Starting on January 14, the Scurry County Junior Livestock Association will be holding its 2020 livestock show at the Coliseum.
Students from all over Scurry County affiliated with Snyder ISD, Hermleigh ISD, Ira ISD or Scurry County 4-H will be able to show the animals they have been raising, including steers, goats, lambs, pigs and broilers.
There will also be an agriculture mechanics portion of the show, which entails students building either an individual or group project in their shops. Students entering this portion of the show must keep a portfolio of progress and track their spending for the project.
The last event is commercial cattle, in which a student raises a pen of cattle and tracks feeding and spending habits, the cattle’s market value, and more. They must then go through an interview process about their cattle project and are ranked based on their knowledge in the interview.
Scurry County Junior Livestock Association secretary and treasurer Tosha Callaway said that there would also be a premium sale in addition to the livestock show.
“When you go to bigger shows, if you make the sale, most of these major stock shows we’re all about to start heading to, you don’t bring your animal home. It goes into the market, which is what we’re raising them for,” Callaway said. “So our sale is different because a lot of the animals that the kids are going to show are the animals they’re going to take down the road in the spring. So we use it as, like, they’re ‘selling’ their animals but really they get to keep their animal and the money.”
Callaway said that all the money raised from the sales goes directly to the students.
“When we have all the money in, I mail them a check for whatever they earned on the auction floor, plus any additional add-on money that maybe a contributor wanted to give to a student,” she said. “Last year we raised over $175,000 for our kids.”
Although the Scurry County Junior Livestock Association only holds one show per year, there are shows all over the state that many students will bring animals to in the spring, so Callaway says this show acts as a sort of preliminary for those who plan to take their animals to bigger shows.
“It’s a great way for, especially younger exhibitors, to get some experience,” Callaway said. “Our county has been so supportive of the kids. We’re excited to get it going.”
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