Spend a few minutes talking with Hannah Hepner about livestock, and it becomes easy to forget she's only a sophomore.

She can explain the differences between Pygmy and Boer goats, discuss the changing muscle structure of show animals, describe electromagnetic therapy used with racehorses and livestock, and tell you what a 400-pound goat looks like. She has traveled to more than 40 states because of livestock. She has begun developing her own breeding program. She has shadowed her mother while judging county fairs.

And she has done much of it without being able to see the animals the way most livestock judges do.

Hepner was born with achromatopsia, a genetic vision disorder that, in simple terms, leaves her legally blind. Her near and distance vision are limited, and she is both light-deficient and color-deficient. For someone interested in evaluating animals visually, that would seem to present a considerable obstacle.

Hepner acknowledges it. Then she gets to work.

"With livestock judging, I have to have an iPad or something where I can get up close and look at the animals to evaluate them properly," she explained. Judges in the show ring also need to be mindful of where they're positioned when giving her hand signals or directions.

There are accommodations. There are adaptations. And then there is Hannah.

"I've kind of taken it and run with it just because I like what I do," she said.

Livestock has surrounded Hepner for as long as she can remember. She was raised on a Pygmy goat operation, and her mother is a licensed judge with the National Pygmy Goat Association who helps train and certify other judges across the country. Her expertise has even taken her to Australia.

Hepner's family later added Boer goats, and about two years ago, sheep entered the picture.

"I've tried pretty much every breed of livestock that there is."

Judging seemed like a natural progression. Hepner started with competitions at local shows, then moved into national events and FFA livestock judging. This summer, she shadowed her mother while working three county fair shows.

There is a family rhythm to all of it. Her parents met at a goat show. Her father and grandmother have driven countless miles around the country supporting the family's involvement. One of her older brothers helped introduce Boer goats to their operation, and when he moved away, Hepner took over the animals he left behind and began developing her own breeding program.

"My mom is the main role model that I have, but my dad and my grandma, they are so encouraging," she said. "They're the reasons that I am where I am today, and I couldn't be more thankful for that."

Hepner doesn't appear particularly interested in doing things halfway. She tried wrestling when other sports proved difficult because she couldn't reliably see the ball. She enjoyed it, but eventually decided livestock mattered more. At Tri-Valley, her academic interests naturally lean toward agriculture and science, although she also enjoys reading and writing.

Her career plans are already beginning to take shape. Hepner has wanted to become a veterinarian since she was little. More recently, that broad ambition has become increasingly specific: equine and livestock care, nutrition, chiropractic work, and MagnaWave therapy, which uses electromagnetic fields to aid muscle recovery and healing. She can even envision turning that specialized work into a business someday.

College is still several years away, but Hepner is already considering the University of Illinois and Iowa State University, both connected naturally to a life she has been building since childhood.

"I have so many goals for myself," she said. "I have a plan for what I want to do in the future."

Perhaps that explains the impression Hepner makes. She speaks with unusual clarity for someone her age, but it doesn't feel rehearsed. There is simply a certainty about the things she loves and a willingness to keep learning about them.

Even the turquoise jewelry and Navajo pearls she wears have become part of her identity, reflecting the Western culture surrounding the livestock show world she loves.

"It's just kind of become part of who I am."

So has the traveling. So have the animals. So has the work. And, in its own way, so has achromatopsia.

It changes how Hepner sees the animals in front of her. It requires technology, accommodations, and sometimes a little extra communication. But it has not changed her desire to step into the ring.

Livestock judging is, after all, the art of looking carefully enough to recognize qualities someone else might overlook. Hannah Hepner already knows something about that.