What’s A County Fair With The Livestock Show?

By IAIN MCMURRAY

The Progress

One of the liveliest places at the Clark County Fair this year will be the nonstop action happening daily in the Glen Hardy Livestock Barn. The Clark County Junior Livestock Association (CCJLA) 2023 Livestock Show starts early on Wednesday morning and will continue every day until the conclusion of the livestock auction on Saturday night.

On Wednesday kids will be featured more than animals. A variety of competitions will be held that allow the kids to show off their skills.

The day will start with the animals weighing in and getting settled in their new quarters beginning at 8 am.

The livestock judging competition comes next. This is where competitors are shown different classes of animals and tasked with ranking them based on market viability. Then, the youngsters have to present to a judge their oral reasons for why they placed the class that way.

Shortly after that, the youth will begin a crowd favorite: the sheep shearing competition. In this competition, youth teams have one hour to wash and shear a wild sheep they’ve never seen, while being judged and quizzed on their sheep knowledge.

Finally, there is the livestock knowledge test, where competitors take a general livestock knowledge quiz and are placed according to their score. Competitions on Wednesday are planned to go well into the evening.

Thursday is when the animals take their turn to show off in the market portion of the show. Here, the judge is tasked with ranking animals that are most market-ready.

The schedule this year is tightened up a bit so there are new starting times to be aware of. The swine show will start off the day at 10:30 am, a half hour later than usual. This is to allow people to get in the gates and over to the barn in time. Next, the lambs have moved up a half hour to 1:30 pm, followed by goats at 2:00, and steers at 2:30. A grand champion drive for each species will take place at 4:00 pm.

On Friday a similar schedule will be in place. This time, the competitors will instead be judged on their showmanship, or their ability to demonstrate handling of the animal.

Once again swine will start at 10:30 am, followed by lambs at 1:30 pm, goats at 2:00, and steers at 2:30.

To determine the best showman across the show, the round robin contest will be held at 4:00. In this event, the top competitors in each species will be tasked with showing an animal from each species as the judge determines who is the greatest showman.

Of course, the pinnacle of the show is the auction on Saturday beginning at noon. The grand champions of each species will start the day and then be followed by the steers, the lambs, the goats, and the hogs.

Buying an animal at the fair not only guarantees the buyer some of the best meat out there, it is also tax deductible and a great way to support local youth. Animals are bid by the pound on the hoof. The final purchase cost includes cutting, wrapping, and delivery.
A free dinner for all buyers will follow the auction.
“We are so excited for this year’s show and are ready to welcome the public,” said CCJLA treasurer Leslie Logue.

“In this economy, buying at the livestock auction just makes sense,” Logue added. “You get a great product, a tax deduction, and support some wonderful youth. We really encourage buyers to register early online to make everything that much easier.”

Those interested in bidding at the auction or buying an animal, online registration is now open. Buyers can get more information by emailing ccjlabuyer@gmail.com, or visiting to ccjla.com and clicking on the tab marked “Buyers,” and then “online buyers registration.”

See you at the fair!