Little International is a well-established, 102-year-old tradition at South Dakota State University, but that doesn’t mean the current Little “I” leadership isn’t dedicated to expanding its footprint to new Brookings community members and spreading their community’s rich culture to new audiences, all while keeping that culture tight within SDSU. And that’s exactly what they’re doing as they work to plan this year’s Little “I” event March 28 and 29. 

Little International is the largest two-day, student-run livestock exhibition in the country. About 160 student staff members and 170 student exhibitors are participating, Little “I” manager Teigen Hadrick said. Little “I” brought about 2,200 FFA students from across the Midwest to SDSU’s campus last year.  

A similar crowd is expected this year. “We bring a lot of people in [to town] that want to come and watch but that’s not the main thing,” Hadrick said. “We want to try and boost the community as much as they help us. That’s what we want to see when we do it. That’s really what we want to give back and there’s different ways we try to do that.” 

One of those ways that Little I gives back to its community is through a program introduced this year called “Ag in the Classroom.” This committee is made up of six assistants who, once a month, each visit a classroom in the Brookings area to teach kindergarten, first-grade and third-grade students about agriculture.

This program has reached around 200 students this year.

“I’ve been really happy with the success of that group,” Hadrick said. “They’ve done really well.” 

Erin Jacobson or “Miss Erin” to her students, is an agronomy student at SDSU and is one of the six Ag in the Classroom assistants. The assistants visit the same classroom each month, so they are able to build connections with the teachers and students they see monthly. 

“I think seeing the kids’ reactions to things that we see every day or we don’t even think twice about is my favorite part,” Jacobson said.  

Both Hadrick and this year’s Little International assistant manager Cassidy Strommen enjoy the camaraderie that comes with Little “I”. Their goal is to bring that comradery to Brookings’ community and not just to SDSU’s campus.

“My favorite thing is during the week of Little ‘I’, it’s really busy and people are running around at the last minute…but that last week of Little ‘I’ is when you see the comradery between the students… it’s just really fun to see how we all can come together for one event,” Strommen said. 

When asked what he wants attendees to take away from their experience at Little ‘I’, Hadrick said, “I really just want them to have fun… Maybe you learn something, maybe you just came to watch your best friend show a pig. We just want you to come in, have a good time, sit around in the chips, and watch some people show some livestock.” 

Don’t miss the 102nd showing of Little International on March 28 and 29 at the SDSU Animal Science Arena to support our students. You can get more information at sdsulittleinternational.org.