A Grand Island group is working to provide youth an opportunity to showcase their cattle following the cancelation of one the largest livestock shows in the county.
The Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority, Grand Island Mayor Roger Steele, and The Nebraskan Livestock Show group have announced plans to develop a one-year-only alternative livestock show to be held in January 2021 on the Fonner Park Campus in Grand Island.
Earlier this year, organizers for the National Western Stock Show announced that the annual show in Denver, Colorado, would be postponed.
The Nebraskan Livestock Show will be presented beginning on January 9, 2021 with the genuine intent to match the schedule of the anticipated NWSS dates to accommodate the plans already in place within the beef cattle industry.
“Our National Western Stock Show leadership is supportive of Grand Island stepping in and creating a new event to provide an outlet for cattle producers across the country who may have been planning to come to our show in January,” said Paul Andrews, President and CEO of the National Western Stock Show.
“When asked if they could assist in some way, we saw this as a chance to support those cattle producers in need of exhibiting. We will provide livestock panels and consulting services to help Grand Island show staff streamline their show schedule to best replicate what ranchers and cattle exhibitors would have experienced this January in Denver. We are grateful Grand Island is providing this one year only opportunity for the cattle industry during National Western Stock Show absence in 2021.” added Andrews.
Bill Ogg, Executive Director of the Nebraska State Fair and lead contact for this effort, says, “Covid-19 has been brutal for all of us in the United States and the livestock industry has not gone untouched. The National Western Stock Show has an incredibly rich tradition that has not escaped the wrath of the pandemic and these unprecedented times. With our experience with numerous junior national shows who already hold their events in Grand Island, we know the Fonner Park Campus is an excellent site that meets the exhibitors and vendors’ requirements that would normally be at the National Western. The site allows exhibitors the opportunity to exhibit, promote, market and sell their various breeds of livestock. We are pleased to be able to offer this alternative site in 2021 to those who typically attend the National Western.”
The Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority includes the Nebraska State Fair, Fonner Park, Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, and Grand Island Tourism. As the Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority and The Nebraskan Livestock Show group continue to coordinate efforts, more information will be made available.
