Jovie Wirt and her family invite you to learn more about showing livestock throughout the summer. She will be sharing with us what goes into preparing their lambs, pigs, and goats for a variety of shows throughout the summer.
Farm and Family Introductions
Jovie and her parents, Adam and Melissa, and younger sister, Emerson, live near Lennox, SD and raise sheep and pigs with Adam’s family. Jovie is 16 and will be a Junior this fall at Lennox High School, while her sister Emerson will be an eighth grader at Lennox Junior High. They are both involved in 4-H, FFA, and showing livestock at junior shows. They show pigs, sheep, and goats, but the family also raises pigs and primarily sheep from birth up until they are ready to be shown, be sold as breeding animals, or go to a sale barn.
The Stock Show Life
Showing livestock is a big part of their family. They follow a plan through the summer to ensure their animals are given the care and nutrition they need, while also preparing them for the show ring. This activity gives their family fun adventures together as they do not participate in other common activities like school sports. Showing livestock helps them learn how to take care of animals throughout the summer (show season) and the winter/spring (breeding/lambing season).
To begin this series, Jovie would like to explain what showing livestock is. “It is showing off your animals in 
a ring and showing it to a judge that will rank you from first to last in your class. The size of the class can vary, but is usually about 5-10 animals. The judge is looking at the structure and muscle development of the animal in market classes and will decided which is their favorite. We strive to make sure that kids that get lambs or pigs from us have a fun time showing and have the skills and knowledge to be competitive in their classes.”
Jovie and Emerson look forward to sharing their summer activities!