2026 Livestock Judges

Steven Swaner Jr., known as "Pasquale," is a highly respected judge of Brahman cattle with a lifetime of experience in the breed. The son of Steamer and the late Marsha Swaner, Pasquale has spent his entire life dedicated to the Brahman breed and its global advancement.

Hailing from Waco, TX, the Swaner family's Red Brahman herd, recognized by the elite SRS prefix, is considered among the finest worldwide. They have produced influential sires such as +SRS Red Stroke 522, +SRS Mr. Captain Red Legs 834, +SRS Mr. Troubador 933, and +SRS Mr. Pasco 812.Swaner holds bachelors and masters degrees in animal science, blending his formal education with real-world expertise gained from a lifetime of involvement in the Brahman industry. His professional work with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service focuses on advancing agriculture programs that benefit youth and adult producers alike.

His judging career began at just 20 years old in Needville, TX. Swaner went on to become one of the youngest ever to judge the National Brahman Show at the age of 31, an honor that cemented his reputation as a respected figure among his peers. His judging experience spans worldwide, including shows in Mexico, Thailand, and Central and South America.

In 2024, Swaner judged the National Brahman Show for the third time. That event was especially meaningful for him, as it was his first time judging since the introduction of the Marsha Swaner Perpetual Trophy, awarded to the Grand Champion Red Brahman Female. This moment holds added significance as it honors his mother’s legacy.

Swaner continues to serve the Brahman community as a past officer and current director of the American Brahman Breeders Association.

Tammy Voegeli hails from Arlington, Wisconsin, and is the owner of VoGrin Boarding. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she was a member of the National Champion Dairy Judging Team and earned All-American honors.

After graduation, Voegeli returned to her family’s farm, where her experience caring for show heifers of all breeds and preparing groups for sales inspired the creation of VoGrin Boarding. In addition to running the boarding business, she is actively involved in the daily operations of VoGrin Swiss, her family’s dairy farm.

Over the years, VoGrin has garnered numerous All-American titles and nominations for both their homebred animals and those exhibited by their boarding clients.

Voegeli has judged a wide range of county, state, and regional shows across more than a dozen states. Her recent assignments include the North Carolina Junior State Fair, the Kentucky State Fair Open Brown Swiss Show, the Iowa State Fair Open Brown Swiss and Junior Holstein Shows, and the Delco Classic. Additional judging highlights include the Southeastern National Brown Swiss Show, Maryland Swiss State Show, Tennessee State Fair, Kansas State Fair, Northeast Spring Show Brown Swiss and Milking Shorthorn Shows, Indiana State Junior Holstein Show, and the National Cattle Congress and Youth Dairy Classic.

Tammy and her partner, Allyn Paulson, have a son, Dakota, 11, who is already developing a strong passion for showing cattle and traveling with his parents.

Dr. Katie Wolfe began raising dairy goats in 2000 when her family moved to White Rock Farm in Kearneysville, West Virginia. What started with a single Oberhasli doe soon grew to include LaManchas, Nigerians, and Saanens.

Her involvement with dairy goats led her into 4-H and FFA, where she competed in multiple national-level judging contests—experiences she continued through her college years. She earned her American Dairy Goat Association judging license at the 2013 ADGA Convention.

Dr. Wolfe completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biosystems engineering at the University of Kentucky, and in 2021 graduated from Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is now a large-animal veterinary practice owner, with more than 90 percent of her caseload focused on small ruminants.

Dr. Wolfe and her husband, Joey, have two young daughters, Isabelle and Samantha. They maintain a small herd of dairy goats—primarily Oberhasli—and she also helps manage the family’s cow–calf operation.

While serving as the Principal/ Teacher in a one-room school in Northern California, Laney was first introduced to dairy goats and lived with his family on a 6000-acre cattle ranch. His association with goats started with “Tiger Lilly” to provide milk for his son, Joshua, who was lactose intolerant. That was the start of a lifetime of love and appreciation for the amazing dairy goat!

Over the years, Laney has raised Nubians, Alpines, LaManchas, Recorded Grades and helped to raise Saanens and Oberhaslis. He has been involved with the American Dairy Goat Association for almost 50 years, serving as an ADGA Director for California, President of ADGA, Office Manager of ADGA, and chair and member of many different ADGA committees.

Laney has been a licensed ADGA Judge for 49 years and participated in all the ADGA programs offered. His herd known as Slinker Ridge, has garnered many national championships with Nubians and LaManchas, from does.As a parent and a teacher, the youth have always been a focus of his career.

Laney also volunteers in Nepal, working tirelessly with the Worldwide Goat Project Nepal that support the village goat farmers and youth by providing knowledge, materials, and live goats to farmers and youth.

Joe W. Mask, Ph.D., of Franklin, TX, joined the faculty as assistant professor of Animal Science in the Department of Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University in August 2024.

