By Scout Nelson
North Dakota State University celebrates a major campus tradition as the Saddle and Sirloin club hosts the hundredth year of the Little International Livestock Show. This student-led event stands as the largest and longest running tradition on campus. The show highlights agriculture learning, student leadership, and community pride.
The annual show features livestock showmanship classes for beef, dairy, sheep, swine, and goats. It also includes special events such as lamb lead, ham curing, and public speaking. These activities help students gain hands-on experience while building strong communication and leadership skills.
Linnea Axtman serves as the Little International Queen for this historic year, joined by Princesses Windy Jacobson and Montana Martinson. “Serving as the 100th Little International Queen is truly an incredible honor, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity,” said Axtman, who is from Fargo. “It’s humbling to be part of a tradition that has carried on for more than a century, and to represent a show that means so much to the NDSU community. Little I showcases the dedication, community and pride that define the animal agriculture industry here at NDSU, and I’m proud to help uphold and celebrate that legacy this year.”
The theme of this year’s show is “Living Shepperd’s Vision.” “It calls us to think about how we are not only living his vision and continuing the values he nourished all those years ago, but also how we are creating our own visions for the future,” Axtman said.
The event honors an Agriculturist of the Year to recognize a person who supports agriculture. This year’s honoree is Jim Kirsch, who has dedicated more than 40 years to NDSU.
Show manager Taiton Axtman and assistant manager Koen Helmuth guide committees and students who help make the event successful. “It is an incredible testament of the dedication to the show from the students, school, community and alumni,” she said. “It’s truly impressive to see how much effort goes into every aspect of the show and how many behind-the-scenes tasks must come together seamlessly.”
The Little International show continues to support learning, friendship, and pride across the campus agriculture community.
Photo Credit: north-dakota-state-university
Categories: North Dakota, Livestock, Hogs, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Goats & Sheep