From backyard chickens to national titles

Brett Meisinger is doing something almost unheard of – not just in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, but likely nationwide. He coaches one of the university’s most decorated judging teams, the Department of Poultry Science’s Collegiate Poultry Judging Team, despite never having judged poultry himself as a student.

“I judged everything else,” Meisinger said. “Coaching is not about having done it first. It is about knowing how to teach it.”

This philosophy has served him and his students exceptionally well. In just a few short years, Meisinger has led the Aggie team to three consecutive national titles. He stepped into the head coaching role while still finishing his master’s degree in the department and now serves as an instructional assistant professor, all while his students won contests on the national stage.

Beginning with backyard chickens

Meisinger’s connection to poultry began in a place not often associated with agriculture: a backyard in inner-city Houston.

As a child, he was captivated by the small-scale chick-hatching exhibit at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. One day, he brought a few chicks home and, before long, poultry had become a fixture of his daily life.

“I was the kid with chickens instead of a dog,” he said. “My brother was allergic to most pets, so poultry became my thing.”

At 14, his family relocated to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where Meisinger joined 4-H and FFA. There, he began showing both market and exhibition birds and started to seriously consider a future in agriculture. He later earned his degree in animal science from Colorado State University, competing on both meat and livestock judging teams.

Poultry, however, never left the picture. During a pivotal internship with Pilgrim’s, a JBS Foods brand, Meisinger was struck by the sheer scale of poultry production, which brought his interests into focus. One hatchery he worked in distributed more than a million birds a week.

“I had always loved poultry, but that internship made it real,” he said. “Seeing every piece of the vertically integrated system made me want to come back and teach others about it.”

Balancing graduate studies and coaching duties

After his internship, Meisinger faced a decision: return to the commercial poultry industry or pivot toward academia. He had gained deep experience rotating through hatcheries, broiler farms and processing facilities, gaining a clear view of commercial poultry production. However, something kept pulling him back to the classroom.

“I would have been totally fine going back into the industry,” he said. “But I knew I was meant to do something else. I wanted to be closer to family, and I missed being in a learning environment.”

He began searching for graduate programs supporting his interests in hatchery sanitation and waste management. That search brought him to Texas A&M University, where he connected with Craig Coufal, Ph.D., a professor in the department and coach of the poultry judging team at that time.

Having judged livestock and meats at Colorado State, Meisinger knew he wanted to stay involved in judging. The opportunity to learn from Coufal while pursuing his academic goals sealed the deal to come to Aggieland.

He arrived in College Station in early 2021, expecting to pursue his master’s degree and assist with the team. What he did not expect was to take over the poultry judging program a year later.

When Coufal left Texas A&M in 2022, the department asked Meisinger to step in as head coach. Suddenly, he found himself balancing a full graduate course load, writing a thesis and leading a nationally recognized judging team.

“There is an assumption that you need to have done it to coach it,” he said. “But judging is about detail and discipline. I had learned those through other contests. I just had to apply them differently.”

His first team, made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, had modest expectations. However, the outcome was anything but. They earned a national title.

“I was not trying to be someone I was not,” Meisinger said. “I just focused on what I could teach them, and they showed up ready to work.”

Teaching with perspective

Now a full-time faculty member in the department, Meisinger teaches a wide range of courses, including poultry judging, poultry meat production, hatchery management and animal waste management.

In each class, he blends technical knowledge with hands-on experience, so his students do more than sit through lectures. They raise broilers, turkeys and even ducks as part of their lab work.

“We raise ducks in the spring, turkeys in the fall,” Meisinger said. “The students get a lot out of it.”

That practical approach is rooted in his own background. His time working with the National Poultry Improvement Plan and completing his industry internship gave him a strong understanding of how classroom material connects to real-world production.

“I can tell them what the book says,” he said. “But I can also tell them what actually happens out there. That matters.”

His students seem to agree. Many of them stop by his office outside of class to ask questions, work through judging scenarios or simply check in. Meisinger welcomes the conversations, even if he sometimes must gently nudge them out so he can get back to grading.

A coaching style built on relationships

Meisinger describes his style as laid-back but intentional. He is not one to raise his voice or micromanage, but his students know exactly what he expects.

“If they mess up, they know. There is a look. They get the look,” he said with a laugh.

He believes in building trust and meeting students where they are – offering honest feedback while always listening.

“I tell them I am human,” he said. “If something seems off, we talk about it. That honesty builds confidence and accountability.”

His investment in students extends beyond the judging program. Meisinger was recently promoted to instructional assistant professor and said he plans to stay at Texas A&M for the long term. He credits the department’s collaborative environment and strong sense of community as a major part of that decision.

“The first time I came to campus, I was invited to a wing banding event,” he said. “Professors, graduate students and undergraduates were all pitching in. That sense of community is real here.”

Legacy beyond the win

While the judging team’s record speaks for itself, Meisinger’s goals go beyond winning. Yes, he wants to build champions, but more than that, he wants to shape people.

“There are plenty of people in this world who win but are not great people,” he said. “I want to be remembered for how I treated my students, how I helped them grow.”

As a result, many of those students stay in touch long after their final contest, or the ability to walk into his office for a quick chat. Meisinger still hears from members of his very first team, the one filled with first- and second-year students who exceeded every expectation.

“Those relationships matter,” he said. “That is what lasts.”

What started with a few backyard chickens led Meisinger to a meaningful career – one anchored by passion, discipline and people. Although the setting may be different now, his passion for poultry has not changed.

“You do not have to be the most experienced,” he said. “But you do need passion and attention to detail. If you have that, we will figure out the rest.”