This year at the Wood County Fair, the swine, beef, sheep and goat departments will all be having Pee Wee Showmanship contests.

These shows are for children who aren’t yet 4-H age. This will be the first year the sheep and beef departments have a pee wee contest. The swine department has been having a pee wee show for over 10 years and the goat department had their first show last year.

Holly Gates, a regional manager for AgCredit, helped to start the swine pee wee show years ago and she continues to help now.

Gates has also helped to start pee wee shows in multiple other counties. She said she believes the shows have been an excellent addition to the fair and have helped the little kids greatly.

“It gives these young kids a chance to kickstart their showmanship skills,” Gates said.

The swine pee wee show is on Tuesday at 6 p.m. It is open to any child under the age of 9.

Paul Perry, who is on the committee for the goat department, said he thought the pee wee shows last year were great and that the kids really enjoyed it. He said there was a lot of support and he really liked getting to see the older 4-H members help the younger kids learn the ropes.

“It was just what 4-H is all about, helping each other and fostering and mentoring,” Perry said.

Children participating in the goat pee wee show will be judged on only their showmanship skills. Prizes will be given to the top performers and all participators will receive something.

The goat pee wee show is on Thursday at 9 a.m. and is open to children aged 2-8.

This year will be the beef department’s first year having a pee wee show.

Stacie Anderson, who is the president for the Wood County Farm Bureau which sponsors the beef pee wee show, said this show is a great addition to the fair because it gets more people to come and gives the young kids great opportunities.

“It’s really just a great opportunity for them to understand what goes into it and also hopefully sparks an interest in them to want to take a big project at the fair in the future,” Anderson said.

Everyone who participates in the beef pee wee show will receive a T-shirt and a coupon for a free cheeseburger. There will also be prizes for the class winners.

The beef show is on Thursday at 6 p.m. and is only open to kids aged 5-8 due to the size of the animals.

This year will also be the first time the sheep department has a pee wee show, although Amanda Barndt, who is on the sheep department committee, said it has been requested for the last couple of years.

Barndt said they decided to do a pee weeshow this year to interest the younger kids and give them a chance to work with sheep.

“The purpose is to encourage families to come to the fair, give youngsters the opportunity to participate and win a ribbon and allow non-farm families a chance to connect with the sheep world,” Barndt said.

The judge for the sheep pee wee show will be choosing the best kid out of each class, who will then receive a prize. No other placings will be given out, but Barndt said the judge is planning on talking to each kid afterward to give tips. She also said there will be T-shirts and gift bags handed out to each participant.

The sheep pee wee show will be on Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. and anyone aged 2-8 can participate.

Registration is currently still available for all shows and can be found online.

“I think number one, it gives them some exposure to what showing livestock is all about and how much fun they can have and how much they can learn,” Anderson said.