Washoe County 4-H Youth Development Prepares For Nevada Jr. Livestock Show

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) — 4-H can connect young people to the community and an animal or two. Washoe County’s 4-H Youth Development Program provides hands-on learning for children. From May 5-7, the Nevada Junior Livestock Show will take place at the Livestock Events Center.

Kids ages 5 to 19 can be a part of 4-H and with 15,000 events taking place in Washoe County each year alone, working with livestock gives kids a new opportunity to build confidence, gain leadership and even learn transferable skills like record keeping. .

Kelsey Conklin, Community Instructor for Washoe County 4-H

“We have very active members in Washoe County. We have youngsters showing everything from sheep and pigs and goats and horses to reptiles and amphibians. We also have a beekeeping club. A cooking, baking, sewing club, and if your youngster has something they like to do, we probably have someone they’ll want to do it with,” Conklin said.

In addition to performing in shows, these kids also get out into the community and share detailed records of their animals in hopes of selling them. Preparing for shows and training cattle takes time. 4-H member Faye mentioned what it will take to prepare her turkey for the show,

“I’ll have to make sure my turkey is really clean and I’ll have to take it to the livestock event center, and I’ll have to make sure the turkey is nice and trained so it doesn’t go everywhere when I ‘I’m trying to show him,’ Faye said.

The experience can even prepare children for work and life, Aria and Keira with Washoe County 4-H have been with the program for three years, they said,

“You get to experience a lot and find out what you love and I would say 4-H is really fun as long as you don’t mind getting your hands dirty. It’s a great experience for everyone to see the animals grow and how it works, Keira said.

“It’s a great experience for everyone to see the animals grow and how it works,” Aria said.

For more information on Washoe County 4-H, click here.

Click here for details on Nevada Junior Breeding.

Copyright 2022 KOLO. All rights reserved.