1,700 students and even more guests traveled to Brookings, SD to South Dakota State University to take part in the 86th Little International. Little “I” is the largest, two-day livestock exposition run completely by students for students. For the past three years I have served on the staff. My first two years, I served as the advertising and publicity superintendent. In my final year at SDSU, I served on the executive team to assist in this project that takes the full year to plan and prepare.

So, what are the exciting events at Little International? How do we work to promote and publicize this event? Well, if you have never taken part in an event like this, I will fill you in. To start, there are several judging contests for FFA, 4-H and collegiate students to compete in, including: livestock, dairy, horses, dairy products, floriculture, nursery landscape, land and natural resources, farm business management, crops, meats evaluation and ag sales. Students can also exhibit crops, hay and wool samples for judging. In addition, college students can show livestock and compete for the Round Robin showmanship champion and reserve titles. There is also the High Point Freshman and Upperclassman awards that include a combination of all of these contests. The student that scores the highest and competes in the most contests secures this award. (I won these two awards back-to-back, the first girl in 86 years to do so! It is one of my favorite memories of my college experience!) Finally, there are scholarships awards available to the top showman, highpointers and highschool qualifiers.

To say the least, this is a huge event that celebrates agriculture and the people in it. The staff nominates an annual award called the Honored Agriculturalists, and this year’s award went to the Sharon Odegaard family from Lake Preston, S.D. To bring in a crowd, we have entertainment such as old timers showmanship, ag olympics and the national anthem sang by a featured singer in the community. We place radio spots and newspaper advertisements to help spread the word, along with sending out invitations to parents, sponsors and area legislators. I’m proud to have been a part of the Little International experience during my time at SDSU. Have you ever been to an event like this? What did you like about it? What can we as students do to get a larger crowd next year? Your advice would be greatly appreciated by the incoming staff members! Thanks for your help!