The Southwestern Community College agricultural department will hold a first-time event Thursday to raise funds for students to compete in the National Western Stock Show in January.
The ag club will host a dinner and live auction starting at 5 p.m. at the SWCC Ag Site, 1545 Green Valley Road, in Creston.
Dinner will be served from 5 to 6 p.m., with the live auction at 6:30 p.m. A meal ticket, available at the door, is $15 and includes pulled pork or smoked brisket, green beans, potatoes and dinner roll. Auction items will include home and agriculture-related items.
“We’re raising funds for leadership events that our students are planning to attend and some field trips,” said Susannah Miller, SWCC agricultural instructor. “The students are planning a trip to the national stock show in Denver, Colorado. It’s a large livestock show and sale. Our students will also go out there and compete in livestock-judging contests, as well. The money will go toward their trip expenses.”
It’s been a couple of years since SWCC students have competed in the national stock show, Miller said.
“The importance is to introduce them to a nationwide show, and they can really see the diversity in livestock,” she said. “It’s a new opportunity for travel outside the state of Iowa for some students and see how the larger shows are run and see what the cattle and other livestock industries are doing at a national level.”
SWCC Ag Club President Whitney Baylef, a second-year student studying ag business and livestock production, has been helping plan the event Thursday and will compete in the upcoming national show.
Planning the event has been about “getting involved in the community and learning how to put on a big fundraiser,” Baylef said.
She and other second-year students will compete in team livestock judging, which involves classifying livestock and deciding whether to keep the livestock for market and breeding purposes based on physical characteristics and records.
“The importance of it is getting to experience a big show and the privilege of going up and judging the livestock. And, it’s just another educational adventure,” Baylef said. “There will be a lot of booths up there that we can visit.”
Ag students who will compete have been meeting several times per week to learn more about team livestock judging, watch videos and practice what they will have to perform in January, Baylef said.
The auction Thursday will include products donated from local businesses, such as Akin Building Center, Farm and Home, AgriVision Equipment, Kelly’s Flowers, Red Star Feed in Corning, NAPA Auto Parts and Taygold Co-Op in Clearfield. Some students’ families have donated items, as well.
Auction items include oil changes, car jacks, a grill, coveralls, home decor, dog food and more.
There will also be meat-bundle raffle tickets for sale for $20 each, and the meat will be from Fareway.