, Author: Brock Center for Agricultural Communicat...

10/10/2018

Calling all judging alumni! As part of developing our program, we are creating a team alumni directory. Please invite those who participated as a member of the Cal Poly Livestock Judging Program to like this page and share their current phone, email, and mailing address via messenger.