Youth exhibitors in the state of Wisconsin were dealt a crushing blow in late May when it was announced that the Wisconsin State Fair would not be happening in 2020. For many, the State Fair being canceled means no cheese curds or carnival rides. But for the young exhibitors in Wisconsin it means a lost opportunity to exhibit their projects in Milwaukee this August.
To give kids a chance to show their animals later this summer, a small group of passionate folks in the livestock industry created the Wisconsin Livestock Expo. The Executive Board behind this brand-new event began brainstorming in March just in case the State Fair did get canceled. Once the fair was officially scrapped, the Livestock Expo team rushed in as an alternate way for young people to exhibit their animals. “This show is to provide a replacement show for the kids who no longer have a State Fair at which to show,” the Expo’s website explains.
“This is a show that will be for the kids,” says Executive Board member Erica Crouch, “that is our motto and our focus.” Exhibitors who were eligible to show at the 2020 Wisconsin State Fair Junior Show are eligible to show at the Wisconsin Livestock Expo. Species that will be exhibited at the event include beef steers and heifers, barrows and gilts, as well as market lambs, commercial ewes, and breeding sheep.
Details are still forthcoming at this time, but Crouch says the Wisconsin Livestock Expo will be an in-person event, not an online one. “Right now we’re in the process of narrowing down a location,” she says, adding that event organizers are eyeing dates very close to when the State Fair was supposed to happen. Prior to being called off the State Fair was set for August 6th-16th. She says this is being done because of lot of the animals being raised were originally targeted for those dates.
At the end of the day, this event is all about one thing: giving youth the chance to show after working on their projects all year long. “Kids just want an avenue to show…with county fairs and then State Fair being canceled, they’re just looking for anywhere to show at this point and we are hoping we can give them that experience that they would be lacking due to State Fair being canceled,” Crouch says.
For more details on the event keep it locked to the Mid-West Farm Report or visit the Wisconsin Livestock Expo’s website by clicking right here.
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