Grand Champion Barrow Exhibitor Named

Payton Rodgers, daughter of Blaine and Melissa Rodgers, is the exhibitor of the 2020 Grand Champion Barrow at the Missouri State Fair Youth Livestock Show.

Payton is from Savannah, and is a member of the Kodiak Kadettes 4-H Club. Payton’s prize-winning Barrow weighed 289 pounds.

The Reserve Grand Champion Barrow honor went to Connor Keithley of Chillicothe. He is the son of Chad and Betsy Keithley and is a member of the Chillicothe FFA Chapter. Connor’s Barrow weighed 292 pounds.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, both Payton Rodgers and Connor Keithley will sell their Barrows in two of eleven lots offered in the Missouri State Fair Sale of Champions. Proceeds from the annual sale benefit both the winning exhibitors and the Missouri State Fair Youth in Agriculture (YIA) Scholarship Program.

Many livestock exhibitors will work toward earning a place in the ring at the time-honored Sale of Champions Auction. Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Steers, Barrows, Lambs, Meat Goats, Pens of Chickens and a Commemorative Sale of Champions Belt Buckle will be featured in the auction, which will be held at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 22, in the Lowell Mohler Assembly Hall.

The entire auction will be broadcast live by KMMO radio online and video streamed live by Carter Media at midvid.com. Updates and interviews can be found on KMZU the Farm, 100.7FM. Virtual opportunities are also available to watch/participate. The Missouri Department of Agriculture will broadcast the auction live on their Facebook page and LiveAuctions.tv will broadcast it with online bidding. Find out how to set up an account on our website or LiveAuctions.tv.

Through the generous support of YIA sponsors and the Missouri State Fair Foundation, the Missouri State Fair is able to award scholarships each year to Missouri youth. Last year, twenty-five $1,500 scholarships, one supreme $2,500 scholarship, sponsored by Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners/Sydenstricker Genetics, and one $5,000 platinum scholarship offered by YIA supporters were awarded to youth across Missouri. Since 1992, the YIA committee has awarded $729,000 in scholarships.

A complete listing of the 2019 YIA sponsors is available on the Fair’s website. A listing of the 2020 sponsors will be posted soon. Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor this year, or receiving more information about sponsorship, can visit https://www.mostatefair.com/youth-in-agriculture/, or contact Wayne Yokley at 573-690-8987, Rodney Heimer at 217-257-6182, Sharon Topliff at 573-353-0543 or Mike Williams at 816-797-5450.