IOWA CATTLEMEN’S FOUNDATION Extravaganza Celebrated 30 years MARY GREIMAN ICF Youth & Outreach Coordinator The 30 th Annual Beef Extravaganza, hosted by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation, was held on Wednesday, December 10, at the Hansen Ag Learning Center on the beautiful Iowa State University campus in Ames. The Extravaganza is a highly competitive and educational contest open to high school juniors and seniors. Teams are com-prised of two or three members from anywhere in Iowa. These teams are tested on their knowledge and skills at ten different stations related to the beef industry. We were excited to welcome six teams who took part in this event despite the bad weather. These teams competed to win their share of the $15,000 in scholarship monies. Congratulations to our top team, Benton County Cattlemen. Team members con-sist of Jillian Hanson and Jack Hartkemeyer, with a score of 938 out of 1,000 possible points. They will each receive $2,500. Second-place honors went to The Bullpen. Those team mem-bers included Gavin Freiberg and Luke Stalzer, with a score of 898. They will receive $2,000 each. The team, MJ Cattle Company, took third place with a score of 873 and received $1,500 each. Those team members included Rhianna Murty and Shelby Johnston. The fourth-place team was Easton Valley FFA with a score of 841, and those team members were Kelsie Thompson, Breese Orr-Thola, and Houston Holdgrafer. Each of these team members will receive $667. Our fi fth-place team was Atlantic FFA. Those team members included Lauren Comes, Hayden Kleen, and Frank Freund. These students will each receive $334. The 2025 Beef Scholarship Extravaganza winners -Benton Co. Cattlemen, featuring Jack Hartkemeyer and Jillian Hanson. Students may use their scholarship dollars at any university or community college. Iowa State University, Ellsworth Community College, and Indian Hills Community College will match these scholarships for those students enrolling there. The top-scoring team in each of the ten stations is also recog-nized. Congratulations to the winners of these stations: • Health and Handling – Benton Co. Cattlemen • Nutrition – The Bullpen • Marketing – Benton Co. Cattlemen and The Bullpen • Seedstock / Merchandising – MJ Cattle Company • Keep/Cull – Easton Valley FFA • Job Interview/Resume – Easton Valley FFA • Industry Issues – MJ Cattle Company • Reproduction – Benton Co. Cattlemen • Credit and Finance – Benton Co. Cattlemen • Beef Management –Benton Co. Cattlemen A huge thank you goes out to our sponsors! Their support helps to make our event one of the premier educational opportu-nities offered to high school youth! We are greatly appreciative of Farm Credit Services of America, Finch Cattle -Mark and Carson Finch, Iowa State University professors and grad students, Lisa Peterson and the crew at the Hansen Ag Student Learning Center, Muir Embroidery, and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Foundation for their generous contributions. A special thank you to the young men from Alpha Gamma Rho for their help as group leaders and scorers all day! We are also very appreciative of all the judges who took the time to evaluate our participants and decide our winners. Their expertise, dedication, and support of this program are invaluable! Our thanks go to: • Casey Anderson – Iowa Beef Industry Council • Jeff Pastoor – Quality Liquid Feeds • Caroline Downey – ISU Meat Science Dept. • Gene Doran, Jennifer Carrico, John Allen & Kriss Haugland • Will Taylor – ISU Livestock Judging Coach • Tayler Grandberg – Merck • Mike Anderson – Iowa Beef Industry Council • David Bruene – ISU Beef Teaching Farm • Michael Houston and Evan Babcock– Farm Credit Services • Dr. Brad Skaar & Jaeydon Condon – ISU Animal Science Faculty Thank you to all the teams that participated in this year’s Beef Extravaganza. You help to make it a very special event. We would like to recognize all the teams that came and competed for their hard work: Atlantic FFA , Benton County Cattlemen, Easton Valley FFA, MJ Cattle Co., S A Premium Beef, and The Bullpen. JANUARY 2026 54
Iowa Cattleman January 2026: Page-54
