(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Benton County 4-H Extension.)

The Benton County 4-H’ers were super excited to be back together for a successful Benton County Fair for 2021. 

Whether the Benton County 4-H’ers debuted general/static “non-livestock” exhibits, or they chose to participate in livestock like swine, beef, dairy, goat, sheep, rabbit, poultry, llama, horse or even their pet/exotic animal. One thing is sure: they were busy preparing for this event all spring and summer. The youth have dedicated numerous hours of hard work and sweat, in order to be showcased at the county fair with their exhibits, with the dream to advance to the MN State Fair. 

Some of the most popular general exhibits include photography, creative arts, gardening, foods, clothing, cloverbuds (projects from K-2 kids), fashion revue and aerospace. 

4-H’ers find what interests them, spend hours creating/designing, prepping it for displaying and acquiring the knowledge necessary to share what they learned with their judge on entry day. The Saturday before fair all the 4-H’ers static projects were judged and on Monday, the night before, livestock moved into the barns.

Nearly 400 different animals, brought by 280 4-H’ers were available for fair goers to see and learn about. From the swine, beef, dairy, goat, sheep and miniature horse shows Tuesday and Wednesday, to the poultry and rabbit shows on Thursday, to watching the horse shows Friday through Sunday, the opportunities to witness the hard work of the 4-H’ers were endless. The hard work and dedication that these 4-H’ers put in to care for their animals, arriving in the early morning hours and staying late into the evenings, is admirable. 

Wednesday night of the Benton County Fair was the 4-H livestock auction. Nearly 100 4-H’ers participated by displaying their livestock to a robust crowd of buyers. The auctioneer for the evening was IRay Companies and Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Sauk Rapids clerked the auction along with 4-H adult volunteers. It was a fun evening of celebrating the hard work of the 4-H youth.

Prior to the auction, the Premiere Showman contest took place in the show arena. Each of the top showman in sheep, swine, dairy, beef, meat goat, dairy goat, rabbit, llama and poultry were asked questions about each species by judges to determine who was most knowledgeable in all species. 

First was Intermediate Premiere Showmanship competition. Participants were Nolan Hackett in beef, Keaton Nelson in sheep, Austin Molitor in swine, Brianna Popp in dairy, Kyle Gadacz in poultry, Holly Heinen in dairy goat and Aleaya Kipka in meat goat. 

The 2021 Intermediate Premiere Showman was awarded to Holly Heinen from St. Joseph, a member of the Shamrock Shakers 4-H Club who will be a seventh grader this fall. Holly is a well-rounded 4-H’er exhibiting projects in multiple areas in both general and livestock projects. A few of Holly’s highlights were grand champion in dairy goat, photography, cat show, fruit and food preservation, which she plans to bring to state fair with her goat. 

“I have learned many new skills being in 4-H because I entered items in project areas at the fair that were new to me.” Remarked Holly, “I would never have tried doing some these things if I had not done them as a project for the fair and in the end it was really fun to learn about that project. I would love to see others join 4-H because you can learn new skills or share something you are already good at and meet new friends. The possibilities with 4-H are endless.”

Next, was the Senior Premiere Showmanship competition. Participants were Leighton Hackett in beef, Travis Boyle in swine, Abigail Nelson in sheep, Morgan Molitor in swine, Emmi Janski in llama, Joseph Achen in dairy, Riley Kipka in meat goat and Emma Goertz in dairy goat. The 2021 Senior Premiere Showmanship was awarded to Travis Boyle from Foley, a member of Green Acres 4-H Club. Travis is also a 4-H Ambassador, Head Camp Counselor and worked this summer as a 4-H Summer Assistant to help with summer programming. During the fair week, Travis showed rabbit, swine, goat, and horse, where he received grand champion senior swine showman and grand champion senior meat goat showman. He also received grand champion in cake decorating and food & nutrition, which he is planning to bring to state fair.

“4-H has taught me to be a hard worker and has helped build my leadership skills. It has been rewarding and fulfilling to try new things along with being able to compete with your friends because at the end of the day, it’s nice to walk out of the show ring and still be able to laugh and joke with your competitors.” Remarked Travis, 

“I think others should consider 4-H and everything you get to do. If you don’t live on a farm or have animals to show you can still participate in static exhibits. If that isn’t your forte, that’s alright, you don’t have to exhibit anything if you don’t want to in 4-H, because it’s all about making the world a better place, one friendship at a time”

Not only did 4-H’ers excel in livestock, but they also had some remarkable achievements in other areas. 

On Friday night of the Benton County Fair, 4-H’ers participated in performing arts acts and Fashion Revue show where youth walk the runway. Performing Arts Grand Champion was Brady Roberts, of Sauk Rapids, a member of 79’ers 4-H Club and entering 11th grade. He danced to hip hop song, I own the World. During Fashion Revue, 4-H youth showcased their outfits that they either constructed or purchased. Court of Honor Metals, plaques and ribbons were given out during the evening. Champions and Court of honor were Katie Gramke, Elise Gramke, Brooke Swanson, Ashlynn Swanson, Sophia Beauchamp and Isabella Wieber. Champion Mentor in Fashion Revue was Brooke Swanson. 

The good news is even though the Benton County Fair came to an end, there are a great number of 4-H kids that have been busy at the MN State Fair in livestock, general exhibits, and llama. Many from Benton County are also heading to the State Dog Show, State Shooting, as well as the State Horse Show. Be sure to check out all of their amazing accomplishments.

For more information about Benton County 4-h and all the activities throughout the year, contact the Benton County Extension Office at 320.968.5077.