HARRISBURG – Agriculture Secretary George Greig has invited the public to visit the 55th Keystone International Livestock Exposition, or KILE, to be held Oct. 1-9 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
“I am honored to welcome 870 exhibitors to Pennsylvania for what is the largest livestock show on the East Coast,” said Greig. “For more than half a century, this show has offered Pennsylvania livestock producers the opportunity to showcase their livestock on a national level, and I look forward to seeing the more than 3,500 quality animals exhibited during the week.”
This year’s show will feature 1,100 beef cattle, 500 horses, 1,000 sheep and 950 swine exhibited by producers from 32 states.
Youth will compete in the Collegiate and Junior Livestock Judging contest and Keystone Stockman’s Contest. Involvement from youth participants will be critical to the show’s success, as nearly half of the nearly 900 exhibitors are under the age of 21.
“KILE provides many opportunities for youth to demonstrate their skills and gain additional knowledge about the livestock industry, giving them the tools they’ll need to be the next generation of agriculture leaders,” said Greig.
Returning to KILE this year is the Farm City Day event from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, where nearly 600 local students will learn about agriculture. Three crowd-pleasing cooking contests are on tap during KILE and are open to the public. The Bell & Evans “Gold Wing” and the Weaver’s Best Bologna contests are set for Friday, Oct. 7. Cooking begins at 6 p.m. and winners will be announced in a ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 8.
The fourth annual Keystone Classic Barbeque Contest is slated for all day Saturday, Oct. 8, with the winners announced at 4 p.m. The contest features Kansas City Barbeque Society masters competing for the Pennsylvania State Cup and $7,250 in prizes by preparing chicken, pork, pork ribs and beef brisket barbeque.
The Bell & Evans “Best Legs in Town” people’s choice barbeque contest is also on Saturday.
The seven-day event is filled with a variety of livestock shows, sales and contests. Other highlights include:
- Opening ceremonies at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Sale Arena, with a welcome from Greig.
- Five horse breed shows, in addition to the North American All-Breeds 6-Horse Hitch Classic Series Show, Saturday, Oct. 8at 6 p.m.
- Twenty-seven cattle shows featuring 14 breeds, 28 sheep shows with 14 breeds, and 11 swine shows with nine breeds. Twelve animal sales are also planned.
- Keystone Lead Line will be held Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m.
- Agri-Kid Olympics will be held at noon, and Power Pedal Pull at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8
- The fifth annual Youth Beef Benefit Auction will again offer its proceeds to the Beef Scholarship program, providing two beef youth with $1,000 and $500 scholarships at 2:45 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8.
KILE relies on generous sponsorships to operate the show including some of this year’s prime sponsors: Pennsylvania Equine Council, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Boehringer Ingelheim, Southern States, Chapman Corporation, Campbell Show Calves, AgriLabs and Kitchen Craft Cookware in addition to EMM Sales & Service Inc., of Brownstown, Lancaster Co., who will sponsor the supreme champion awards for beef, sheep and swine for the fifth year in a row.
The show is open to the public with free admission and parking. For more information and a complete show schedule, visitwww.keystoneinternational.state.pa.us or call 717-787-2905.
