Jan. 4—The 2025 Johnson County Junior Livestock Show and Youth Fair kicks off today at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse Grounds.
Over 700 participants have registered for this year’s show, with over 1,800 entries. The entries range in everything from animals to youth fair to agricultural mechanics.
“I would encourage anyone to visit the JCLAA show this week,” JCLAA board President Mark McClure said. “They are going to meet 4-H, FFA and FCCLA kiddos from across the county that will look them in the eye, give a firm handshake and carry on a conversation.
“The regular Joe thinks it’s about raising livestock, and it is, but more importantly it’s about raising kids — champion kids that will be successful in life because of the life lessons learned while raising livestock. We are excited for all the students and thankful for the community that shows up to support the agriculture youth of Johnson County.”
Johnson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Larry Woolley echoed the sentiment.
“I’ve said many times that we’re not really raising livestock, we’re raising kids, and we’re teaching them about life and responsibility and working together and working with other people,” he said. “It’s the whole effort, a whole branch of education that goes untapped for kids that don’t participate.”
Woolley and his wife, Leslie, are members of the newly-formed Johnson County Youth Syndicate, a group dedicated to supporting youth involved in agriculture through the Johnson County show.
Today’s only show is the horse show, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Sunday afternoon, the poultry show will be held with both turkeys and broilers.
On Monday, Youth Fair entries must be checked in from 2-8 p.m. at either the White Building at the Posse Grounds or the Texas AgriLife Extension Office in downtown Cleburne. The day’s shows include breeding and market rabbits.
Youth Fair judging will be conducted all day Tuesday, with the ghost show at noon, followed by the lamb show at 5 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the goat show.
Wednesday is a big day, with Youth Fair results being posted at 8 a.m. The public can also view the Youth Fair entries at that time. The beef heifer show begins at 11 a.m., followed by the steer show at 4 p.m. or one hour after the conclusion of the heifer show. All Youth Fair entries must be picked up from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the White Building and Extension Office. After 1 p.m., they can be picked up at the Extension Office. All items will be discarded after 6 p.m.
On Thursday, get ready for the dairy heifer show at 10 a.m. and the last show of the year, the market swine show, at 2 p.m.
On Friday, judging and interviews will be held for the ag mechanics entries. The JCLAA Youth Dance at the Blue Barn is from 7-11 p.m. Friday.
The week will wrap up Jan. 11 with the JCLAA auction luncheon and Ag Mechanic, Youth Fair & Market Animal Sale at the Cleburne Conference Center.
The annual JCLAA membership banquet is at 7 p.m. March 25.
Queens & Ambassadors
The 2025 JCLAA & Johnson County Farm Bureau Queen & Ambassador Contest was held Dec. 14 at Grandview High School.
The contest, which is open to seniors in good standing with their 4-H, FFA or FCCLA chapters, awards scholarships totalling $37,000.
Following the application and interview process, four were chosen to represent Johnson County during this year’s show.
JCLAA Ambassador Reed Calvert of Grandview FFA and JCLAA Queen Madison McClure of Cleburne FFA both receive $12,000 scholarships. Johnson County Farm Bureau Ambassador Jake Rekrut of Burleson Centennial FFA and Johnson County Farm Bureau Queen Katherine Norrell of Grandview FFA receive $5,000 scholarships.
McClure won two additional $1,000 scholarships for having the overall high score in the Application and Speech portions of the contest, while Norrell won an additional $1,000 scholarship for having the overall high score in the Interview portion of the contest.
All four will help emcee and present awards throughout the show this week.