Junior National Hereford Expo July 8-14

MADISON, Wis. — The 2023 VitaFerm Junior National Hereford Expo will be held July 8-14 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

National Junior Hereford Association members will compete in educational and leadership programs throughout the weeklong event, ranging from the future professionals contest, Hereford Bowl, speech and sales competitions to the Bridging the Gap College and Career Fair.

Alongside these contests, the Hereford Youth Foundation of America awards $29,000 in scholarships to deserving junior members who applied and went through a rigorous interview process in May.

New to the Hereford Expo will be the selection of the top five females in the bred-and-owned show, made possible by the newly established GKB Cattle Youth Endowment.

In addition to the top five selection, the grand champion bred-and-owned female will win a trailer courtesy of GKB Cattle and Gary and Kathy Buchholz, Desdemona, Texas.

“Thanks to our longtime industry partners like VitaFerm and the generosity of donors like GKB Cattle, the Junior National Hereford Expo gets more special with each passing year and memories from the event are treasured by Hereford families for a lifetime,” said Amy Cowan, American Hereford Association director of youth activities and foundation.

“From the relationships to the leadership development and the champion handshakes, this year’s event is setting the stage to be remembered as the greatest Hereford Bash of all time.”

This event also hosts the NJHA Annual Meeting for its membership and the election of new directors to the NJHA board of directors.

This year, nine applicants have applied to be a candidate for the NJHA board of directors and will begin the process of interviewing and campaigning before arrival in Madison, with hopes of receiving a coveted maroon jacket from a retiring board member.

Gates open at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, and the public is invited to watch the shows underway in Veterans Memorial Coliseum, starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 11, through Friday, July 14.

For a complete schedule, visit Hereford.org/youth.