Fair Sweet Fair

For several Adair County residents, the 2025 Iowa State Fair’s theme of “Fair Sweet Fair” lived up to the hype.

The event that wrapped up Sunday brought good fortunes to several, from swine showmen to hog callers, grill masters and more.

Taylor Rohrig of Orient and Bill Yount of St. Marys, who works as an insurance agent in Greenfield, took top prize in the contests they entered.

Rohrig was named the champion senior showman of the swine show. She also finished as champion in 2021, competing in the junior age division.

The daughter of Matt and Heidi, Rohrig said she was flooded with emotion when she was declared the winner.

“After I shook the judge’s hand and told him thank you, I was welcomed at the exit gate by all the people I love. I smiled, laughed and cried a little all in about five minutes. It was amazing and was an amazing experience I will remember forever,” Rohrig said. “This ranks top two [for fair memories] with my other being winning junior showmanship in 2021.”

Being successful at swine showmanship takes a lot of skill. A showman must keep eye contact so he or she knows which angles of the animal the judge has seen.

“Another big factor in showmanship is being able to flow and not stop, even if you are cut off by another pig. What I do at home to make sure she is smooth is practice as if I’m in the show ring. Sometimes I will place random objects around our practice area to make it feel real,” Rohrig said. “I showed my gilt throughout the spring and walked her almost every day of the summer. The more you spend time with your animal the more time you can become their partner.”

In other action at the ISF, Rohrig was top five with her $20 challenge outfit in the 4-H Awardrobe Fashion Show, took fifth place on a team in the Swine Skillathon, was second in the sheep skillathon, was champion on a goat skillathon team, champion senior Berkshire showman and reserve champion market gilt in the Hawkeye Show.

Yount, 65, is another repeat winner. He tied for first in hog calling in 2019 then won it outright in 2022. It all started on a Nodaway Valley school bus for “Animal Sounds Thursday.”

He and Craig Plymesser were working Greenfield’s booth at the ISF one year. They saw hog calling on the schedule and decided to take part, Plymesser video-taping with Yount on stage.

Yount said he feels he won this year because he went back to the basics.

“I went back to bus driver mode and did a lot better. I incorporated a peacock and a sheep,” Yount said. “The judges were laughing.”

Plymesser was in tow again this year, as were several members of Yount’s family.

Randy Stamper of Greenfield brought home second place in the beef category of the Iowa Farm Bureau’s 61st annual Cookout Contest with his take on flat iron steak. He bought the beef at a locker in Guthrie Center and made a rub that he treated the meat with the night before going.

“Dragging a big grill with my pickup and a trailer down there didn’t appeal to me much to drive through that crowd. I happened to be at Walmart on Monday and they had a little grill on clearance for $10, but it stood probably two and a half or three feet tall. I love those clearance things,” Stamper said. “That fit in my Equinox very easily, and I just made sure I had the tools to put it together.”

Arriving at the fair before 7 a.m. the day of the contest, volunteers wondered where Stamper’s grill was, and they were amazed when he told them it was still in the box.

Stamper’s judging time was 10 a.m., which allowed him enough time to assemble the grill and grill the steaks.

“When I took it off the grill it was five minutes before my judging time, which was about perfect,” Stamper said. “It was in perfect shape when the judges arrived. Second place is pretty good.”

Stamper, whose wife Karen organizes the contest at the Adair County Fair, has had success in the past competing in this contest at the Iowa State Fair, taking part in various categories. One of the other years he won in a category, it was with a $20 grill he found on the clearance rack.

Adair County farmer and Iowa Corn Promotion Board President Ralph Lents, showing the steer named Burt Reynolds, exhibited by Tucker Freimuth of Lytton, won the People’s Choice Award at the Governor’s Charity Steer Show at the state fair. The show benefits the Ronald McDonald House.

“I would say this is a once in a lifetime experience,” Lents said. “You meet a lot of people, see some really nice kids and are raising money for a good cause. It’s all a win-win-win for everything.”

During introductions of each steer, judges take note of the level of cheering. That leads to their pick of the People’s Choice Award. Lents said the choice was between him and Northern Iowa wrestler Nick Fox.

“They had them do it three times before they declared I was the winner on that. This young man I was showing with, he brought a large contingent with him. I had quite a few Corn people there too, so it all came together,” Lents said. “They interviewed me on the mic, so I had a way of spicing things up and getting the crowd into it. That probably helped a little bit.”

Lents teased U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, a Texan, about the moving “Smoky and the Bandit” that Burt Reynolds starred in, saying there’s a sheriff from Texas wanting to catch Reynolds, but Lents had him caught.

“That brought the crowd into it,” Lents said. “Then I said that if the Governor (also a Reynolds) could just pardon him, we’ll be alright.”

All week, Nodaway Valley graduate Delaney Blomme took part in her third year as an FFA usher at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand.

Blomme, the daughter of Matthew and Lora of Bridgewater, said she was a first-time usher in 2023 and her love for ushering has grown a lot since then. It allows her to meet like-minded people and build lifelong friendships.

“On top of the friendships I have made, the volunteering events are such a great way to give back to fair-goers. Each night, you can find FFA ushers wearing our bright yellow shirts helping in the grandstand. Throughout the day, you can see us at gate duties greeting people as they enter the fair and other volunteer opportunities including Little Hands on the Farm, working the livestock pavilion floor and the FFA display in the Ag Building,” Blomme said. “I would recommend this to others because it has helped me grow into the person I am today. It is worth the time spent at the fair to help educate others about agriculture and to create the lifelong memories and friendships.”