It’s the time of year for the annual Clarke County 4-H Livestock Show and Sale.
While most things will carry on like they usually do, there is one significant change that had to be made regarding the times this year. Instead of everything happening on the same day like it usually would, the special needs show has been moved to Thursday.
“The special needs show will be on Thursday, January 13 at 9:00 a.m., this year. We had to back our livestock show up due to judge conflicts. Our judge has to catch an earlier flight, so we are starting our usual show earlier to make sure that all the kids have a quality show and judging that isn’t rushed,” explained Clarke County Extension Agent Christy King. “Likewise, we didn’t want to rush our special needs kids through the ring; we wanted them to have a high quality show, too. We worked with the school district and moved the special needs livestock show to Thursday this year.”
The regular 4-H show and sale will take place on Friday, January 14. The show will start at 9:00 that morning, and the sale will begin at 7:00 that evening.
“We will show over 100 head of animals from all four species: lambs, goats, hogs, and cattle,” described Christy. “This year, we will have dairy cattle and dairy goats included. There’s going to be a little bit of everything for everybody there. We will sell 10 hogs, three lambs, eight goats, and six steers.”
All of the money that is collected from the sale of the animals benefits the students who have worked hard to raise and train the animals all year.
“The kids get 100% of the money from the sale of their animals. We do not keep a commission on that,” expressed Christy. “These kids use that money to reinvest in their project for next year, make facility or barn improvements, or some of them put that money into a savings account for them to use later to buy their first vehicle or whatever they want.”
There will also be other things sold at the show, and all the proceeds made will go to benefit the 4-H kids.
“We will have concessions on Friday, and all money raised from the concessions will go to benefit the 4-Hers. We will have hamburgers and sausage dogs cooked by the Clarke County Livestock Association. We will also have homemade soups like we’ve always had. The livestock exhibitors donate the food to the concession stand to help raise money,” declared Christy. “We encourage people just to come by and eat lunch with us or get food from us. We’ll have homemade sweet treats as well, and they’re generously sized plates. We’ll have the concession stands open all day, from 10:00 that morning through the sale that night. In addition to the sale of our animals, we’ll have the donated cakes to auction off.”
For those who would like to purchase an animal but doesn’t know the process or how everything works, Christy is more than willing to walk prospective buyers through the process and let them know the details on how everything works.
“If anybody is interested in putting locally grown, high-quality meat in their freezer as a buyer, then feel free to call the Mississippi State Extension office, and I’ll be happy to walk you through that process,” proclaimed Christy. “All of our animals already have dates at a processor, so buyers don’t have to worry about if there are any available spots at a processor. Some of them have dates at multiple processors so that the buyer can choose where they want the animal to go. They can choose how they want the animal processed and how they want it packaged and delivered. They do have to pay the processing fee, but the animal is delivered to the processor for them. They’ll pick the animal up from the processor when it’s done and can have their freezer stocked. They can also use that purchase as a tax deduction because 4-H is a 501-C3 charitable giving organization.”
If anyone has more questions about the upcoming show and sale or would like to become a buyer at the sale, contact Christy King at 601-776-3951.
