A group of parents and supporters have created their own traditional livestock show for young people who missed out on a chance to exhibit livestock at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, which has been canceled this year due to the pandemic.
The Bartholomew County Youth Livestock Expo will be held Saturday through July 16 at the fairgrounds’ Livestock Barn, north of the 4-H Pavilion where most competitions have been held in the past.
“It’s a ‘show and go,’ event spokesman Robert Jackson said. “You show up, unload your animals, and sign them in. You show that day, and go home (with your animals) that night.”
The only cost is a $10 fee to rent a pen, and that money is returned if the pen is cleaned out after showing, organizers said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
After the 4-H board announced May 18 there would be no traditional fair this year, a group of about 20 parents and 4-H supporters got together and decided to form a limited liability company (LLC), Jackson said. Today, that same group has more than 45 supporters, he said.
There will be a virtual 4-H competition for livestock and other farm animals, after the fair’s board of directors decided May 18 to stage it in a digital format. That’s because mandatory requirements such as social distancing, the wearing of protective equipment and temperature checks were nearly impossible to carry out, fair board president Mark Case said.
The most difficult requirement would have been comprehensive tracking of every person on the grounds, Case said. All requirements came from Purdue University, which sponsors county extension services that organize 4-H programs in Indiana.
And because the Purdue guidelines cannot realistically be followed, the Livestock Expo will have no affiliation with 4-H, the fair board nor the local Extension office, Jackson said.
Children as young as first grade can compete in the Livestock Expo, and qualified out-of-town judges have been hired to ensure there is no favoritism, he said.
A waiver of liability must be signed by everyone who attends. Jackson and event co-organizer Lis Decker say such a waiver is required from every group — even wedding parties — who rent facilities at the fairgrounds.
The expo will follow all health and safety guidelines recommended by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, including social distancing and masks, organizers said.
A number of exhibitors have already competed this year at non-fair livestock shows in other states, and have already learned how to compete while minimizing their exposure to the coronavirus, Decker said. In addition, the livestock barn has no walls, meaning it is essentially open-air to the exhibitors and their animals.
“I think the chances of catching (COVID-19) in the livestock barn are minimal,” Decker said.
Since Indiana has a 250-person limit for social gatherings, Jackson doesn’t feel the expo will exceed the limit because he anticipates many of the 687 kids active in local 4-H clubs won’t be there. Only about 236 people are following the Livestock Expo on social media, and only one type of animal will be exhibited each day.
“If we get 80% of the exhibitors we have during a normal fair, we’d be happy,” Jackson said. “But I don’t know if we are going to get that many kids. A lot of people don’t buy pigs until March, and that was when the COVID-19 crisis hit. So a lot of exhibitors probably didn’t buy pigs this year.”
When some 4-H embers heard there would be no traditional fair, they stopped prepping the animals for the fair, Decker said. There are a number of those animals that have already been taken to market, organizers said.
Although it is to be a virtual competition, organizers also said a number of exhibitors may want to stick with the 4-H-sanctioned event. The virtual 4-H Fair will consist of judges looking at a approximately 90 second presentation of photographs and videos of the animal and exhibitor.
Fair results will be announced during the last week of July, and a presentation called the “2020 Bartholomew County 4-H Virtual Celebration” will be available for online viewing from July 27 through July 31. In addition, fair board members and 4-H leaders are still working to stage some type of a virtual livestock auction.
While the Youth Livestock Expo has invited all students with an animal exhibit, that was only done because the Expo is not a 4-H sanctioned event, Jackson said.
“We really did this for the 4-H kids, because exhibiting is important,” Jackson said. “These students work (extremely hard) all year. It teaches kids to take care of animals, as well as the value of the dollar.
The experience of interacting face-to-face with the judge, as well as physically showing your animal in person, is important, Decker said.
“A lot of kids hang out at those shows, get to see one another and build relationships,” Decker said. “That’s just as important as caring for the animal.”
With the help of 32 sponsors, organizers has collected well over $7,000 — well above their goal, Jackson said. The money will be used in part by the organization to purchase showman banners as well a banners for all top breed classes, Jackson said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Livestock expo schedule” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is the schedule for the Bartholomew County Youth Livestock Expo:
- Saturday: Poultry. Sign-in from 8 to 9 a.m., with a 9:30 a.m. showtime.
- Sunday: Rabbit show. Sign-in from 11 a.m. to noon. Show begins at 1 p.m.
- Monday: Goat show. Sign-in from 8 to 9 a.m. Show begins at 11 a.m.
- Tuesday: Swine, Barrows and Gilts show. Sign-in from 8 to 9 a.m. Show begins at 11 a.m.
- Wednesday: Sheep show. Sign-in from 8 to 9 a.m. Show begins at 10:30 a.m.
- Thursday, July 16: Cattle show. Sign-in from 8 to 9 a.m. Dairy show begins at 10:30 a.m, with beef show starting at 1 p.m.
- Information and entry forms: Both available on the Facebook page of the Bartholomew County Youth Livestock Expo.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
