Milam County 4-H place top honors at Houston Plant ID Contest

Milam County 4-H seniors “ran away” with all the top awards and honors at the latest Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Plant ID contest held March 4.

The top three individuals in the senior competition were all Milam County 4-H members including first place going to JW Hollas, second going to Jenna Lindig, and third going to Jason Ponnaiya. Ryan Luckey was also on the team that placed first place as a senior team, and he placed 16th individually.

The junior team also placed high with third place. Aaron Ponnaiya placed first place overall and received a belt buckle. His teammates were Noah Bradley - 14th high individual, Luke Holcombe - 15th high individual, and Calli Kunkel - 20th high individual. Also participating as a junior was Levi Goodson.

Their coach, Irby McWilliams, has been coaching for over 15 years for Milam County 4-H, and he knows his plants. The Plant ID teams practice every week on Sunday for a minimum of 1 ½ hours to prepare for the contests which is around 50 hours or more studying just at practice not individual studying per year.

We are so proud of these youth and their dedication to the 4-H plant ID project! 

For more information about Milam County 4-H, please call the Milam County Extension Office at (254) 697-7045 or email Micah Holcombe, FCH Agent, at mlholcombe@ag.tamu.edu.