News : Dawn Richards is BC Farm Bureau Cookout Champ

The 8th Annual Benton County Farm Bureau Cookout Contest was held Saturday July 25 at the fairgrounds in Vinton during the Benton County Fair. Ten people competed for Grand Champion of the event, with Dawn Richards winning the title with her Flat Iron Steak recipe in the Beef category.

Bill Newton, contest coordinator, was on hand to run the event, along with Teddi Newton, Al Schafbuch and Robert Ritscher to assist with the Farm Bureau sponsored Cookout. The ten grillers competed with creative meat recipes and preparation, while enjoying the county fair activities.

The purpose of the Cookout Contest is to promote quality Iowa meat, says coordinator Bill Newton. Entries were judged on the basis of taste, appearance and originality. Three judges, John Wagner, Chris Ward and Jeremy Koopman, came together to taste each entry and fill out a scorecard. 1st Place winners in each category won cash prizes and have the opportunity to compete again at the Iowa Farm Bureau Cookout Contest at the Iowa State Fair.

1st Place winners were: Louie Guynn – Pork; Dawn Richards – Beef; Michelle Bruce – Turkey; Molly Cummings – Youth; Brian Halstead – Combo/Specialty and Jeff Whitson – Poultry. Also competing in the contest were Halane Cummings, Gene Petersen, Stephen Preus and Vicky Schwenker.

Benton County will be well represented at the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday August 18th, as all the winners plan to travel to Des Moines to compete in the state Cookout. The Benton County Farm Bureau thanks everyone for participating and wishes the winners the best of luck at the state fair.