Washington cattle show draws statewide competition

WASHINGTON — Every year, Washington County hosts its preview open cattle show. The word “Open” isn’t just for show, Washington County 4-H Director Amy Green said the competition allowed anyone up to 21 years old to enter, regardless of their locale.

“Anyone can come and show, I don’t think there’s even a youngest age requirement,” she said. “It’s part of a series of shows that fall under the Iowa Junior Beef Breeds Association … Anyone can come and show in these shows, but there’s also a huge following of youth who are members of this association.”

The event started in 2009, fueled by an excited community.

“There was a huge, committed group of volunteers, both adults and youth, very passionate about the cattle department,” Green said. “They kind of broke the groundwork for us locally in starting that and setting a huge foundation.”

The event draws a mix of local exhibitors as well, looking for practice before county fair season comes around. 2022 marked of the smaller shows, but still drew 65 participants. Of those, 28 were Washington County 4-H’ers.

“It’s exciting to be able to offer out 4-H members … another time for them to be in the ring and with their animal,” Green said. “This particular show is largely run and coordinated with our county council, our high school 4-H and leadership team. They’ve been working on some of this since February.”

Green said the preview cattle show took a village to put on.

“Those high school kids have been out working with sponsors, collecting sponsor dollars, it’s also kind of their job to help advertise this show to their clubs that they’re a part of,” she said. “And I have amazing people who help … And having a lot of people who do their jobs well and do their jobs quick makes for a really good day.”

All that work pays off locally. Green said the preview show served as a fundraiser, both for the Iowa Junior Beef Breeds Association and community groups, bringing in $59,000 since its debut.

“In the past 13 years that we’ve had these shows, they’ve been able to donate to 18 different projects on the Washington County Fair Grounds,” she said. “That’s something our county council kids definitely take pride in, is being able to come back in five ears and say, ‘Yeah, we put that there.’”

As anticipated, Green said this year’s show went well.

“It was a good day,” she said. “It was a windy day, but we stayed dry which doesn’t happen very often this spring season … people were really happy with the show, it’s always very rewarding, we do get a lot of compliments on how nice our volunteers are and how smooth the show runs.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com