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Vintage Showmanship brings out county fair funVintage Showmanship brings out county fair fun

Slideshow: Check out the characters who showed up for one county fair’s unique showmanship contest.

Holly Spangler, Prairie Farmer Editor, Farm Progress Executive Editor

August 13, 2021

26 Slides
Phil Dare participating in the Vintage Showmanship contest

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Photos by Holly Spangler

County fairs have been in full swing all across the country this summer, and nearly all have time-honored traditions: maybe it’s a special barn or a memorial show or a unique belt buckle.

But at the Fulton County Fair in Lewistown, Ill., they’ve taken to celebrating generations of cattle producers in a slightly different way, with a no-holds-barred Vintage Showmanship contest.

Beef superintendents fired it up in 2018, making up rules and collecting trophies on the fly. Adults ages 30 to 65 can enter, and they can be as silly or as serious as they want. Even better: The teenagers who’ve won senior showmanship in the past get to judge. Getting to judge their parents might be the best prize of all.

Take a look at this gallery at how it all played out, plus the actual awards that were given out!

About the Author

Holly Spangler

Prairie Farmer Editor, Farm Progress Executive Editor

Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for over 25 years, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazine’s coverage. She currently serves as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and executive editor for Farm Progress, managing editorial staff at six publications across the Corn Belt.

A University of Illinois agricultural communications graduate and award-winning writer and photographer, Holly is past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. She is an AAEA Master Writer and was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. She serves on the Illinois 4-H Foundation and the Illinois Council on Ag Education. Her work in agricultural media has been recognized by the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, and more.

Holly and her husband, John, farm in western Illinois where they raise corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 2,500 acres. Their operation includes 125 head of commercial cows in a cow/calf operation. Locally, she serves on the school board and volunteers with 4-H and FFA. 

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