Kentucky lawmakers introduced a bill that would create a council to oversee fairs and livestock shows. It is creating some confusion in the ag industry.
The state ag commissioner sought to clarify how it would work. According to Commissioner Jonathan Shell:
“We’re putting a huge focus on our shows and fairs, even more so than has ever been put in the past. Trying to grow that program. As many of y’all know, one of the indicators that we use for shows and fairs is how many livestock are in the state fair and we’ve been seeing a decline in that for the past five to six years. What we’re hoping to do is stop the bleeding, so to speak, to where that we can then start increasing with our 4-H participants across the state of Kentucky, and our FFA and our livestock.”
To achieve that, Commissioner Shell admits some restructuring will have to take place e, that includes a cultural shift.
“One of the things that we’re doing also is we’re trying to take the focus not necessarily on the animals but on the kids themselves because what we find, at times, is if you can buy a $15,000 animal you can win a show, but these kids— a lot of them are blue-collar kids that are out in the state. They’re doing their hardest. They’re working as hard as they possibly can to showcase not only their animals but their showmanship and the things that are going along with that, and so we’re trying to put a bigger focus on these kids and how we actually operate inside of the shows and fairs. So, in doing so we’re trying to find those efficiencies, we’re trying to consolidate where we can in the department so that we can put a greater and better focus on our livestock shows and fairs.”
The bill also includes plans for the Livestock Classic which supporters describe as the Super Bowl for Kentucky kids.
From Junior Heifer Shows to Mustang Magic competitions, the 23-day event brings together 4-H and FFA participants, livestock enthusiasts, and families to celebrate North Texas’ rich Western heritage.
