Local meat available at livestock show

Local youth will be showing and selling animals at the 75th annual Nevada Junior Livestock Show this weekend at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center.

The Buyers Dinner is 4 p.m. Saturday.

“I’d like to invite the general public to come out and support these kids while showing their project animals,” said Carson City 4-H leader Erin Lehman. “All 4-H and FFA animals are raised in a homegrown environment with excellent care, top quality feeds, and 4-H or FFA handling during the duration of their growth and development. During this process the 4-H kids take quality certification classes, work closely with their 4-H leaders and peers to learn how to maximize their animals health, growth and development.”

Many of the animals are purchased by local businesses and residents.

“The money that the kids recieve for their projects helps them purchase new project animals for next year’s events or the upcoming Nevada 150 Fair,” Lehman said. “It helps them save up for future endeavors, like college funds and future schooling.”

She added that purchases are a tax-deductible donation.

She said people who are concerned about the origin of their meat would benefit from purchasing a local animal.

“There are many great advantages to purchasing local project animals,” Lehman said. “You are able to choose where it is processed, choose the exact cuts that you would use, you know who raised the animal, where it was raised, what its diet was, and you know that you are buying a quality USDA inspected meat that was raised here in your community. To top it all off, you are helping support the future of 4-H and FFA at the same time.”

For more information about the livestock show, go to http://agri.nv.gov/ADMINISTRATION/NJLASB/NJLSB