OGDEN — Change is coming to the Weber County Junior Livestock program, which gives hundreds of kids and teens a chance each year to hone their life and animal-raising skills.

It has been administered by Weber County, but county commissioners decided it would be better managed as a private entity and plans are moving forward to create a nonprofit organization that manages and operates the program. The shift, a work in progress, is noteworthy, but those involved say it doesn’t portend radical change in the annual livestock show and auction, held in conjunction with the Weber County Fair each August.

Ashton Wilson, director of the Weber County Fair, said the show and auction will unfold as normal. The fair and livestock program go from Aug. 9-12 this year. “The auction can operate as usual, just a different crew behind the scenes making it all happen,” she said.

Craig Jensen, president of the new livestock show managing entity, the Weber Junior Livestock Association, said the focus of the program doesn’t change. Volunteers run the program, meant to help kids develop a sense of responsibility and vital life skills as they raise their animals.

“It’s for the kids,” he said.

Around 450 kids participated in the program in 2022, according to County Commissioner Jim Harvey, a livestock program booster. The auction at the end of the fair, of the animals they raised over the course of up to a year, generated $1.12 million.

“It teaches kids how to work. It teaches kids how to budget,” Harvey said. At the end of the fair when they sell their critters, participating children also learn about separation anxiety and, potentially, earn money to cover future college costs.

Liam Keogh, a deputy attorney in the Weber County Attorney’s office, said the change — announced late last year — is in line with how junior livestock programs elsewhere in the state are managed, one of the spurs for the move. Significantly, he said making the program a separate, nonprofit entity also ought to aid in fundraising.

Private fundraising has always been viewed as a key funding element of the program, but he said some were leery of donating when it was a county entity. The county typically budgeted around $30,000 each year for the program. “Why am I donating to the government?” Keogh said, voicing the question for some.

While the change has spurred concerns from some, most seem to be onboard with it, according to Wilson.

“The key is education on why it happened and how much more it will empower the committee to function independently. The committee has expressed in the past a desire to have more control over their operation and destiny, this will allow that to happen,” Wilson said. “Of course, change will also cause some people to experience fear or uncertainty.”

Jensen said the shift to a nonprofit organization, requiring the filling out of paperwork with state and federal officials, is in the finishing stages. “We’re just getting underway with the fundraising part of it. It’s going,” he said.

Meantime, Weber County officials are still providing help and some funds during the transitory stage. “They’re going to help us make sure the transition is smooth,” Jensen said.

At any rate, as Wilson sees it, the change stands to benefit the program financially. When Weber County operated the program, it took 3% of auction sales to cover operating costs, with the livestock program taking 1% of sales.

“Now, the new organization can take all 4% for expenditures, improvements, etc. They can increase that percentage if need be as well,” she said.

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