Miles & Preston 4-H Clubs Held Local Show at Threshers Grounds this Past Weekend

By Charlie Lane for the Preston Times

The Miles and Preston 4-H clubs held their Local Show on Sunday, July 13, to conclude Thresher’s weekend activities. Molly Matthiesen and Ava Ruden, both alumni of the Miles Mavericks 4-H club, judged 56 indoor projects from 20 exhibitors. Indoor results were as follows: Champion Senior- Chase Venema with a painting of a baby. Reserve Champion Senior- Amber Hartung with a Photography project. Champion Intermediate- Joe Lane with a sewn denim wrench organizer. Reserve Champion Intermediate- Emmett Ruden with a wood burned American flag. Champion Junior- Abrym Roling with a metal sign cut from a CNC plasma table. Reserve Champion Junior- Charlie Manthei with a thrifty meal.

Dylan Matthiesen also received outstanding first year recognition for cookies. Thea Ruden, leader of the Miles club, judged projects from Clover Kids. This year’s livestock show had 27 entries. Aaliyah Maze of Fulton was the judge for the horse show. Olyvia Strait exhibited the Champion halter horse and was named Champion showman. Ella Winkler had the Reserve Champion halter horse and was named Reserve Champion showman.

Carson Deppe of Dewitt judged the goat and cattle shows. Henry Lane showed the Champion Market Goat, and the Reserve Champion Market Goat went to Mary Lane. Mary also showed the Champion Breeding Doe, and Henry exhibited the Reserve Champion Breeding Doe. In the cattle show, the Champion Breeding Heifer was exhibited by Hadley McDonald, and Izzy Lawson’s heifer was named Reserve Champion. Champion Market Steer went to Case Holdgrafer, and MaKenna Klemme exhibited the Reserve Champion. MaKenna’s steer also had the highest rate of gain at the show with 3.73 lbs per day. Bridgette Moeller exhibited the Champion Market Heifer. Allan Till of Maquoketa judged the poultry show, where Ashley Meyer’s Trio Rouen was named Champion in the duck division. In the chicken division, Ashley’s Trio Mille De Fleur was named Champion, and her Pen of Three Old English was named Reserve Champion. Till also judged the rabbit show, which had nine entries between 4-H and Clover Kids.

Emily Matthiesen’s Blue New Zealand Senior Buck was named Grand Champion, and Reserve Overall went to Brantley Green for his Mini Rex Junior Buck. Meghan Klemme, Miles Mavericks 4-H alumni, judged both 4-H and Clover Kids bottle calves. Champion Senior bottle calf came down to a tiebreaker question, and Alia Holdgrafer edged out Bridgette Moeller to be named Champion. The Champion Intermediate bottle calf was exhibited by Joe Lane, with Brantley Green as Reserve. In the Junior division, Henry Lane was named Champion, and Troy Moeller was named Reserve Champion. Six Clover Kids exhibited bottle calves, and all received a blue ribbon.

The annual Weight Guessing contest is always a crowd favorite. This year, the weight of a market steer, breeding heifer, market goat, breeding goat, a bottle calf, and a rabbit was 3,051 lbs. Chopper Holdgrafer had the closest guess with 3,021 lbs, and won a certificate for a large Geno’s pizza and a $10 Theisen’s gift card. Each year, $100 dollar scholarships are awarded to graduating seniors who have had greater than 50% meeting attendance during the year and exhibit a project at the Local Show. Alia Holdgrafer, Ashley Meyer, and Charlie Lane of the Preston Trailblazers club and Tate Ruden of the Miles club were all recipients this year.

A special thank you goes to everyone who made this day possible- the parents who fund and push the projects along, Rodney Bratthauer for announcing the livestock shows, Chris and Alli Johnson for donating the panels for our show ring and outdoor corral, the Threshers committee for allowing us the use of their facilities, and all of the community members who came to support the youth. This day wouldn’t have been possible without donations from our generous local businesses who helped pay for judges, premiums, scholarships, and more. These businesses included Aegis Credit Union, Amanda’s Pet Parlor, Associated Insurance, Backwoods Taxidermy, Clinton National Bank, Coo‑Kee’s Tanning and Fitness, County Line Concrete, Corner Stop Catering, Eberhart Farm Center, Geno’s Pizza, Hartung Family Farms, Holdgrafer Grain Systems, Hop & Shop, Kunde Excavating and Quarry, Kunde Trucking, Maquoketa State Bank, Nutrien, Oly’s, Preston Ag, Preston Ready Mix, Preston Telephone Company, Preston Valley Golf, Serenity Salon and Spa, and the Farm Bureau office of Todd Simmons and Brad Knutsen.