PA Agriculture Secretary Invites Public to 54th Keystone International Livestock Exposition

Harrisburg Hosts Largest Livestock Show in Eastern U.S.

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding today invited the public to visit the 54th Keystone International Livestock Exposition, or KILE, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg from Sept. 27 - Oct. 3. KILE is the largest livestock show on the East Coast.

"It is an honor to host a major livestock show that, each year, continues to grow—now attracting more than 4,100 animals from 27 states and Canada," said Redding. "For more than half a century, this show has provided Pennsylvania livestock producers the chance to exhibit and promote their livestock on a national level."

This year's show will feature 1,200 beef cattle, 700 horses, 1,100 sheep and 1,100 swine.

Youth will compete in the collegiate and junior livestock judging contest and Keystone Stockman's Contest. Youth participation will be critical to the show's success, as nearly half of the more than 1,000 exhibitors are under age 21.

"KILE provides numerous opportunities for youth to demonstrate their skills and gain additional knowledge about the livestock industry," said Redding. "By allowing them the chance to shine, we are keeping this future generation of agriculturalists engaged in livestock production and committed to our state's leading industry."

Returning to KILE this is year is the Farm City Day event on Thursday, Sept. 30, at which more than 1,000 local students will learn about agriculture.

Three crowd-pleasing cooking contests are on tap during KILE that are open to the public. The McElhaney Farm PA Preferred Best Burger and the Seltzers Smokehouse Meats Barbeque contests are set for Friday, Oct. 1. Cooking begins at 6 p.m. and winners will be announced in a ceremony at 8:30 p.m.

The burger grill-off will allow grillers to compete with their best burger recipe. Pre-registration is required. A minimum donation of $30 is requested to support KILE youth scholarship programs.

The third annual Keystone Classic Barbeque Contest is slated for all day Saturday, Oct. 2, with the winners announced at 4 p.m. The contest features Kansas City Barbeque Society masters preparing chicken, pork, pork ribs and beef brisket barbeque.

The seven-day event is filled with a variety of livestock shows, sales and contests. Other highlights include:

• Opening ceremonies at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30, in the Sale Arena, with a welcome from Redding
• Nine horse breed shows, in addition to the North American All-Breeds 6-Horse Hitch Classic Series Show, Friday, Oct. 1 at 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. 2, at 1 p.m.
• Agri-Kid Olympics will be held at noon, and Power Pedal Pull at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2
• 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. 2.

KILE relies on generous sponsorships to operate the show including some of this year's prime sponsors: McElhaney Family Farm, Pennsylvania Equine Council, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Boehringer Ingelheim, EBY Trailers, Southern States, Chapman Corp., Campbell Show Calves and Kitchen Craft Cookware, and EMM Sales & Service Inc., of Brownstown, Lancaster Co., who will sponsor the supreme champion awards for beef, sheep and swine.

The show is open to the public with free admission and parking. For more information and a complete show schedule, visit www.keystoneinternational.state.pa.us or call 717-787-2905.

Media contact: Jean Kummer, 717-787-5085

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture