Big Island livestock show set for June 20 in Honokaa
Honokaa’s Brian Anderson Arena will host Big Island 4-H livestock show June 20, where youth will show the animal science and leadership skills that feed Hawaii’s farm future.
The Big Island’s next ranchers, farmers and livestock leaders will be on display June 20, when the Hawaii County 4-H Livestock Show comes to Brian Anderson Arena in Honokaa from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The show will bring families, students and community members face to face with youth exhibitors working with steers, heifers, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits and poultry. University of Hawaii at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience says the season is meant to let the public see young people demonstrate “knowledge, responsibility, and leadership skills” through livestock projects while learning more about livestock production and youth development.
That matters on Hawaii Island, where agriculture still anchors rural communities and where food resilience depends on building a new generation of producers. 4-H is designed as more than a show ring. CTAHR describes it as a youth program centered on Science, Engineering & Technology, Healthy Living, Leadership and Community Service, with Hawaii County livestock work spanning market animal projects, small animal projects, breeding projects and Cloverbud projects for younger members.
The Hawaii State 4-H Livestock Council says its purpose is to promote the educational development of the livestock industry in Hawaii through 4-H livestock projects and to acquaint the public with the role of club members in that work. At the state level, that includes managing the show and sale, securing buyers and running the livestock evaluation and judging contest, along with the oral reasons and public speaking that go with it.
Brian Anderson Arena has long been tied to that mission on Hawaii Island. CTAHR’s livestock history notes that the county show and sale moved there after outgrowing the Mealani Research Station, after local rancher Brian Anderson offered the use of the facility. The venue’s continued use underscores how deeply the event is woven into the island’s agricultural network, not just its fair calendar.
That network remains important in hard numbers as well. CTAHR says cattle was the sixth largest diversified agricultural industry on Hawaii Island in 2007, valued at $19.7 million and accounting for 75% of the state total value. Against that backdrop, the June 20 show functions as both a public event and a training ground for the island’s future ag workforce.
The Big Island show is part of a statewide summer season that began with the Maui Ag Fest livestock event on May 30 at War Memorial Special Events Field in Wailuku and continues with the Molokai County Show on June 6 at Lanikeha Community Center. The 4-H Livestock State Show is set for July 11-12 in Whitmore Village, with the auction starting July 11 at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 4-H Horse Club State Show on Aug. 22 at Kualoa Ranch in Kāneohe.
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