Junior livestock show schedule released

For three days, the Caldwell County Fairgrounds will be densely populated with animals of all shapes and sizes and the children who worked hard to raise them.
The 42nd Caldwell County Junior Livestock Show and Sale will start Thursday, Feb. 28 with weigh-ins and check-ins and will wrap up with the auction on Saturday, March 2.
The nuts and bolts of the show will be the same as they have been in previous years: kids whose families have invested copious amounts of time and often piles of money into raising animals will show those animals in hopes of taking home the grand champion title in their events, a designation that helps the animals command top dollar at auction. Showing livestock can eventually lead to scholarship opportunities, college acceptance and even travel abroad.
But the annual show will feature a new wrinkle for its younger participants: the pig scramble for kindergartners, first graders and second graders.
The new event replaces the short-term rabbit competition for that age group, an exhibition-only event that allowed kindergarten through second graders to show an animal that they had raised for less time than children and teens participating in the standard market and breeding rabbit competitions.
A pig scramble is exactly what it sounds like, said Rhonda Lehman with the Caldwell County Extension.
“Youth will be turned loose with baby pigs in the show arena,” Lehman explained. “The objective is to catch up with the baby pigs and remove the ribbons from their tails.”
The pig scramble will follow the breeding rabbits event and won’t commence before 4 p.m., according to a schedule posted on Caldwell County’s 4-H blog.
The scramble will precede another crowd favorite: the hay hauling, an exhibition-only event where pre-kindergartners team up into pairs to pick up as many hay bales as possible.
The Caldwell County show barn is located at 1400 FM 20 East.

Schedule of events

Thursday, Feb. 28
Market Rabbits/Poultry, 5-6 p.m.
Breeding Rabbits, 5-6 p.m.
Market Swine, 5-6 p.m.
Breeding Swine, 5-6 p.m.
Market lambs and goats, 6-7 p.m.
Breeding lambs and goats, 6- 7 p.m.
Market beef, 8-8:30 p.m.
Breeding beef, before 7 p.m.
Reweighs, 8:30-9 p.m.
Friday, March 1 (judging)
Project Fair Check In, 8-10 a.m.
Broilers, 8 a.m.
Turkeys, immediately following
Market lambs, immediately following
Ewes, immediately following
Goats, immediately following
Breeding goats, immediately following
Market rabbit, not before 2 p.m.
Breeding rabbits, immediately following
Pig Scramble, K-2nd grades, not before 4 p.m.
Hay hauling pre-K youth, immediately following
Project fair silent auction ends, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 (judging)
Market Hogs, 8 a.m.
Breeding Gilts, immediately following
Steers, 10 a.m.
Breeding beef, immediately following
Over-all showmanship, immediately following
Saturday, March 3, 2018 (afternoon and evening)
Barbecue by Kreuz Market, 4 p.m.
Animal auction, 6 p.m.