By JESSIE STENSLAND

Staff reporter

Peter Skurdal has the unique ability to judge livestock. He can look at a steer, a sheep or a pig and tell how much meat is on its bones and whether the animal is overweight or underweight.

The 15-year-old boy so good at it, in fact, that he’ll be judging animals in a national competition in Denver next year.

Peter and his younger sister, Anna, are among the 325 or so kids who belong to 4-H on Whidbey Island. Their success and interest in the program shows that 4-H still can be vital in a place and an era where traditional family farming is becoming a thing of the past.

The teenagers raise Southdown sheep and buff Orpington chickens on a few acres at their family’s home in the Rolling Hills area. They are members of Colonial Critters, a unique 4-H club dedicated to raising and preserving breeds of animals that were brought to America during the colonial period.

Their sheep are remarkably friendly and personable, though Peter’s ram was recently acting foolish from the rut. He kept escaping and headbutting the fence to get to a ewe. But they’re usually much better behaved. “If your raise them from a lamb, they walk right up to you and ask to be petted. I have a ram that runs to me,” Peter said. “It’s fun to watch them grow.”

Both Peter and Anna brought sheep to the Island County Fair this year and won a series of ribbons. Peter earned blue ribbons for fitting and showing, public presentation, livestock judging, as well as for the quality of his ram.

At the state fair in Puyallup, Peter qualified to compete at the national livestock judging contest in Denver next year. His ram also won reserve, which means Peter could bring the animal to a national competition. While he’s not sure if he’s going to bring the sheep to the competition — because of the transportation involved — Peter plans to try his luck in Colorado.

Peter explained that judging “meat” animals and “breeders” is actually quite complicated. He knows the different features to look for on each type of animal. On a pig, for example, he knows to look for foot problems, the length of the body, thickness of the ham. He can tell how fat a pig is by the dimple at the base of the tail and the amount of jiggle in its throat.

The purpose of all this skill, he said, is to “be able to tell if the animal you’re buying will produce a lot of meat.”

Judy Feldman, who coordinates the 4-H program through the Washington State University / Island County extension office, said Peter’s accomplishments were especially impressive given that “more traditional rural projects aren’t quite as strong” in the Whidbey 4-H.

Feldman said 4-H — which stands for Head, Hearts, Hands and Health — began more than a century ago as a way for universities to introduce new science to the community. “Farmers were hesitant to use new information,” she said. “If they could get kids to use it as home, then farmers would be more willing to accept the science.”

Spreading knowledge is still a goal of 4-H, Feldman said, but the mission has expanded to helping to “grow kids into responsible, participating adults.”

Instead of emphasizing large-scale farming and large animals, Whidbey Island 4-H offers a variety of clubs and activities that are accessible to a diversity of kids. After all, few Whidbey kids live on active farms. Many live in families that can’t afford horses, cattle or even more modest animals.

There are about 30 different interest clubs in 4-H and over 100 adult volunteers. There are clubs dedicated to guinea pigs, dogs, horses, rabbits and cats. Some of the clubs have multiple interests, such as Rocket Roll Rabbits, which inexplicably combines rabbits and rocketry. Colonial Critters focuses on different aspects of colonial times, from heritage animals to gardening and even heirloom cooking.

Feldman said the club’s emphasis on animals still makes sense, even in a world of video games and fast food. Animals catch children’s attention. Teaching kids to care for animals is all about responsibility and commitment.

And there’s more to the program than just feeding and petting the animals. The kids keep records of how their animals grow, how much feed the creatures eat and how much money they invested into the livestock. They learn to show and, in some cases, train their animals. They learn to give public presentations and do research. They do community service work.

Like most 4-H kids, Peter and Anna don’t plan on becoming farmers when they grow up. They love the program and raising animals, but they’ve developed other ambitions.

“It’s a lot of work,” Anna said, “but it’s fun.”

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.