Harvest Ridge to host statewide Preview Cattle Show

Youth from all over Ohio and even beyond its borders will unite in Holmes County later this winter to participate in an exciting opportunity.

The Holmes County Beef Committee will host the Holmes County Preview Cattle Show March 7-8 at Harvest Ridge Expo Center in Millersburg. The preview show is part of the Ohio BEST Program run through the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, and it promotes youth and cattle in the state.

This event is typically attended by 400 showmen and their families from across Ohio and several neighboring states. The Holmes County Beef Committee provides welcome bags promoting local businesses to each participant in an effort to promote Holmes County.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to promote everything Holmes County has to offer,” event co-chair Brian Giauque said. “And the nice thing is that everything we make will be reinvested right back into the community, and our local economy will get a nice boost because they are supporting a large number of our area businesses.”

The preview show is the Holmes County Beef Committee’s only fundraiser for the year, and all proceeds generated above the cost of the show are invested into the youth of Holmes County.

It brings more than 400 youth and their families into the county for the duration of the event, and according to Giauque, the event is expected to generate ample income to the county during a slow winter month.

“As a committee we are excited that the show continues to grow and bring people to Holmes County,” Giauque said. “In the past three years, businesses have been well visited during this two-day event. This is a statewide show that will bring a lot of people to our county.”

The program is part of the Beef Exhibitor Show Total, a youth program of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association that recognizes Ohio’s junior beef exhibitors for their participation in a series of sanctioned cattle shows that include showmanship competitions. Juniors who participate in these sanctioned shows earn points for their placings. The program promotes consistency for exhibitors at sanctioned shows hosted by county associations or agricultural groups and clubs. These points are tabulated and posted at www.ohiocattle.org.