News Release
For Immediate Release — February 15, 2011
Tennessee Schedules 40th Anniversary Junior Livestock Expo
2010 Grand Champion Market Steer exhibited by Hanna Forbes of Wilson County with representative from Tennessee Tech, buyer.
2010 Market Lamb show exhibitors present their lambs for judging.
Calling all participants and alumni
Future producers and program alumni are asked to mark their calendars now for the upcoming 40th Anniversary Junior Livestock Expo hosted by University of Tennessee Extension. The beef events are scheduled for July 5-8, 2011, in Murfreesboro and the Sheep Expo is set for July 11-14, in Cookeville.
In the course of the last 40 years the program has documented participation from more than 30,000 Tennessee boys and girls, and according to organizers the Expo involves whole families – parents, grandparents and extended family – in activities that contribute favorably to youth development. Event chair Dr. Jim Neel, a UT Extension professor of animal science and beef specialist who has worked with the program for 39 years, says, “The Expo helps participants develop a sense of responsibility for their animal, a work ethic in regards to caring for that animal, and a sense of accomplishment when they achieve their goals of proper animal husbandry and best management practices.”
“An investment in youth is an investment in the future,” Neel contends. He adds that the slogan for the Expo says it all: “Tennessee youth: building character, gaining confidence and having fun for 40 years.”
Beef is a perennial agricultural industry powerhouse in the state, with the most recent data indicating that farms in every county raised a combined total of more than $423 million in cattle. While not as widespread a commodity, some 32,000 sheep are raised on farms across the state, bringing in annual farm receipts of nearly $2 million.
Youth from more than 65 of Tennessee’s 95 counties participated in last year’s Expo, and Neel and other organizers hope the 40th Annual Junior Livestock Exposition will be even bigger this year. Divisions for participation include: Explorers, fourth grade; Junior Level 1, fifth and sixth graders, Junior Level II, seventh and eighth graders; Senior Level I, ninth and 10th graders; Senior Level II, 11th and 12th graders. The young people will compete in Showmanship, Skillathon (a knowledge-based competition) and Premier Exhibition. More information about competing in this year’s Expo is available from your local county UT Extension office or on the UT Animal Science webpage: http://animalscience.ag.utk.edu/Beef/4-HLivestockEntryProcedure-EXPO.html. Interested participants are urged to review the details early.
Neel and others hope Expo Alumni will turn out for the 40th Anniversary event. “This year many of our participants will be the second or third-generation to exhibit. One or both of their parents, and in some cases a grandparent, participated in some of the early Expos,” Neel recounts. “We may even have a fourth generation participant,” he said. “We’re planning some special events for current and alumni participants,” he said.
Tennessee 4-H state specialist and Expo alumna Amy Powell Williams (yes, she’s the daughter of Ben Powell, former state 4-H leader and one of the original organizers of the Expo) invites Expo alumni to visit the Expo’s new Facebook page. “Post a photo or share a memory with your fellow Expo participants, she said. “The page allows us to live again an exciting time from our youth. It’s also an opportunity for long lost friends to reconnect,” she said. You can find the page online at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=136184546404021
Expo organizers also invite industry to participate is this year’s special anniversary event. Anyone interested in sponsoring all or part of an event or contributing in some way should contact Neel at 865-974-7294.
UT Extension operates in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties as the off-campus division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. An educational outreach organization, funded by federal, state and local governments, UT Extension, in cooperation with Tennessee State University, brings research-based information about agriculture, family and consumer sciences, youth and community development to the people of Tennessee where they live and work.
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