Youth Livestock Shows

Chris DeCubellis

Travis Arp, Chad Carr, andWarren Beeler

This article discusses the ongoing importance of junior livestock shows for the educational value and leadership opportunities they provide, and the challenges that need to be considered for continuing relevance.

Chad Carr, Dwain D. Johnson, andMark Shuffitt

AN252 describes the process whereby ultrasound evaluation of the live animal can be used to predict fat thickness and loineye area to determine the carcass merit of youth market hogs.

Chris DeCubellis

Many youth join 4-H with visions of exhibiting dairy or beef cattle.  For those youth new to a dairy or beef project, halterbreaking their project animals is an early step to help prepare their project animal for exhibition. This new 2-page publication of the UF/IFAS 4-H Youth Development Program provides a brief list of tips for halterbreaking an animal. Written by Chris DeCubellis.

Isabell L. Revere, Colleen Larson, Ricky Telg, Benjamin D. Anderson, andC. Sanders

This publication provides a biosecurity plan template for livestock exhibitions. Due to the presence of large crowds in proximity to animals, these exhibitions can increase the risk of infectious disease outbreaks. This template is a framework specific to exhibitions, designed to assist exhibition organizers in creating a biosecurity plan for their event. Implementing the suggestions from this template during an exhibition will help reduce the risk of disease outbreaks. Written by Isabell L. Revere, Colleen C. Larson, Ricky W. Telg, Benjamin D. Anderson, and Cynthia B. Sanders, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences, November 2025.