Dr. Mask has judged cattle for the past 28 years at local, county, state, national and international shows. He also serves as superintendent at numerous livestock shows working with beef cattle and livestock judging contest. His greatest joy is watching his daughter, Jennifer, show and advocate for the beef cattle industry and agriculture. Dr. Mask and his wife, Julie, and daughter, Jennifer, raise Brahman, Beefmaster, Simbrah and Simmental cattle.

Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Mask served five years as the executive vice president at the American Brahman Breeders Association and the Beefmaster Breeders United. During that time, he represented progressive and committed Brahman and Beefmaster breeders on a worldwide level, managed a professional team, represented the associations at worldwide beef events, and guided the organizations as demand for Brahman and Beefmaster cattle genetics continued to rise. It was his goal to make Brahman and Beefmaster a common name when talking about the Beef industry.

Previously, Dr. Mask served as an assistant professor of the Practice in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication Department at Texas A&M University with teaching responsibilities in Agricultural Leadership. He also served as assistant professor/extension specialist for Youth Veterinary Science with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases. Here, Dr. Mask was instrumental in implementing the Veterinary Science Certificate Program in all 50 states and four countries. Before this, he served as an agriculture science teacher or county extension agent for 16 years.

Dr. Mask received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science from Texas A&M University, Master of Science in Agriculture Education from Tarleton State University and Doctorate in Extension Education from Texas A&M University.

Craig Benoit, hailing from Cabery, IL, grew up raising and showing cattle. He attended Joliet Junior College and the University of Illinois where he competed on livestock judging teams.

Benoit is the manager at Hummel Livestock where he oversees raising show goats for 4-H and FFA families across the country as well as the Angus cattle operation.

He enjoys interacting with exhibitors while judging shows and assisting show families with their projects.

Michael J. Schmidt judging the South Florida Fair’s 2026 Youth and Open Class Poultry Shows, showmanship and the pullet show on January 16 and 19. A licensed Exhibition Poultry Judge through the American Poultry Association, Schmidt is superintendent for the Florida State Fair Poultry Show. He has shown and judged exhibition poultry across the United States and Canada.

He and his wife of 51 years have five children, 20 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He has been a minister with the church of Christ on Savona Boulevard in Port St Lucie for 30 years. He hosts a live call-in radio show on WPSL 1590 AM on Sunday mornings. In his spare time, Schmidt enjoys backyard beekeeping.

Derek Henningsen received his Associates Degree from Illinois Central College and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science from Iowa State. He was part of the livestock judging teams at both colleges, and while at Iowa State, he finished top 5 overall at the national contest in Louisville, KY. Henningsen earned his Master’s Degree in animal science from Iowa State in 2023.

Henningsen works for JBS Live Pork as a Multiplication Grow-Finish Production Manager and oversees the gilt development program. He and his wife, McKenna, have a son, Briggs.

Please welcome Derek Henningsen as our youth hog showmanship and market hog judge at the 2026 South Florida Fair.

Judging the 2026 rabbit show at the South Florida Fair is Dr. Vanessa Rolfe. She grew up with a love of all things in nature from her botanical artisan parents, and graduated from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991.

She owned an exotic pet practice first in Blacksburg and then Salem, VA, until 2004 when moved to Florida and took over The Bird Hospital from retiring, Dr. Greg Harrison, expanding it to become The Bird & Exotic Hospital.

In April 2022, Dr. Rolfe went into semi-retirement after turning over ownership of the practice to another veterinarian and has been able to spend more time with her family: husband Bob and parrots Tesla and Jake. She has provided veterinary care to rabbits since becoming a veterinarian and has owned several throughout the years.”

Allyn Paulson hails from Rockford, Illinois, where he has operated his cattle hauling and cattle fitting business for more than 25 years.

Throughout his career, Paulson has judged numerous county and state fairs and has officiated at shows in more than 20 states. His judging résumé includes serving as the National Associate Brown Swiss Judge at the Eastern National Show, as well as the Lead Judge for the Shorthorn Show at World Dairy Expo in 2015 and the Ayrshire Show in 2017.

In 2018, he was selected as the official judge for the Open Holstein and Red & White Shows at the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) in Louisville, Kentucky. Most recently, in 2025, he served as the Lead Brown Swiss Judge at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

Paulson has two sons, Suton and Dakota, with whom he proudly shares his passion for showing, fitting, and hauling cattle.

Jary Douglas of Grove, OK, brings decades of experience, leadership, and dedication to youth livestock programs.

He is widely respected for his more than 40 years of coaching, mentoring, and educating youth in livestock judging. His career has been defined by a passion for developing young people through agriculture, helping countless students grow their skills in animal evaluation, decision-making, and communication while competing across the country at both Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and The University of Georgia.

Throughout his career, Douglas has coached and supported nationally competitive judging teams, traveling coast to coast and leaving a lasting impact on students involved in livestock, agriculture, and education. His influence reaches far beyond the showring, shaping generations of youth who have gone on to lead in agriculture and related industries.

Douglas and his wife, Marsha, operate a third-generation commercial cow calf operation.

This is the first time at the South Florida Fair that a father son duo is judging our youth and open class beef cattle shows. His son, Levi, is judging the youth shows this week.