Benton County 4-H members proudly displayed their county fair t-shirts, promoting the 2025 theme of “Grow, Learn & Thrive” at the Benton County Fair recently. 

The 4-H youth invested countless hours of hard work and effort in presenting their projects at the county fair, all in the hopes of advancing to the Minnesota State Fair. The 4-H Exhibit building showcased over 1,172 projects. Some of the most popular exhibits included photography, crafts and fine arts, horticulture, foods, clothing, Cloverbuds (projects from K-2 grade children), fashion revue, and aerospace.

This year, 336 4-H members showcased their hard work for fairgoers to see and learn about. 

Wednesday night, the Benton County Fair featured the 4-H livestock auction, during which 103 4-H members showcased their livestock. A crowd of buyers, family, and friends attended to support them.

Before the auction, the Premier Showman contest took place in the show arena. Judges quizzed the top showmen in various categories—sheep, swine, dairy, beef, meat goat, dairy goat, rabbit, llama/alpaca, and poultry—to assess their knowledge of all species. The first contest was the Intermediate Premier Showmanship competition for grades 6-8. Participants included Tosh Maus in beef, Abrielle Lyon in swine, Kylee Miller in dairy, Monica Schlough in sheep, Lyla Beehler in rabbit, Annie Reisinger in llama, Kendall Micholski in meat goat, and Taylor Posch in dairy goat.

The 2025 Intermediate Premiere Showman was awarded to Abrielle Lyon from Clear Lake, a Mayhew Lakers 4-H Club member, and will be an eighth grader this fall in Becker. Abrielle also received champion in swine showmanship, champion in livestock interview, and champion in a 4-H marketing project, as well as blue ribbons in several other projects. 

“Winning the top showman was not winning for me, it was earning. It made me realize that all the research, studying, hard work, and practice had paid off. I was able to see what I could accomplish and how I can do my best by being my best.”  said Lyon. 

The Senior Premiere Showmanship competition for students in grades nine through 13 featured participants in each species: Cade Barringer in beef, Roman Rudnitski in swine, Keaton Nelson in sheep, Brianna Popp in dairy, Jasmine Brenny in rabbit, Austin Molitor in poultry, Claudia Schlough in llama, Aleaya Kipka in meat goat, and Holly Heinen in dairy goat.

Cade Barringer, a dedicated 4-H member of the St Pat’s 4-H Club, was named the 2025 Senior Premier Showman. A graduate of Becker High School and a 4-H goat/beef exhibitor, Cade was thrilled to earn the title of Champion Beef Showman, which qualified him for the competition in his senior year. He expressed his excitement about receiving this honor.

“Winning Senior Premiere Showmanship was an incredible experience, especially after earning Champion Senior Beef Showmanship,” said Cade. 

In addition to the 4-H members excelling in livestock, there were also remarkable achievements in other areas. The Cottonwood Stage area was filled with both furry and non-furry friends during the 4-H pet show judging on Friday morning. The results were as follows: 3rd-5th Division Champion: Sina Mersinger with her snake,  6-8th Division Champion: Valerie McKay with her hamster, and 9+ Division Champion: Eve McKay with her hedgehog.

On Friday evening, 25 youths participated in the Fashion Revue Show, showcasing their skills in purchasing, upcycling, and constructing their outfits. The theme for the Benton County 4-H Fashion Revue was “Back to the 1980s.”  

At the end of the fashion show, the highest award was announced. The 2025 Fashion Revue Court of Honor included the following individuals: Taylor Posch, Jenna Gramke, Austynn McKay, Emma Kaschmitter, Anya Neu, Lilly Ackerman, Elise Gramke, and Bella Manea.

Immediately following the fashion show was the popular Llama/Alpaca Costume Contest held in the show arena. The arena was packed with spectators eager to see the creative costumes designed by the 4-H youth.  

The champions for each grade category were as follows: Priya Thole won for grades 3-5 as an Unidentified Flying Object, and her llama was dressed up as an alien with eyes all over its body. The champion of grades 6-8 was Annie Reisinger, who dressed up as Hiccup from “How to Train Your Dragon,” with her llama resembling Toothless, the black dragon. For grades nine and up, River Ferkinhoff took the title as Steve from Minecraft, while her llama was styled as a creeper from the game.

On Sunday, the final day of the Benton County Fair, they hosted the traditional Horse Fun Show. 

Postgraduate 4-H member Marissa Mox from Becker rode to the song “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica while her words were read aloud. 

Even though the Benton County Fair has concluded, 130 of our 4-H kids have been actively preparing for and participating in the Minnesota State Fair, showcasing livestock, general exhibits, and llama exhibits. Additionally, youth from Benton County are heading to the State Dog Show, State Shooting, and State Horse Show. Be sure to check out all of their amazing accomplishments!

For more information about Benton County 4-H and its activities throughout the year, please call the Benton County Extension Office at 320.968.5077.