Ag News
Georgia lawmakers join with 4-H, FFA for livestock show
Posted on Oct 09, 2025 at 13:35 PM
On Oct. 3, Georgia legislators traded their blazers for boots at the Georgia National Fair’s Legislative Livestock Showdown. The annual competition, organized by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, pairs members of the Georgia House and Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committees with 4-H and FFA students from their districts. Together, they learn the ropes of showing livestock and the value of Georgia’s youth agriculture programs firsthand.
The show has become an annual event at the GNF since 2011 when then-Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black organized the first show. Last year the show was canceled due to Hurricane Helene. Through the years, participants have shown hogs, lambs, and goats, but this year, legislators tried their hand at beef cattle for the second time. While some of the legislators are farmers themselves, for others it was their first encounter with cattle outside of a dinner plate.
The Georgia Senate & House Agriculture Committee & Consumer Affairs Committees with the 4-Hers & FFA members who coached them. Georgia Farm Bureau thanks the Georgia Department of Agriculture for coordinating this fun annual event and the legislators who generously gave of their time to connect with the student livestock exhibitors./ Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
“I'm always trying to get folks that may not have grown up with an ag background or live in rural areas to come and see what we do here at the fair and to see how much of an impact showing livestock and FFA and 4-H have on the lives of our young people,” said Sen. Russ Goodman (Dist. 8, Homerville), chairman of the Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee.
Divided into teams of senators and representatives, the competition was friendly but fierce. Rep. Teddy Reese (Dist. 140, Columbus) took home first place showmanship honors among the ten legislators, but the Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee claimed the team trophy for the third consecutive year.
Goodman said the competition’s true purpose lies in bringing legislators together to witness the importance of the agriculture industry and agriculture education for Georgia’s youth.
“It enables people from different areas of the state, different political parties, to come together for a good cause and support Georgia's number one industry and support what that industry does in the lives of our young folks,” Goodman said.
Before they stepped into the show ring, legislators met with their student coaches in the barn and practice ring. Students taught them grooming and showing techniques, and shared details about their animals’ age, breed and pedigree.
Perry FFA student Stella Wood teaches Rep. Bethany Henderson Ballard how to use a cattle stick to line her heifer up in the ring to best accentuate her bone structure and muscles. / Photo by Kate Walker.
Rep. Bethany Ballard (Dist. 147, Warner Robins) who grew up on her grandparents’ beef cattle farm but never showed livestock, was paired with Perry FFA member Stella Wood and Tweedy, a one-year-old Angus heifer. After working with Wood, Ballard had a better understanding of the value of livestock programs in students’ lives.
“They're going to grow up, and they might not be farmers, but they're going have a great work ethic and they're going to be great at whatever they want to do,” Ballard said.
For Wood, it was encouraging to see legislators take time to enter the show world and experience caring for and exhibiting an animal.
“It means a lot because they're going to learn a lot about agriculture,” Wood said. “Then whenever problems get brought up at all these important meetings, they have more knowledge about what they can do to change it.”
Emanuel County 4-Her Lexa Jukes coached Sen. Sheikh Rahman in showing her Hereford heifer, Dahlia. / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
It was Sen. Sheikh Rahman’s (Dist. 5, Lawrenceville) third year competing in the Legislative Livestock Showdown, and this year he was paired with Emanuel County 4-H member Lexa Jukes and her Hereford heifer, Dahlia.
“Participating in this show has always been a great experience. It doesn’t matter what I show, I love showing the different animals,” Rahman said. “I learn something about the different species we’ve shown – lambs, pigs and now cattle.”
When asked what he’s learned from participating in the showdown, Rahman said, “It’s so important to make sure we have a next generation of farmers in our country because food is a national security issue.”
Jukes, who has shown cattle for four years, said she enjoyed coaching Sen. Rahman as she has a true passion for working with cattle, and plans to study animal science and embryology in college.
“I love teaching other people about showing cattle,” Jukes said.
As legislators led their cattle before judges Clayton Walsh and Mesa Kutz, students stayed close by, offering last-minute coaching. Judges evaluated each pair on showmanship, animal handling, and knowledge, quizzing legislators on what real exhibitors might know, such as their animal’s breed, sire, pedigree and where their favorite cut of beef was located, before ranking them from tenth to first place.
The show’s grand champion showmanship exhibitor, Rep. Teddy Reese (Dist. 140, Columbus), had never worked with cattle before being paired with Franklin County 4-H member Hess Fowler and his Hereford heifer, Matilda.
“I don't think I've ever gotten this close to livestock farming as I did today, handling Matilda, who was just amazing. She was very patient,” Reese laughed.
Despite his lack of experience, Reese brought energy and enthusiasm to the show and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
“There’s an old cliche that says you can't teach an old dog new tricks,” Reese said. “Well, I had a young man with me today who taught an old man some amazing stuff, and we had so much fun from the moment they paired me with them to coming into the arena and competing.”
Fowler also enjoyed teaching Reese the basics of showmanship and introducing the agriculture industry in a fun way.
“I think it's really important that [legislators] get to see this other side of agriculture so that it can impact the decisions they make for our great state,” Fowler said.
Show judges Mesa Kurtz & Clayton Walsh of Wisconsin, far left, evaluate Rep. Teddy Reese as he walks the show ring with his coach Franklin County 4-Her Hess Fowler. / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
Rep. Robert Dickey (Dist. 134, Musella) chairman of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee, said the experience gave lawmakers a valuable perspective on agriculture moving forward.
“Legislators hopefully have more appreciation for agriculture and raising these animals and for ag education, how important it is for young people in our state to experience the responsibility of showing and raising an animal,” Dickey said.
Competitors from the Senate, led by team captain Senator Russ Goodman, included Sen. Steve Gooch (Dist. 51, Dahlonega) and Henry Miller (Tift County FFA), Sen. Sam Watson (Dist.11, Moultrie) and Callie Bridges (Oglethorpe County FFA), Sen. Sheikh Rahman (Dist. 5, Lawrenceville) and Lexa Jukes (Emanuel 4-H), Sen. Josh McLaurin (Dist. 14, Sandy Springs) and Maggie Moon (Madison County FFA) and Sen. Blake Tillery (Dist. 19, Vidalia) and Ally Jo Cook (Gordon 4-H). / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
Competitors from the House, led by team captain Rep. Robert Dickey, included Rep. Bethany Ballard (Dist. 147, Warner Robins) and Stella Wood (Perry FFA), Rep. Chas Cannon (Dist.172, Moultrie) and Wyatt Thompson (Colquitt County FFA), Rep. Angie O’Steen (Dist. 169, Ambrose) and Glory June Bailey (Tift 4-H), Rep. Teddy Reese (Dist. 140, Columbus) and Hess Fowler (Franklin 4-H) and Rep. Trey Kelley (Dist. 16, Cedartown) and Lauren Dowdy (Hall 4-H). / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker
Kate Walker, a senior at Georgia College & State University, is interning this fall in the Georgia Farm Bureau Public Relations Department.
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