The past two weekends saw students and families from in and around the Hub City flock to the Lubbock County Junior Livestock Show — a tradition that blends competition, education and community.
The annual event brings together students from FFA and 4-H chapters from all over the county to compete with steers, lambs and hogs they’ve raised and cared for over the past year.
But this year’s event came with challenges.
Ryan Bading, treasurer of the Lubbock Junior Livestock Show, says a struggling agricultural economy made it a tougher year for families and donors.
“Probably the biggest challenge that we had this year is just kind of the overall ag markets where they are. The last few cropping seasons have not been the best, commodity prices are down. A lot of the donors that we reach out to are heavily involved in agriculture,” Bading said.” A lot of times that can affect the businesses and individuals that donate to us.”
Despite those concerns, Bading said the premium sale exceeded expectations.
“We were very lucky that we had an extremely successful sale,” Bading said. “We did have some concerns on where the sale would settle out… but really overall, we had a very exceptional sale. So, even though the ag market was down, we still had those businesses and individuals donate at the same rate they have been donating at.”
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agent Robert Scott said participation dipped slightly this year, but not due to fewer students. Rather, families raising fewer animals.
Bading echoed that sentiment.
“That's just tied to where the ag markets are, because a lot of your families that have kids that show are heavily involved in agriculture,” Bading said. “So if those returns that they're getting for their businesses involved in agriculture aren't where it's been before, yeah, they're going to put a few less animals on feed. Input costs are up, so that affects all things.”
Scott, who has been involved with the show since 2007 and assisted both of his daughters when they participated, said caring for an animal teaches responsibility, discipline and resilience — from breaking ice in frozen water troughs to running fans in the summer heat.
He said families spend months working together at the barn, building not only show animals, but stronger family bonds.
But beyond competition and learning, the livestock show also supports students through scholarships.
Bading said this year, seven graduating seniors each received a one-thousand-dollar scholarship, funded by local business sponsors.
“We were very happy with the number we were able to give out and the high quality of applicants that we had.” Bading said. “I grew up showing through 4-H and FFA… I was lucky enough to receive some scholarships… so a lot of it is just giving back to these youth in a manner that I benefitted from.”
And while trophies matter, he said the most meaningful moments come from watching students see their hard work pay off.
“it’s important to foster that in the youth of today,” Bading said. “You know, it's the hard work and the dedication that they put into those animals and projects throughout the course of the year, it's just great to see them do that and then be able to help them with those projects, you know, moving forward, or help them off defer college costs as they graduate and move off to continue their education”
So overall, the Lubbock County Junior Livestock Show isn’t just about raising animals — it’s also about raising people.