The annual Sioux Empire Livestock Show hosted by the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce took place from January 21, 2025, through January 26, 2025.
As always, a good crew from our Ag Banking team, along with other local volunteers, met to get the show set up on Monday, January 20. This was a large task that involved setting up pig and sheep pens, the tie stalls for livestock, and the sale ring. Many hands make for light work, though, and we were done quickly.
The show kicked off on Tuesday with the 4-H/FFA calf show, which was well-attended with 90 calves. Wednesday began with the Purebred Cattle Shows, along with the Supreme Row Judging of the different bulls and heifers.
First National Bank was once again the Gold Sponsor of the $12,000 Supreme Row, where the consignor of each champion bull and heifer receives $3,500 and the buyer receives $2,500. This year’s champions were the Angus bull from VZR Angus (first time at show) and the Angus heifer from Bullerman Angus.
Thursday brought on one of the bigger days of the week with the junior hog, junior market beef, and junior market lamb and goat shows. On Friday was the Junior Prospect calf show, with more than 100 calves again being shown.
Friday night kicked off the Sale of Champions (SOC), an event that celebrates the Farm Family of the Year — the McAreavey family from Crooks, SD — and the AgriBusiness Citizen of the Year — Glenn Muller of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. The evening also featured a silent auction, raising $9,000 in scholarships for exhibitors.
The highlight of the night was the SOC Live Auction, where Ryan Wieman and Ted Souvenir auctioned off the top beef calves, hogs, lambs, and goats — showcasing the best animals from the week. This year’s live auction raised more than $80,000 in premium for the exhibitors.
On Saturday was the 4-H Breeding Heifer show, with more than 180 head of heifer calves being shown. Lastly, Sunday was a culmination of the week with Collegiate and 4H/FFA judging contests. These contests brought colleges from all over the Midwest to compete in livestock judging, along with local 4H/FFA teams.
Learn more about the annual Sioux Empire Livestock Show or get involved here.
