Celebrating 20 years of
making an impact in Agriculture and Agricultural Education at the State Fair and beyond
Agriculture is at the heart of the State Fair’s origins and it is core to what we do today. Agricultural exhibitors at the fair are passionate about their role in feeding the world and involving youth in showcasing modern agriculture. Donors to the Foundation help the Minnesota State Fair offer opportunities to celebrate agricultural excellence, improve and preserve buildings showcasing agriculture on the fairgrounds, and connect today’s consumers with food and agriculture in many ways.
Improving and Preserving Buildings
Some of the most noticeable ways Foundation donors have supported agriculture at the Minnesota State Fair are the improvements to and construction of several agricultural facilities on the fairgrounds. The continuing renovations to the Robert A. Christensen Pavilion have included new windows, doors, lighting, stalling and improved airflow, with more improvements to come.
Connecting Food and the Farm
Every June, Minneapolis and St. Paul public school third-graders are able to participate in Urban Ag Day. This annual initiative to connect and educate about the importance of agriculture in our daily lives is typically a field trip to the fairgrounds where metro-area students can interact with farmers and livestock. Urban Ag Day in 2021 was made possible through an online curriculum and videos produced by FFA participants.
Showcasing Minnesota Agriculture at the Fair
The Minnesota State Fair offers many opportunities for Minnesotans to showcase their livestock, agricultural, horticultural and bee culture activities in competition.
Ag-Hort-Bee
Ag-Hort-Bee competitions included the following entries in 2021:
- 128 Christmas tree entries
- 1,115 entries in bee and honey divisions
- 276 crop art entries, and 54 scarecrow entries (Does that have hyphens?)
- 583 flower entries
- 282 amateur wine entries
- 196 fruit entries in classes from apples and plums to pears and grapes
- 2,029 vegetable entries, including the 1,104.5-pound winner of the Giant Pumpkin Contest
4-H
4-H members exhibit and participate in a variety of programs and demonstrations at the Minnesota State Fair. The 4-H program offers activities throughout the 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair, serving more than 5,500 youth exhibitors and showcasing building exhibits, demonstrations, Share the Fun programs, Arts In programs and other opportunities for youth participation.
Additional 4-H contests include Herdsmanship, Showmanship, Judging Teams, Public Presentations, Non-Livestock Exhibits and County Club exhibits.
FFA
FFA members compete in many different livestock and non-livestock agriculture competitions. FFA prepares its members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture.
Horses
As one of the premier horse expositions in the Upper Midwest, the Minnesota State Fair Horse Show features a variety of horse breed and horse discipline competitions.
Livestock Exhibitors
Exhibitors showcase their livestock in a quest for ribbons, premiums and awards. From rabbits to cattle, the State Fair offers visitors the chance to see livestock of all sizes and learn more about Minnesota’s critical role in feeding the world.
Investing in Youth Exhibitors
The Minnesota State Fair is known to have some of the very best agricultural competitions around. Contributions to the Foundation have supported prizes recognizing the excellence and dedication shown through these truly outstanding competitive entries.
In 2021, your support helped to invest in the future of agriculture by establishing the Beginning Exhibitor Livestock Learning Experience (BELLE) Grant which provides cash grants and mentorship for first-time youth exhibitors at the State Fair. The Foundation is proud to support this innovative program again in 2022.
Learn more: https://www.mnstatefair.org/…/awards-and…/belle-grant/
To support agricultural education programming at the Minnesota State Fair, go to: www.msffoundation.org/agriculture