Swine showing included first time this year
Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu
NACOGDOCHES – “Same as last year, just better.”
That pretty much sums up this year’s East Texas Show Star Series, set Oct. 20-21 at the Nacogdoches County Expo Center, 3805 NW Stallings Drive, Nacogdoches, said Jamie Sugg, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for Nacogdoches County.
The program will be better than last year’s because the program planners listened to parents and participants’ suggestions and made changes, according to Sugg.
They have also added a swine division for the first time this year.
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The general theme of the event remains the same, however, he said.
“It is focused towards novice/beginner livestock exhibitors, 4-H and FFA, regardless of age,” Sugg said. “The first day they get to pick the brains of highly reputable representatives of the beef cattle industry as well as sheep and goat experts. On Sunday, they come back for a two-ring jackpot, where they get to exhibit their animals and get some ring experience.”
Another improvement is that registration fees are actually $10 less this year than in 2011, he noted. The fee for each youth contestant in the beef, lamb and goat division is $40. The fee for an accompanying brother or sister in this division is $30. For parents, guardians or agriculture teachers, the fee is $20.
For those wanting to attend the swine clinic only, the fee is $30 for youth and $20 for parent, guardians or teachers.
The fee covers everything, including lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday, and the use of stalls and lighted outdoor corrals.
“No one is making any money with these fees,” Sugg said. “We’re just trying to recover speaker fees and other costs.”
“Showing livestock can be an expensive venture, especially if you have to learn things the hard way, by mistakes,” said Aaron Low, AgriLife Extension agent for Cherokee County and another program planner. “We want to get them started off on the right foot without it costing them an arm and a leg.”
After Oct. 12, all the fees for the beef cattle or lamb and goat divisions go up $10, Sugg said.
To register, go to the event’s official webpage at http://etsss.blogspot.com/, download the flyer and mail it to the AgriLife Extension office in either Cherokee County or Nacogdoches County.
“Though swine will be included on Saturday, there will not be a swine showing and judging program on Sunday,” Sugg noted.
“The time of the year is not conducive to having swine on feed,” Sugg said. “We’ll survey participants as to whether we should offer a show on Sunday next year, and ask them if they would be willing or able to participate, and we’ll go from there as far as next year’s programming is concerned.”
The expo facility includes a 78,000-square-foot arena, covered stalls and more than 60 recreational-vehicle hook-ups and shower facilities in four of the restrooms. Contestants will have to pay for the RV spaces and hookups if they use them, and go through the Expo center to do so, Low said.
Instructors include AgriLife Extension agents from throughout the region, regional and state AgriLife Extension livestock specialists, and local agriculture science teachers. Topics will include lessons on showmanship, daily animal maintenance, the Quality Counts program and more, with breakout sessions tailored for the different species and animal classes, he said.
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