The South Dakota Farmer’s Union is hosting the 87th annual Western Junior Livestock Show

RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA) – Future South Dakota ranchers descended on the Central States Fairgrounds on Friday for the 87th edition of the Western Junior Livestock Show.

“It’s a multi-day thing, so you have your cows, your goats and your sheep and because of that we have a lot of competitors at Western Junior,” said Brooke Lamont, competitor at the Western Junior Livestock Show .

Participants took center stage and were given either a sheep, goat or heifer to show they can build their own herd.

“First and foremost, it comes down to presentation skills, which is that they judge you more than they judge your animal, such as how you present your animal and how you handle it when it doesn’t go well,” Logan Lamont said , a competitor in the Western Junior Livestock Show .

The quality of the wool and market sheep was also assessed at the livestock show.

Brooke won’t just be taking home awards, as she was one of five contestants to receive the Herd Builder Award on Thursday.

“To win the award we had to write an essay about why we wanted the Builder Award and what we would do with it,” Brooke said.

She wrote about how she wants to inspire others in the same way she was inspired by others who came before her.

“I was proud of her, I mean, she’s moving forward in the world. I’m pretty proud of her, she’s pretty damn smart,” Logan said.

Brooke says the Livestock Show serves a greater purpose than just competing for awards.

“To get a lot of the young members of this community who are interested in working together and exposing each other. And we learn from each other and make great friends because of it,” Brooke said.

Logan believes it is critical to be part of the next generation of farmers in the state.

“Without farmers, what will feed the world? I mean, if that knowledge isn’t passed on to the next generation, who knows what could happen,” Logan said.

The Western Junior Livestock Show began Tuesday and ends Saturday.

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