Arkansas is proud to have an active, successful, and nationally-recognized youth development and educational livestock programs in 4-H. The Arkansas Youth Livestock Program has touched thousands of lives over the years. The Arkansas junior livestock programs teach skills to youth that carry them throughout their adult lives. Feeding, exercising, grooming, and showing animals are all important aspects of the 4-H project. 4-H’ers also learn to make decisions, keep records, manage money, take responsibility for another living thing, budget time, and many other important characteristics. The “Grand Finale” for most of these projects is exhibiting their animals at the county fair, district livestock show, or the State Fair.
Explores beef cattle breeding, feeding, reproduction, health, meats, marketing and economics. Either market or breeding animals can be raised.
Participants learn proper methods of selecting, feeding, raising, breeding and marketing swine. Either market or breeding animals can be raised.
Youth care for live animals while learning about animal health and nutrition, breeding, selection and marketing. In either the 4-H Sheep or Goat projects individuals learn decision making, record keeping, responsibility, sportsmanship and leadership. They may participate in market projects, breeding projects and non-competitive projects.
Livestock judging is a process of evaluating, selecting, placing, and learning the various livestock species–beef cattle, sheep, and swine. Judging is the foundation of any 4-H livestock project.
Participants will learn about different breeds of livestock, external parts of livestock, skeletal anatomy of livestock, feedstuffs used in livestock diets, equipment using in raising and showing livestock, wholesale and retail cuts of meat derived from livestock, expected progeny differences (EPDs), common calculations used to measure animal performance and profitability, and judging meats.
The 4-H Veterinary Science Project is a 5-year curriculum based project with 100 lessons and 50 activities that gives youth interested in veterinary medicine opportunities to work in the field. The project is career-oriented and job-training so students can determine if this is a field they would like to pursue.