Sleepy Eye FFA chapter members had many different roles at the 2022 Brown County Fair from August 10-14. The members showcased their crop, mechanics, and livestock projects and also helped run the FFA Kiddy Barnyard and FFA shows at the Brown County Fair.
Livestock exhibitors included: Dairy- Sophie Gustafson, Rachel Portner, Gracie Sellner. Beef- Emma Fischer, Isaac Lendt, Lucia Martinez. Goats- Morgan Mathiowetz, Olivia Schieffert. Poultry- Winsten Nienhaus. Swine- Olivia Schieffert.
The Sleepy Eye FFA chapter was very successful with their projects. The following are their placings and the resulting champions for exhibitors at the Brown County Fair.
FFA Dairy Show:
Gracie Sellner: Senior Champion and Overall Best in Show
Sophia Gustafson: Junior Champion and Reserve Overall Best in Show
Rachel Portner: Reserve Junior Champion
FFA Beef Show:
Emma Fischer: Reserve Champion Market Beef
FFA Poultry Show:
Winsten Nienhaus: Champion Egg Production, Champion Pen- Ducks, and Overall Best in Show
FFA Goat Shot:
Olivia Schieffert: Champion Breeding Doe and Overall Best in Show
Morgan Mathiowetz: Champion Market and Reserve Overall Best in Show
FFA Swine Show:
Olivia Schieffert: Market Gilt Champion and Reserve Champion Breeding Gilt
FFA Crops Show:
The crops show was a very large competition with nearly 500 samples. All of the crops will be entered in and displayed at the Minnesota State Fair from August 25th until September 5th.
CROP SHOW CHAMPIONS:
Ear Corn: Jacob Schultz
Miscellaneous: Jacob Schultz
Oats: Jamie Hulsey
Shelled Corn: Jacob Schultz
Soybeans: Jacob Schultz
Wheat: Carson Uecker
CROP SHOW RESERVE CHAMPIONS:
Ear Corn: Adam Johnson
Miscellaneous: Jasmine Peterman
Oats: Jon Peterman
Shelled Corn: Isaac Lendt
Soybeans: Emma Fischer
Wheat: Tim Friton
Overall Crops Best in Show – Jacob Schultz
Reserve Overall Best in Show – Jasmine Peterman
FFA Ag Mechanics:
The Ag Mechanics division had several entries this year including woods, construction, metals, and combination projects. Kyle Capacia, Destiney Dittbenner, Zack Dominguez, Enrique Flores, Morgan Hoffmann, Adam Johnson, Lily Kallevig, Jessy Lozano, Marcus Martinez, Evan Thompson, Winsten Nienhaus, and Jade Sellner had exhibits for Sleepy Eye FFA.
Winsten Nienhaus: Construction Champion, Reserve Champion, and Overall Best in Show
Enrique Flores: Metals Champion
Destiney Dittbenner: Metals Reserve Champion
Kyle Capacia: Woodworking Champion
Marcus Martinez: Woodworking Reserve Champion
Morgan Hoffmann: Multi-class Champion
Jessy Lozano: Multi-class Reserve Champion
The FFA chapters within Brown County also conducted the FFA Kiddy Barn during the five days of the fair. It was a huge success thanks to the many FFA members from Sleepy Eye, Springfield, and New Ulm who worked shifts during the fair as well as the people who donated animals for the Kiddy Barn. Over 20 members of the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter participated in helping children have a great experience with baby animals and learning about farm safety and agriculture while at the fair.
The FFA Kiddy Barnyard exhibited newborn farm animals donated by several families including: Roseview Dairy (Holstein Calf), Port Haven Dairy (Brown Swiss Calf), Stacy Tauer (Hereford Crossbred Calf), and Spring Creek Dairy (Jersey Calf).
The FFA Kiddy Barnyard also had an agriculture coloring & activity station as well as a safety carnival. At the safety carnival, FFA members conducted several games with safety questions covering grain, ATV’s, tractors & machinery, animals, and chemicals. The members of the Sleepy Eye chapter had a great time teaching youth at the Kiddy Barnyard about animals and safety as well as showcasing their FFA projects during the Brown County Fair.