Bagley Livestock Exchange steps up to support 4-H’ers
Elsa Larson was awarded Grand Champion for her Market Steer at the Clearwater County Fair in 2025. Elsa is a member of the Leon Ramblers 4-H Club and has been in 4-H for five years.
The purchaser of her steer, the Bagley Livestock Exchange, has supported the 4-H Livestock Auction since the beginning, according to Kara Waldvogel, Extension educator in 4-H Youth Development. “They also, historically, will buy the first animal that goes into the ring,” she said. The Bagley Livestock Exchange is a local sale barn where producers sell their animals. “They have always supported our county 4-H program,” said Waldvogel.
Forty-two youth in the county were able to participate by earning either a Grand or Reserve Champion Ribbon or a blue ribbon. The Clearwater County auction is a market-animal-only auction, so participants presented market beef, sheep, swine, goat, or poultry projects to earn those honors.
Highlights
- Bernis Ingvaldson of Honeyberries USA was a leading grower-presenter at the first-ever Honeyberry Academy sponsored by University of Minnesota Extension and Extension at the University of Wisconsin. Ingvaldson traveled to the event and provided fresh berries so participants could see and taste different varieties.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Mark and Sue Titera family farm focuses on a mix of registered and commercial Black Angus cattle and is deeply involved in their community, serving as active members of the local fair board and supporting youth programs and agriculture in the region.
- Extension and the Clearwater County Soil and Water Conservation District work together on agricultural education, and the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts has operated a leadership institute, facilitated by Extension educators, since 1996.
- The Big River Continuum, an Extension RSDP collaboration with the University of Minnesota Lake Itasca Biological Station, engaged Native artist-entrepreneurs by cultivating creative exchanges connecting Mississippi River communities.
- The Clearwater County Fairgrounds hosted Show #2 of the 4-H Buckle Series, a statewide equestrian competition that offers participants the chance to earn buckles.
- The Clearwater County 4-H ambassadors, as part of the 4-H Food Partner Challenge, contacted their local food shelf, community center, and churches to provide care packages of food and other essential items to elderly and homebound individuals.
Clearwater County office
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About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.