Eat, sleep, show, repeat. This is the slogan of countless youth across America. So many of us are so enamored with showing livestock and everything it has to offer; from banners and buckles to life lessons learned. But one major component of this lifestyle that everyone seems to overlook is the bond that is created between show teams and their families. The “aha” moment when this realization and feeling of gratefulness sinks in can happen at any time, especially when you’re least expecting it. Maybe it’s apparent at a late-night team dinner after a jackpot, when everyone is exhausted but laughter and smiles still fill the restaurant air. Or maybe…

The most interesting time of the year in regards to livestock. It’s the one time of year that all species are having babies and the excitement for this year’s show string is building. As the end of the show cattle sale season starts to close and baby pig and lamb sales are starting to ramp up, most of the country’s junior showman have their projects picked out. To be successful this summer, it’s important that these juniors understand the three areas that lead to the backdrop: solid genetics, quality feed program, and hard work. When all three of the key areas to livestock production are at adequate levels, hanging banners…

“Guys this livestock showing is special. It’s not a hobby, I don’t care what you say, it is not a hobby. It is a way of life. And to be out here in this ring is work,” – Andrew Rash spoke these words just a few weeks ago at the Indiana State Fair Hog Show, but Austin Pullins represented these words a few weeks ago at the Athens County fair in Ohio. And a young man, Noah Cox, exemplified these words in the way he lived. This is not a hobby and to think it is, well I guess you just haven’t had the opportunity to fully understand yet.  (Photo:…

It’s so much easier. Way easier. It’s why so many of us fall into the trap. If I had a nicer showbox, I could fit my calf. If I had a bigger budget, I would win more lamb shows. If I had a fancier trailer, I could do better with my pigs. It’s so much easier to wish we had all these things we believe will make a difference, but when you’re in the ring, the judge sees you and your animal. And all your work at home makes a huge difference in what the judge sees that day. All the early mornings, the washing, rinsing, brushing, walking, and feeding…

Last week I was on a video shoot with B.J. We arrived at our destination about 20 minutes early, so rather than surprise our hosts before they were expecting us, I turned the car around and headed to a little roadside rest I remembered passing just a few miles back. It was one of those little areas alongside a state route, just a patch of gravel and a picnic table. I pulled in and parked the car, ready to check email and go over my notes for the shoot once more. But then I saw a little marker off to the side of the parking area. It looked like a…

Your heifer or gilt obviously plays a critical role while at the show all week in Springfield, Grand Island, Des Moines, Madison, Lexington, Louisville, Stillwater, or St. Paul. But what are YOU doing in the time you’re not spending with a halter or pig whip in hand? May I offer some suggestions? Meet new people. You never know who is in the stalls or pens nearby. They might be from the next county over in your home state or live a few hundred miles from you. They might be your future classmate in college, a fellow intern during your undergraduate years, or the friend you never knew you needed. You’ll…

I showed a pig for the first time in 1985 at the Hancock County Fair in Findlay, Ohio. It was the open barrow show and I had been given a pig earlier in the summer to check on each evening and claim for my own. I was two and a half years old and couldn’t really pronounce “barrow” so I referred to my pig as “barrel” and that became its name – Barrel the Pig. I don’t remember this myself, of course, but this is how my parents tell it. At the fair, my uncle helped me show my barrow, which is likely to say that I followed my uncle…

A few years ago, my oldest niece, Sophie, who lives in Colorado with her family, acquired her first chicken. To say she fell in love would be the understatement of the decade. In late 2015, I was out visiting her and her younger sister on their little farm on the Front Range. She had just turned six years old then and was already a chicken expert. Soon after I arrived on my visit, I was given a full tour of the farm and introduced to every animal on it – by name and with a full description of its breed, sex, current gestation status, and health condition. But the chickens…