SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois junior livestock competitors were praised as some of the best in the country on Saturday, as judges chose the champion livestock at the Illinois State Fair. A packed crowed filled the Livestock Center to see the naming of the 2018 Illinois State Fair Grand Champions during the Parade of Champions.
Winning the coveted Grand Champion title in the Junior Show is something that all livestock competitors dream of and work hard trying to achieve. The Reserve Grand Champion, Grand Champion Land of Lincoln, and Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln livestock were also selected. Only purebred animals bred and born Illinois, and owned and exhibited by Illinois residents, are eligible for the Land of Lincoln honors.
Director of Agriculture, Raymond Poe said, “This is a special event that gives these kids a chance to show off their hard work and be recognized for their dedication to agriculture. There is nothing better than that.”
The Parade of Champions is not the end of the road for these winners. On Tuesday, August 14, 2018, the Grand Champion and Grand Champion Land of Lincoln livestock will be sold at 5:00 p.m. in the Governor’s Sale of Champions at the Livestock Center. Proceeds from the sale go to the individual exhibitors and toward youth in agriculture, including 4-H and FFA.
Fairgoers are invited to walk through the “Hall of Champions” in Barn 25Q, located on Central Avenue, to see all the Grand Champion winners and to attend the Governor’s Sale of Champions on Tuesday.
Selected earlier in the fair was the Grand Champion Poultry Market Pen.
Below is a chart of all the winners from the 2018 Parade of Champions.
Animal | Exhibitor | Breed | County |
Grand Champion Poultry Market Pen | Grant Wilderman | Cornish Cross | Bond |
Grand Champion & Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether | Chase Tomhave | Boer | Morgan |
Reserve Grand Champion & Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Meat Goat Wether | Kadie Hummel | Boer | Kankakee |
Grand Champion Wether | Bryce Clayton | Crossbred | Scott |
Reserve Grand Champion Wether | Trace Titus | Natual Color | Mercer |
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Wether | Olivia Caldwell | Hampshire | Peoria |
Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Wether | Blake Homann | Hampshire | Coles |
Grand Champion Barrow | Ella Bobell | Crossbred | Logan |
Reserve Grand Champion Barrow | Ethan Stohlquist | Crossbred | Kane |
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Barrow | Morgan Wagner | Duroc | Fulton |
Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Barrow | Adam Musgrave | Berkshire | Pike |
Grand Champion Steer | Adam Miller | Crossbred | Livingston |
Reserve Grand Champion Steer | Keegan Murphy | Crossbred | Grundy |
Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Steer | Tara Hummel | Angus | Kankakee |
Reserve Grand Champion Land of Lincoln Steer | Hunter Weber | Hereford | Iroquois |
— Illinois State Fair
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