USU Animal Science Club to Host Third Annual Lamb and Goat Sale (press release)
LOGAN — The Utah State University Animal Science Club is set to host its Third Annual Club Lamb and Goat Sale and Showmanship Clinic. The event is a chance for Utah’s 4-H and FFA youth to buy show-quality lambs and goats and learn about showing and feeding their animals.
The event will be Saturday, April 28, 2018. Registration, breakfast, sale preview and the nutrition clinic start at 9 a.m. The sale starts at 10:30 a.m. The showmanship clinic begins at 11 a.m. (or immediately following the sale). The event will be at the USU Animal Science Farm, 3850 S. Highway 89/91, Wellsville, Utah.
“Our lamb and goat market has just been skyrocketing in Utah, and we have a lot of kids who need more instruction and are looking for good animals,” said USU 4-H Agriculture and Animal Science Specialist Jessie Hadfield.
She first organized the sale when she was a student at USU because it can be hard to find show lambs and goats in Utah. After the supplier her family bought lambs from moved out of state, Hadfield began traveling all the way to Ohio to continue buying their lambs, she says.
Hadfield hopes the sale, which features lambs and goats from top consigners, gives youth in the state the chance to buy good-quality animals locally at a fair price. Buyers unable to attend the sale can also bid by phone.
Animals from past sales have done well in competition. Last year’s winning sale animals include:
- A market goat breed champion and supreme champion at the Box Elder County Fair
- A supreme-champion breeding doe and fifth-place market goat at the Box Elder County Fair
- A fifth-place winner and several star-class winners at the Utah State Fair
- A grand-champion lamb at the Davis County Fair
- Top-10 winners at multiple county fairs
- Multiple jackpot winners
Attendees don’t have to purchase lambs or goats to benefit from the event. They can also attend the event’s showmanship and nutrition clinics.
This is the second year of the showmanship clinic. The clinic offers a chance for youth to learn skills like grooming, presenting and communicating to judges about their animals in a low-pressure environment before they hit the show ring, said USU Animal Science Club President Aubree Thomas.
“Our showmanship clinic is going to be useful because at every show that these kids are going to, there’s going to be a showmanship component,” she said.
Showmanship clinic participants can bring their show animals to receive hands-on training for $10 (at the door). Observers can watch the clinic for free.
The nutrition clinic is new this year. The clinic will feature Animal Nutrition Specialist Heidi Wayment from IFA.
Feeding is another important component for successful showing, said Thomas.
“If you have a really great animal, really great breeding and really great quality, if you don’t feed them right, they’re never going to be as good as they could be,” she said.
The sale and clinics are a fundraiser for the Animal Science Club. Breeders consign animals for the sale, and a portion of each sale goes to the club. Breeders can also donate animals to be sold. Proceeds from one-on-one training at the showmanship clinic also benefit the club.
Hadfield said she hopes the event also helps introduce youth to the Animal Science Club and the USU facilities. However, she said the event is primarily aimed at helping youth be successful at fairs or shows and having successful projects and learning, which is what 4-H and FFA are all about.
“What we’ve tried to combine into this event is good genetics, good nutrition and good showmanship,” said Hadfield.
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