County Stock Show "A Tool for the Ages”

It is unofficially “County Stock Show Week” in the State of Texas.  Most area county folks are polishing up their favorite belt buckle and prepping to show off their best in front of the hometown heroes of yesteryear.  The landscape has changed throughout the State, urban sprawl, a depleted economy, and other interests have somewhat hindered the growth of livestock show projects, but in Rural Texas, the stock show is still king.  

Kinney County is among the plethora of county shows going on this week and it is shaping up to be a good one.  I have written previously about aging farmers and ranchers and who would fill their shoes, so it bears asking the question, do stock shows make more agriculturalists?  I'll admit, I do not have any data suggesting an answer, but you would surely have to come to the realization that not only does it promote agriculture, but it teaches so much more.

As most of the KCP circulation knows, the rural way of life can be hard and raising anything makes it that much harder.  Throw in the realm of competition, emotions start flowing, and we can all lose sight of what should truly be accomplished.  Most “professional stockshowers” will even say that the county show is their least favorite because it tends to have the most drama.  Additionally, some school districts even struggle with the idea that stock showing is and should be recognized as an extracurricular school sponsored activity.  This seems absurd to most, I mean, what other extracurricular program forces the student to front the money for a project, take care of the project, spend countless hours practicing and preparing-with family involvement, then exhibiting the project all in hopes that he or she can recoup a little bit of money.  This is real world experience and all the pressure is on the student.  Some of these kids will even exhibit their project at major stock shows such as San Antonio and Houston, where there will literally be thousands of other students doing the same.  Last time I checked, football and basketball dont require that kind of economic commitment, family commitment or sole proprietorship, nor do they have that large of an audience.  With all of that being said, the county stock show is and should be a place of local support and encouragement.  

In Texas, there are about 6000 state validated sheep and about the same amount of goats.  This doesn't count the animals that will only be shown at their respective county shows. That's quite a few kids participating in an extremely strenuous activity.  None if it happens without local support though.  Even if just one kid finds their passion in agriculture, then its purpose has been served.  The stock show originated for local ranches to compare and show off stock.  It aided in the help of seedstock sales from ranch to ranch.  Even at major Agriculture based universities, such as Texas A&M, you can roam the halls and see black and white pictures of Aggie graduates showing off their stock against their foes, and the stock show was held on campus. Some kids even go to college just to learn how to be livestock judges!  

All of that to say, here is our chance to support the youth.  Get behind agriculture and be supportive of all the kids that took the risk and purchased a livestock project.   All the kids worked hard, sure maybe some more than others.  Regardless, it's quite possible the hardest thing any of them have ever done.  The industry has changed and so has the game, but we must maintain that the purpose should be the same.  We should be raising kids the right way, teaching them life lessons, how to win or lose with grace, and ultimately living a “Christ-like” lifestyle and using these animals as the instrument to accomplish all that is good. The county show is just the spot to do  that.  Who knows, your support might impact a student so much, they will come back and do the same for the next generation.  Looks to me like the county stock show could be a major tool in sustaining agriculture in a community for years to come.