Fairfield High School senior Taylor Miller has won Grand Champion Tabletop Vegetable and Grand Champion Jumbo at the 2026 Iowa State Fair — her third consecutive year taking home top honors in FFA horticulture competition, according to a social media post from Fairfield High School.
Miller, who will be a senior this fall, won Grand Champion Vegetable and Grand Champion Jumbo Vegetable in 2025, and in 2024 took home Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Jumbo. This will mark the third consecutive year she walks in the FFA Parade of Champions, scheduled for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the Show Pavilion. Fairfield FFA also placed sixth overall in the state for FFA Chapter, with Miller as a team of one and just 10 entries — each carrying a point value based on placement.
Miller said the back-to-back-to-back success does not come easy. “It means a lot to me to win back-to-back awards at the Iowa State Fair,” she said. “It takes a lot of hours, patience and hard work, and some years the weather, timing and insects take a toll. I am never sure what will be ready or in good condition to bring to the fair.”
Miller’s love of growing started long before FFA. “I got into growing vegetables when I was a very young kid — I don’t remember a time when we did not have a garden,” she said. “I have helped pull weeds, harvest and plant from a very small age.” Her family has also participated in the Southern Iowa Pumpkin Growers Association in Bloomfield for several years.
The growing process for competition-level vegetables is more involved than most would expect. Miller said seeds are started in late winter and early spring indoors, with stratification required because of the seeds’ large size and thick shells — filing the edges and soaking them in a wet paper towel before germinating them under lights. Once the weather warms, the plants go outside with plenty of space, regular tilling, weeding, and fertilizing. The watermelons are even covered with a sheet during growth to prevent hardening and splitting from sun exposure.
The season is not without its challenges. “We constantly battle diseases like Yellow Vine Disease and insects such as aphids, boreworms and more,” Miller said. This year presented an additional obstacle — the family’s wood boiler stove caught fire, leaving them without the heated space they typically use to start plants.
Miller credited her family as an essential part of the operation. “My family, including my Grandpa Dwight and dad Eric, are a huge help when it comes to growing my watermelons and pumpkins as they help to fertilize, spray and offer guidance to me,” she said. Her grandfather, Dwight Miller, holds the Iowa State Record for the largest watermelon in the state at 249.5 pounds.
Looking ahead, Miller plans to graduate in May and attend Buena Vista University to study Early Elementary Education. She said her passion for agriculture will follow her into the classroom. “I am passionate about agriculture and plan to continue educating my students about gardening and plants,” she said.
She said the most meaningful part of her FFA experience has been the connections she has made. “I have had amazing experiences and have been able to participate in lots of things including showing horticulture, floriculture and being a grandstand usher,” Miller said. “I have made friends from all over the state that grow vegetables, flowers and are interested in similar things.”
