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Livestock Specialist
Career Program Area

Goals

The purpose of the Livestock Specialist Program area is to give the participant an overall view of the needed knowledge and problem solving skills necessary to work in the livestock industry:
  • The career program area will assess skills, tasks, knowledge and leadership abilities that would be beneficial in a student’s education or employment.
  • The career program area will pertain to all regions of the country without being partial to any region.

The Livestock Specialist Program area is designed to:
  • Promote education of safe production, processing, distribution, and marketing of the red meat industry.
  • Recognize students who display a high level of knowledge in all phases of the livestock industry.
  • Increase problem-solving skills of student members.
  • Promote leadership, education, communication, skills and an in-depth awareness for current industry challenges and issues.
  • Encourage cooperation between education and industry.
  • Strengthen PAS by encouraging active participation.

General Rules

Participants will only be eligible to compete in one Specialist Area per year. No participant shall be allowed to compete in more than one specialist area.
*Any participant who achieves 1st Place as an individual in any division of the Livestock Specialist program area in Iowa will not be eligible to participate in that division in the coming years. If that participant is also a member of any team (no matter what their final official team position is - i.e. 1st,2nd.3rd,4th, etc) the 1st place individual will become ineligible and the other team member may return with a different team member if they so choose.

All career program areas requiring tests will be written by a non-affiliated representative or certification representative and if they are available will also
administer the test. Power to select representatives will be under the direction of the National PAS executive director. All announced results are final.

** Participants need to provide a NON-programmable calculator, (2)No. 2 pencils and erasers. Calculators will not be provided; it will be the responsibility of participant to be prepared for the event. Cellular phones, Palm Pilots or any other type of programmable devices will not be allowed during the Livestock Specialist event.

*Though not required, each team is highly encouraged to write a general unsealed thank you letter to the career program area sponsor of the Livestock
Specialist event area. Thank you letters should be submitted to the Livestock Specialist coordinators at the beginning of the competition. If possible, write thank you letters on local or state PAS stationary. Therefore, participants will be responsible for their own thank you stationery and their own writing utensils.

Livestock Specialist Specific Rules

1. Teams will consist of three (3) student members. All three scores will count for team awards. There will be four divisions:
  • Overall
  • Beef
  • Sheep
  • Swine
2. A member may participate in only one of the above divisions.

3. The career program area will consist of two activities for each division, as follows:
  • Individual Written Test
  • Team solving case study presentation
4. A student member is ineligible for participation if he or she has been a member of a first-place winning team or has placed first-place individual in that division. This would not eliminate the student member from participating in a different division in subsequent years.

5. In the event of a tie for individuals three (3) pre-selected questions from the written exam will be used and will continue in the same sequence until a winner emerges. For teams; the 1st criteria will be the highest team score will win and if still tied; 2nd criteria we will go to the same three pre-selected questions used to break individual ties as above.
6. Participants need to provide their own calculator, (2) No. 2 pencils and erasers.

Procedures

Written Test
  1. The written test will consist of 100 questions pertaining to each specific division (overall, beef, sheep, swine). In the overall division a minimum of 30 questions per species will be included.
  2. Participants will have a maximum of two hours to complete the test
  3. Each team member will take the test individually. Talking, using unauthorized electronic or programmable devices, or violating any additional rules set forth by the test proctor will disqualify the participant.
  4. Questions will include information on marketing, consumerism, buildings, health, equipment, nutrition, breeding, genetics, and other miscellaneous information as it deals with beef, sheep, and/or swine.
Case Study
Each team will work on the same problem for their selected division. The team will have 35 minutes to develop a written solution. The team will then be allowed 10 minutes to present and defend their solution to a panel of judges. The judges will then be allowed 5 minutes to ask the team questions. Poster board and markers will be provided for the presentation.

***In the event that more than one panel of judges is used for the team case study event, the top two placing teams from each panel will be subject to call-backs to solve a second team problem to determine first, second, and third team rankings.

*The total time for this career program area may last up to three hours per team including time for the test.

***Team scoring will be based on:
(3) Individual written test scores = 300 pts.
(1) Team (case study) score = 300 pts.
Team Total 600 pts.

***Individual scoring* for each division will be based on:
(1) Individual written test score = 100 pts.
(1) Case study score = 100 pts.
Individual Total = 200 pts.

*Individual case study points will be determined by dividing the team score on case study by three (for a three person team) as this section is only completed in the team event.