What the Spring Dairy Show Is
The Clemson Spring Dairy Show and Junior Dairy Weekend is South Carolina's youth dairy cattle show, hosted by Clemson Extension and 4-H at the T. Ed Garrison Arena. It has run for nearly 50 years and is described as one of the premier dairy cattle shows in the Southeast. The 2027 show is March 25-27 at Garrison Arena in Pendleton. Open to youth and adults who want to show cattle, it combines breed shows with showmanship, contests, a heifer sale and a youth fun night.
What Happens During the Weekend
- Breed shows and showmanship contests, with scholarships
- The "Let's Talk Dairy" public speaking contest. The 2027 registration deadline is March 12, 2027.
- The State 4-H/FFA Dairy Evaluation (dairy judging) contest, on March 25, 2027. Contestants place classes of cattle and give oral reasons for their placings. Its 2027 registration deadline is March 12, 2027.
- The FFA Dairy Handlers contest
- The South Carolina Youth Dairy Heifer Sale
- A youth fun night and silent and live auctions
How to Enter
Show entries are made online through showman.app, linked from the Clemson 4-H dairy page. For the 2026 show, entries turned in by February 27 avoided a penalty and late entries were accepted from February 28 to March 15 with a late fee. The contests were registered through Eventbrite.
Showmanship and Learning
The show puts weight on learning as well as placings. Its recap describes eight showmanship classes, a dairy judging clinic where over 30 youth judged eight classes of cattle, and a showmanship clinic with 45 youth led by top adult showmen from the region. The 2021 show drew 316 head from nine states and 108 youth in showmanship, up from 248 head from five states and 72 showmanship youth in 2018. A later report counted about 200 students from 13 states. The show is planned by a committee of local dairymen, Clemson Extension staff, 4-H Dairy Club leaders and dairy industry representatives.
The Dairy Heifer Project and Heifer Sale
The heifer sale is the end point of the SC 4-H Dairy Heifer Project, begun in 1974 and aimed at youth who may not live on a farm.
- Youth ages 5-18 in the 4-H dairy project take part.
- Heifers are assigned by random draw at 3 to 4 months old.
- Youth raise and show the heifer, then sell her as a bred heifer at the SC Youth Dairy Heifer Sale. The project runs about 20 months.
- The sale supplies herd replacements for South Carolina dairy farmers.
Where
T. Ed Garrison Arena, 1101 West Queen Street, Pendleton, SC 29670. The cattle complex has 42,000 square feet under cover, with a concrete show and sales arena, livestock housing, covered wash racks and a nine-stall milking parlor. The main arena seats 3,000, and the venue has 70 full-service RV hookups. The arena office phone is 864-646-2717.
Questions
Who can show?
The show is open to all youth and adults who want to show their cattle.
Can I only judge, not show?
Yes. The dairy judging contest and the Let's Talk Dairy speech contest register separately from the show.
Who do I call for 4-H questions?
The state 4-H office at 864-656-3848.
Official Links
- Clemson 4-H Dairy: show, contests and heifer project
- Clemson 4-H events and deadlines
- T. Ed Garrison Arena
- Anderson Observer coverage of the show
- Clemson 4-H show recap
Clemson Cooperative Extension in South Carolina: The Essentials
Clemson Cooperative Extension has an office in all 46 South Carolina counties and offers research-based help on farms, gardens, families and youth programs.
Find your office
The County Office Directory lists address and phone for each county.
4-H
South Carolina 4-H is open to youth ages 5 to 18 for a $15 annual membership, with sign-up through 4HOnline, per the Get Involved page. Projects include cattle, horse, poultry, rabbit and swine.
Farm and soil help
The Livestock and Forages team runs beef cattle, forage, small ruminant, equine and backyard poultry programs. Soil samples can be dropped at a county office for the Clemson lab, where a standard test is $6.00 per sample, per the lab guidelines.
Next steps
Call your county office before you drive, and bring labeled samples.
Read the full guide: Clemson Cooperative Extension in South Carolina
Other Upcoming Events Nearby
- FFA Region 1 Tool ID and Floriculture Events
Region 1 FFA contests in agricultural tool identification, leadership development events and floriculture, scheduled for February 9, 2027, at Anderson Institute of Technology.
Anderson, SC | Organizer: SC FFA Official event details - Mr. FFA Scholarship Event
Scholarship program honoring a male FFA member, scheduled for February 26, 2027, at Pendleton High School.
Pendleton, SC | Organizer: SC FFA Official event details - SC 4-H/FFA State Dairy Evaluation Contest
Youth judge dairy cattle at the state 4-H/FFA Dairy Evaluation, held March 25, 2027 at Garrison Arena in Pendleton as the opening day of the Spring Dairy Show weekend.
Pendleton, SC | Organizer: Clemson Extension 4-H and SC FFA Official event details - SC 4-H/FFA State Livestock Evaluation Contest
Teams of 4-H and FFA members place classes of beef, swine and sheep and give oral reasons at the state Livestock Evaluation on April 2, 2027 at Garrison Arena in Pendleton.
Pendleton, SC | Organizer: Clemson Extension 4-H and SC FFA Official event details - SC 4-H State Horse Show
Four-day state 4-H horse show for qualified youth riders, scheduled June 9-12, 2027 at Garrison Arena in Pendleton.
All South Carolina events by date
Listing checked Nov. 11, 2026 against this source. Details can change; confirm with the organizer.