As I sit on my farm in southern Michigan, kids of all ages are busy on this hot July day washing their steers and heifers, walking their hogs and making sure they have the show box filled with every necessity for the show.

In a few days, all roads will lead to the livestock pavilion on the campus of  Michigan State University for the second annual  Michigan Livestock Expo.

The theme “Believe-Build-Grow – Our Youth, Our Agriculture” is the foundation of an endeavor cultivated by a group of livestock enthusiasts who have a desire to invest in agriculture and therefore have invested in our youth. This annual event will feature more than 500 kids exhibiting over 1,000 head of livestock all under one big roof.

If that’s not something to get excited about, I don’t know what is!
The days of having a sale of champions livestock auction on the corner of 8 Mile and Woodward are over. No more will we have to leave the farm with loaded trucks, trailers and guns to head down 8 Mile, taking our lives in our hands as we enter one of the most dangerous sections of Detroit, the state fairgrounds.

Well, I might be exaggerating just a bit … but you have to admit, that is a scary part of town, until you enter the fairgrounds where you spent a week with your neighbors and friends from across the state exhibiting at the Michigan State Fair.

While the state fair is no more, the livestock industry, in all its resiliency, moves forward in a different venue, a better venue – the only venue where you can fit so many young competitors under one big roof.

There will be friendships forged, friendships renewed – and we mustn’t forget those  young romances that will be rekindled as Boy from the U.P. meets back up with Girl from Cass County, and they enjoy the fun and fellowship that only this kind of event can bring.
Oh, wait; that was back in my day. Today they’ve been texting and Facebooking all year long and know every detail about each other’s lives, and instead of talking face-to-face all week, they will most likely text from different parts of the barn while Mom and Dad threaten to take that doggone cell phone away.

Back to the subject at hand: This is a wonderful event that is supported by not only the 4-H and FFA families involved, but by a loyal group of financial supporters who know the value of monetarily supporting youth in agriculture.

I would personally (as personal as this paper can get) like to thank all the supporters of this event. The pavilion would be void of young people and their livestock projects this week if it weren’t for you.

But most of all, I would like to thank those who have been in on the ground floor of this endeavor. You know who you are and so do I. You are the ones who benefited from an earlier generation who worked hard to make sure you had what you needed to raise your livestock.

You are the ones who saw something that needed a surge of enthusiasm and picked up the torch for the young people of today. You have spent hours on the phone, and in committee meetings planning, arguing and cajoling to get this project off the ground and running.

Next week you will work, sweat and smile when the gavel falls at the selling of the final champion, knowing that you believed in a project that would build a foundation to grow our next agricultural leaders. My hat is off to you – thank you very much!

Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.