Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase awards over $60,000

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Stearns County youth captured the top three spots at the Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase for their dairy project successes Aug. 25 at the conclusion of the Minnesota State Fair 4-H Livestock Encampment.

The top spot, with a $4,500 award, went to a Stearns County 4-H member Tyler Ratka. Ratka is the son of Kevin and Kathy Ratka of Cold Spring. Ratka’s sister, Allison, was named a Rising Star. The Ratka siblings raise show heifers on the family’s acreage, while their milking cows reside on the McAndrews dairy near Sauk Centre.

A brother-sister duo from Melrose earned more than $8,000. Dan Frericks was awarded $4,200 as the second-place winner in the annual Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase, while his sister, Monika, received a $3,900 check for placing third.

“I am so grateful for businesses who lend support to the youth of the dairy industry,” Dan said. “I think the donors’ support rewards kids for how hard they work, and that’s a wonderful thing.”

The Frericks are the children of Glen and Sadie Frericks. The siblings led the group of Stearns County dairy project members who captured the largest percentage of the awards.

At the showcase, twenty-five winners were named. 4-H dairy youth from ninth grade through their final 4-H year are ranked and receive corresponding awards. The smallest award is $1,200. Another 10 members in sixth through eighth grades received recognition and $500 each as Rising Stars in the program.

The showcase recognizes youth among the state fair’s 4-H exhibitors who have compiled points through involvement and success in the dairy project throughout the year, and who complete a leadership profile. The program is meant to parallel the 4-H livestock auction that gives exhibitors of market animals a chance to receive money from 4-H supporters.

In addition to the top three placings, five other Stearns County members were recognized with monetary awards, three among the 25 ranked winners and two as Rising Stars.

Three other sibling duos were also among the showcase winners. Hannah and Kayla Visser of McLeod County placed fifth and 14th, respectively, while Ashley and Emily Mellgren of Wabasha County and Isaac and Molly Albers of Rice County were named Rising Stars. 

Showcase honorees are notified they are among the winners before the recognition ceremony. However, their rank within the 25 spots was revealed, from lowest to highest, as the recognition program progressed. When announcements of the final three spots remained, the Frericks siblings and Tyler Ratka were in suspense.

“My thoughts were something along the lines of, ‘My sister better not beat me,’ and that Stearns County did very well,” Dan said.

Monika said the siblings are very supportive of one another.

“My siblings and I are very competitive, but not with each other,” she said. “We enjoy seeing each other succeed and work together to be our best.”

While showcase points are easier for the 4-H members to accumulate by participating in multiple dairy activities, Monika said that is not why she is involved.

“I love project bowl, dairy judging, showing and dairy interviews,” she said. “I would do it all even without a showcase, but it’s an honor to be recognized.”