5 Agricultural Science in 2012, raised and showed swine – including winning several open championships at the FWSSR – but didn’t judge meat as a youth. Teaching food science and technology classes and helping coach James Madison’s respected FFA meat judging teams got her interested in the competition. Langbein left San Antonio in 2018 for a teaching position in Burnet, a school much smaller than James Madison High. Coaching a meat judging team there would be a greater challenge. In 2023 she succeeded in stirring the curiosity of four Burnet High juniors - Carter Bostic, Enrique Montalvo, Jackson Drozd and Cayden Beatty – in competing. While flash cards and dozens of photos of meat cuts that Langbein captured and stored in Google Drive would be helpful tools, she knew that to keep the teenagers excited and hooked for the challenges ahead, they needed to be in front of the real thing. Her solution came with the help of a family friend. Kip Thompson is the proprietor of Harvest House, a full-service plant that processes livestock from harvest to packaged products in nearby Johnson City. Langbein’s friendship with Thompson opened Harvest House’s door to accommodate practice sessions for the Burnet FFA team. With practices at Harvest House and spare time spent with Langbein’s other training tools, things were beginning to fall into place to make a serious run at the state FFA Meat Judging Contest in April. “Harvest House was extremely generous in opening their doors to us for practice and Kip is an amazing industry professional who cares deeply about the kids,” said Langbein. “He and his staff walked my students through the safety and technology aspects of each step, giving them the confidence needed to go into the state and national contests.” As the Texas state FFA contest approached, the team’s confidence and abilities steadily grew as their practice and study habits mirrored that of their collegiate counterparts. Langbein admits that preparation is crucial, but knows for success, it’s also got to be “their day” when a group of teenagers must be hyper-focused and “dialed in” when they step into a cooler for a major competition. April 29 proved to be “their day” and the team captured the state championship title and punched their ticket to the national contest in November at Purdue University where they remained “dialed in” winning the national title as well. Their individual accomplishments were equally impressive. Drozd was high scoring individual at the state competition, then Bostic and Drozd finished as National and Reserve National champions respectively with Montalvo placing fourth and Beatty sixth in the national competition. Their Cinderella year was extended when they captured high point team honors at the 2024 FWSSR contest on January 28. All four are attending college, recruited to compete on intercollegiate teams at Texas A&M and West Texas A&M University. “I can’t say enough about those boys and their dedication,” said Langbein. “We came out of nowhere and raised a lot of eyebrows.” FUTURE FOOD INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS It’s easy to see that the young men of the Burnet FFA national championship team may easily follow in the footsteps of Travis Tilton and thousands of other meat judging enthusiasts. After fulfilling his one year of eligibility on TTU’s meat judging team Tilton finished out his undergraduate time competing on their livestock judging team. Upon graduation he enrolled at West Texas A&M and earned a master’s degree in animal science. Of course, he coached WTAMU’s meat judging team while completing his degree. Shortly after graduation Cargill Protein offered him a position in Kansas where he is now a cattle procurement executive for the company’s fed beef plant in Dodge City, Kan. Tilton credits much of his professional success to the hours spent studying, practicing and coaching. “My early experience at the Fort Worth Stock Show set the stage for my passion in the beef industry,” said Tilton. “It inspired me to look for a career where I could work alongside producers to produce the highest quality beef in the world. I whole heartedly credit the meat judging program for my exposure to my greatest mentors, allowing me to travel the globe, and build an amazing network of friends and colleagues.” 5 Kari Beth Langbein, center, ag science instructor at Burnet (Texas) High School coached the school’s FFA team to state and national championship wins. Photo courtesy Kari Beth Langbein A former national champion and FWSSR meat judging competitor, Travis Tilton is now a cattle procurement specialist for Cargill Inc., in Dodge City, Kan. Photo courtsey Travis Tilton
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxNTQ=