Wheaties Showcase Craftsmanship, Photography and Commitment to Quality at Kansas State Fair 

From beautiful hand-crafted wheat weaving to stunning captured moments of the growing season to hefty jars and bags filled with wheat kernels, Kansas Wheaties brought their best entries to the Kansas State Fair. With ribbons awarded and entries taken home, Kansas Wheat recognizes the winners of annually sponsored contests at the statewide event, including the Market Wheat Show, Open-Class Division — “It’s All About Bread,” Kansas Wheat Photography contest and Wheat Weaving.  

“A little friendly competition can be fun, and the Kansas State Fair is the perfect statewide showcase,” said Cindy Falk, Kansas Wheat nutrition educator. “Kansas Wheat sponsors a wide variety of contests, so there’s something for everyone in the family to participate in and enjoy.”

Meeting the needs of customers is important to any business, and wheat farming is no exception. The Kansas Market Wheat Show exists to educate Kansas wheat producers of all ages on the factors that they can control, to some extent, to grow high-quality wheat. Entries into the Market Wheat Show include five pounds of wheat grown by the exhibitor in the current year. Entries are then judged on protein, test weight, dockage, shrunken and broken kernels and milling and baking scores. Kansas Wheat also sponsors Division 121 - Wheat, which ups the sample size to 20 pounds of wheat in any container, all of which must be the same variety. 

In the Market Wheat Show, the division champion went to Jay Derley from Lewis with his entry of HRW wheat, with Greg Turek from Caldwell receiving reserve champion. Derley also won the Market Wheat Sweepstakes for Western Kansas and Turek won the sweepstakes award for Eastern Kansas. In Division 121, Cameron Peirce from Hutchinson won the division champion award. 

Market Wheat Show Results

Champion - Jay Derley, Lewis

Reserve Champion - Greg Turek, Caldwell

Market Wheat Sweepstakes

  1. Eastern Kansas - Greg Turek, Caldwell
  2. Western Kansas - Jay Derley, Lewis

Class 1 - All Hard White Wheat

  1. Brad Whitman, Leoti

Class 2 - All HRW Blends

  1. LaVern Potuzak, Agenda
  2. Royden Derstein, Ford
  3. Mat Mai, Russell
  4. Larry Stude, Larned
  5. Gerald Mai

Class 3 - All Other Private HRS

  1. Brandon Riffey, Sawyer
  2. Jaxten Fimple, Ness City
  3. Emily George, Albert
  4. Clark Greene, Larned
  5. Ruben Blatz, Montezuma

Class 4 - All WestBred/Monsanto

  1. Lyle Katz, Kinsley
  2. Mark Baus, LaCrosse
  3. Gary Graff, Marienthal
  4. Rick Sherer, Mullinville
  5. Piper Brown, Russell

Class 5 - KSU HRW Varieties

  1. Dan Wimmer, Bushton
  2. Jaiden Pfannenstiel, Hays
  3. Greg Turek, Caldwell
  4. Colten Katz, Lewis
  5. Waymaster Farms, Bunker Hill

Class 6 - All Other Public HRW

  1. Jay Derley, Lewis
  2. Jason Hildenbrand, Stafford
  3. Fred Newby, Pratt
  4. Jason Howell, Preston
  5. Allen & Beth Vogel, Wright

Division 121 - Wheat Results

Division Champion - Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson

All Agri-Pro/Syngenta HRW Varieties

  1. Joshua Patterson, Whitewater
  2. Nolen Hyde, Minneapolis

All Hard White Wheat Variety

  1. Sterling Nichepor, Ness City
  2. Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson 

All Other Varieties or Hybrids

  1. Joshua Patterson, Whitewater
  2. Doug Patterson, Valley Center

All WestBred HRW Varieties

  1. Reed Nichepor, Ness City

KSU HRW Varieties

  1. Cameron Peirce, Hutchinson

Other Public HRW Varieties

  1. Steven Yust, Sylvia

For those with a keen eye, the Kansas Wheat Photography Contest is a perfect fit. The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers, who are challenged to capture the story of Kansas wheat across all aspects of the industry from seeding to storage to wheat fields, harvest, grain trade, milling, baking and anything else that captures the photographer’s imagination. This year’s contest winner was Loribeth Reynolds from Hutchison. 

Kansas Wheat Photography Contest Results

  1. Loribeth Reynolds, Hutchinson
  2. Kimberly Coffey, Wichita
  3. Ellie Just, Marion

Wheat weavers combine nimble fingers with pure artistry to make intricate creations from amber waves of grain. Divisions include everything from holiday designs to jewelry as these artists utilize traditional patterns and draw upon their creative talents to come up with new and contemporary designs. This year’s division champion was Angela Harlan from Viola, and the reserve champion was Donna Morgenstern from Salina.

Wheat Weaving Contest Results

Plaited

  1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
  2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina
  3. Mary Thrower, Minneapolis

Marquetry

  1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
  2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina

Dimensional

  1. Angela Harlan, Viola
  2. Rita Peterman, McPherson
  3. Donna Morgenstern, Salina

Jewelry/Pin/Corsage

  1. Marian Vavra, Norwich
  2. Donna Morgenstern, Salina

Swiss Work

  1. Donna Morgenstern, Salina

Straw Pulp

  1. Donna Morgenstern, Salina

Holiday Design

  1. Mary Thrower, Minneapolis
  2. Marian Vavra, Norwich
  3. Rita Peterman, McPherson

And no state fair is complete without food. In the “It’s All About Bread” category, bakers exhibit their best recipes from sourdough bread, holiday bread and whole wheat quick bread. This year’s winners combined tasty ingredients with perfect technique to make winning entries of Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough Bread (Sourdough Division), Whole Wheat Honey Applesauce Pecan Quick Bread (Whole Wheat Quick Bread Division) and a Holiday Kolache Bouquet (Holiday Bread Division).

It’s All About Bread Results

Sourdough

  1. Jayne Notin, Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough
  2. Wilma Olds, Sourdough Bread

Holiday Bread

  1. Wilma Olds, Holiday Kolache Bouquet
  2. Betty Hawthorne, Snow Flake Pull Apart Monkey Bread

Whole Wheat Quick Bread

  1. Betty Hawthorne, Whole Wheat Honey Applesauce Pecan Quick Bread
  2. Wilma Olds, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

While the contests and categories for the 2024 Kansas State Fair won’t be open for entry until next summer, there’s no need to wait to try out a new recipe, break out the camera to capture wheat planting in action or try your hand at a new craft. Check out eatwheat.org for ideas and inspiration.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

Wheat harvest photo by Loribeth Reynolds, Hutchinson, Kansas.

Winning photo by Loribeth Reynolds, Hutchinson, Kansas