Reinventing Livestock Show Management
Josh Mayne grew up showing Boer goats and pigs and was familiar with the outdated process that required printing entry forms, filling them out by hand and mailing them to livestock show organizers who manually entered information into spreadsheets. The Linganore FFA alumni followed the process countless times, always thinking it could be improved.
“I had a lot of ideas,” he recalls. “I wanted to give myself the time to explore technology and explore opportunities in the livestock industry.”
Mayne, the son of agriculture educators and FFA advisors, grew up attending contests, practices and other FFA events alongside his parents. Through Prepared Public Speaking Leadership Development Events (LDEs), Mayne explored topics that connected livestock production with other fields, from science and medicine to technology, which helped him see agriculture in a broader context.
“Agriculture is everywhere,” he says. “FFA helped me see how much it relates to the rest of the world.”
Showman
After graduating with a degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Mayne accepted a job as an application developer—but he had bigger plans.
“I knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to be in that job forever,” he says. “I always had the itch of wanting to start something of my own.”
In 2019, Mayne launched Showman, a web-based platform designed to simplify livestock show management. The app allows exhibitors to enter animals online, manage multiple shows and pay entry fees digitally, while giving organizers tools to manage entries, run show days and even coordinate auctions.
“The goal, from the beginning, was to make running a livestock show easier and more accessible,” he says. “There are just so many ways that data can be used to connect the livestock industry.”
In the first year, 100 livestock shows used the platform to manage the administrative side of their operations. Interest in the app skyrocketed and almost 2,000 shows in the United States, Canada and Australia are using the technology for livestock show management.
Mayne credits FFA for providing skills like leadership and public speaking that are essential to running a successful business. He also learned another important life lesson.
“Doing things that require you to step outside of your comfort zone can help you develop new skills,” he says. “If you try new things, even if you’re uncomfortable, it can lead to big rewards.”
