Yelm FFA

08/25/2026

Anybody still need a ticket? 30 left! Drawing September 1st!

08/19/2026

08/19/2026

There are about 50 tickets left for the alumni hog raffle. Tickets are $20 each and two winners will be drawn September 1st for half a hog each! It’s a great deal for half a pig and approximately 80 lbs of meat. Message us here for the Yelm FFA Alumni Venmo!

08/12/2026

Is your freezer full? The Yelm FFA Alumni has tickets available for a chance to win half a hog, cut and wrapped. Theyre only selling 200 total tickets at $20 each (pretty good odds). Two tickets will be chosen to win, half a hog each. If you’re interested, text, email or find an advisor, alumni member or any officer or message us here and we can get you hooked up with a few tickets.

08/04/2026

Founded three years ago by Kyla Poland and Kolton Nash, the Rate of Gain Contest is hosted by Yelm FFA to encourage youth exhibitors to deepen their knowledge of animal nutrition and meat quality while honing their showmanship skills.

Watch for official weigh-in dates to be announced this spring! The contest officially kicks off at spring weigh-ins and wraps up with final weigh-ins at the fair.

From just 10 participants in Year 1, the competition has surged to 36 youth members competing across pig, sheep, and goat divisions in both 4-H and FFA categories. We would love to expand and add Beef Cattle to the contest, but need a minimum of 3 animals per division to run a quality competition.

Huge thanks to the Yelm FFA Alumni Association for sponsoring the FFA buckles, and to a generous local family for sponsoring our 4-H buckles!
If you are interested in supporting this contest with prizes, sponsoring buckles, or entering beef cattle, please contact Lorraine Wikoff at [email protected].

Here are the winners of this year’s Rate of Gain Contest.

4-H Winners:
Hogs- Hayden Tekin, 24 Carrots
Sheep- Ilyza Platter, T9O Herdsman
Goats- William Carpenter, Yelm Nerd Herd

FFA Winners:
Hogs- Ryan Heimbuch, Rochester FFA
Sheep- Shelby Rozar, Rochester FFA
Goats- Carole Kirsten, Yelm FFA

08/04/2026

🎉 CELEBRATING HARD WORK & HEART AT THE THURSTON COUNTY FAIR 🎉

At the heart of the Thurston County Fair, the FFA Alumni Herdsmanship Award stands out as one of the most special honors a student can receive. Given to only 1 or 2 showmen each year, this award isn't just about winning in the ring—it’s about character. It recognizes the members who dedicate themselves to the care of their animals, keep the barn running smoothly, and show up every single day with leadership, humility, and a helping hand for others.

This year, we are beyond proud to celebrate Alea Myers as a recipient of this incredible award! 🏆🐰
Alea is a senior who has poured four years of heart into showing rabbits, building her SAE project, and earning her State FFA Degree. But her dedication went far beyond her own animals this fair season. From representing all of FFA with her rabbit during the Thurston County Proclamation Day meeting to single-handedly creating all the rabbit decorations for the Peterson Barn, Alea was everywhere. She logged the most herd shifts of anyone and spent her time mentoring younger members from other chapters—showing everyone what true herdsmanship looks like.

We also want to shine a well-deserved spotlight on sophomore Brayden Stenbakken, who embodied that exact same spirit in the steer barn! 🐂✨
Brayden proved to be an absolute anchor for our chapter throughout the fair. Whether setting up livestock judging contests, preparing market sale pens, running buyer cards after selling his own steer, or coaching kids for Round Robin, Brayden stepped up to do whatever was needed with a great attitude. As part of the Strengthening Ag Committee, he helped present awards and actively advocated for growing our steer section. He is early in his FFA career, but he’s already shown us all what it means to be someone you can always count on.
Please join us in sending a HUGE congratulations to Alea and Brayden for representing Yelm FFA so well! 💙💛👏

Thank you to the YELM FFA Alumni Association for your continued support, time and attention at the fair, and for these awards for our students!

08/03/2026

Many have heard of the Round Robin Showmanship competition at the fair but may not realize just how challenging it is.

Round Robin brings together the champion showmen from each livestock species and tests their ability to handle animals outside of their own project. Contestants must demonstrate proper showmanship skills and answer questions about Beef, Dairy, Poultry, Rabbits, Swine, Sheep, and Goats. It isn’t about having the best animal—it’s about proving you have the knowledge, skill, and confidence to successfully exhibit every species.

That is why this competition “caps off” all of the contests the last day of the fair.

Congratulations to our Yelm FFA members on an outstanding performance at the Thurston County Fair!

🏆 Grand Champion Round Robin Showman: Bailey Mounts
🥈 Reserve Grand Champion Round Robin Showman: Haley Poland

08/01/2026

We are incredibly proud of our members' hard work and dedication in the show ring. Here are the outstanding results from the meat goat competitions at the Thurston County Fair.

Showmanship Placements:
Senior Showmanship: Haley Grand Champion!
Junior Showmanship: A huge shoutout to Keilaynah for taking Grand Champion, and to Alina for bringing home Reserve Champion!
Novice Showmanship: Great job to Grace Miller for earning Reserve Champion!

Market Goat
Grand Champion: Haley Poland
Reserve Champion: Maile Poland

Congratulations to all of these outstanding exhibitors on a fantastic show! Your hard work has truly paid off.

08/01/2026

We are so proud to announce the results of the poultry contest.

Congratulations to Katelyn Wisniewski, whose ducks won Grand and Reserve Champion FFA Poultry! Katelyn also placed as the FFA Poultry Novice Grand Champion Showman.

We also want to extend a huge congratulations to Carole Kirsten, who was named Grand Champion for her Market Chickens, as well as Grand Champion for FFA Junior Showmanship. Carole’s success proves that poultry production is truly in her genes, as she follows in the footsteps of her father, a Yelm FFA alumni and former poultry producer.

If you would like to support Carole, her Grand Champion market chickens will be featured in the Thurston County Youth Market Animal Sale this Saturday, August 1! The sale kicks off at 6:00 PM.
Congratulations to both of these hardworking young women!

Turkey results will be posted tomorrow.

08/01/2026

Yelm FFA Rabbits results from day 1 of fair!

Novice Grand Champion~ Katelyn Wisniewski!
Senior Reserve Champion~ Alea Myers
Senior Grand Champion~ Tristan Waters

Tristan’s Flemish Giant Big Boy also received the award for the Best of Show for the pet class!