Teams from Steele and Dunn counties took first place in their respective divisions in the 2023 North Dakota 4-H consumer decision making contest.

The Steele County team of Emma Gullicks, Grayson Mitchell and Mackenzie Motter placed first in the senior division. The team will represent North Dakota 4-H in the national consumer decision making contest in 2024.

Dunn County’s junior team of Clover Norby, Landry Dvorak and Layna Dvorak took first place in the junior division.

These teams were among 88 youth who participated in the contest, which was held during the North Dakota State Fair in Minot. Fifty-three competed in the junior division and 35 competed in the senior division.

The contest is designed to educate youth about making better consumer decisions. This year, the youth judged classes of hats, protein bars and sunglasses, and gave oral reasons for why they placed the items in a certain order in some of the classes.

In addition to judging the classes, both junior and senior teams participated in a group think component. Each team was given the same scenario, and each team’s members had 10 minutes to work collaboratively to evaluate the situation and make a final decision based on given standards. Teams were scored on how well they worked together and presented their solution.

“Decision making, communication and teamwork are important life skills that youth gain from participating in the consumer decision making contest,” says Meagan Hoffman, youth development specialist in North Dakota State University Extension’s Center for 4-H Youth Development.

Ten teams competed in the senior division, and 14 teams competed in the junior division.

Other teams placing in the senior division were:

• Second – Grand Forks/LaMoure counties with team members Rachel Draxton, Addie Robbins and Alex Lahlum.
• Third – Stark-Billings/Barnes counties with team members Allison Bryn, Paula Meyer, Kaidence Harstad and Christina Dohrmann.

Other teams placing in the junior division were:

• Second – Cass County with team members Grace Burchill, Carter Burchill, Daphne Kram and Heidi Olsen.
• Third – Stark-Billings County with team members Nora Winhold, Layne Melchior, Sawyer Wolf and Carley Bullinger.

Nora Severance from the Cass County team was the top scoring senior individual, and Gracyn Darrington from McKenzie County was the top scoring junior individual.

The North Dakota 4-H Foundation sponsors this contest.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Aug. 4, 2023

Source: Meagan Hoffman, 701-231-7964, meagan.scott@ndsu.edu

Editor: Elizabeth Cronin, 701-231-5391, elizabeth.cronin@ndsu.edu