Whenever I talk about our cotton boll and consumer judging team, it’s hard to explain what it is, and the name is not particularly helpful. I like to think of it as our “smart shopper” team, teaching youth how to get the best product for the best price. Anyone can be a part, because everyone is a consumer. Cotton boll and consumer judging is a competitive judging contest where youth learn to evaluate consumer goods like toothpaste, sunglasses, cruise vacations, checking accounts, sleeping bags, bathrobes, yogurt, trail mix, sunscreen, and other items that we all purchase or use every day.
4-H’ers gain skills in making rational decisions when purchasing goods and services while maximizing resources. The contest is made up of two competition areas: judging classes and advertisements / commercials. 4-H’ers are required to judge four classes of consumer items or services. This year’s classes are sunglasses, ties, fast food meals, and gift cards. Each class contains four similar items and has an accompanying situation statement. This statement describes a consumer and gives the needs to be considered when he/she makes a decision to purchase the item. Factors influencing these needs may include the person’s age, gender, available money, lifestyles, school or job status, preferences or other requirements that depend on the item given and the individual in the situation. The Cotton Boll part comes in where 4-H’ers learn about cotton as an agriculture commodity in our state as well as promote cotton through 30-90 second commercials or advertisements, telling about the uses and advantages of cotton as a fiber. You can see several of the cotton advertisements created by 4-H youth here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKt67IPBexJJ59_fNigKWANr7G6BSs_V1.
Come join the Gordon County Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging Team, open to all current 4th-12th graders! Practice starts September 24th from 5:00-7:30 and area competition is November 7. The team is coached by our program assistant Becky Pass.
