Two Jefferson County 4-H members earned individual honors and the county placed second overall at the 2026 Iowa 4-H Horticulture Show at the Iowa State Fair, held August 15th in the Agriculture Building, according to a press release from Iowa 4-H.
The show set a new exhibitor participation record, featuring 50 exhibitors from 18 counties — surpassing the previous record of 44 set in 2024. Youth entered 804 horticulture exhibits spanning 112 classes, showcasing vegetables, herbs, specialty platters, and jumbo produce grown in gardens across the state.
Jefferson County finished second in county standings with 384 points, behind only Poweshiek County’s 1,085 points and ahead of Story County’s 356 points. Jefferson County exhibitors Canaan Freeman, Joseph Lanman, Jordan Miller, and Anna Hall represented the county at the awards program.
Joseph Lanman of Jefferson County earned fifth place in the top 10 individual exhibitor rankings, while Jordan Miller placed ninth. Miller also earned reserve champion honors in the Vegetable Container Display class, presented by the Iowa State University Horticulture Club — a class that requires youth to arrange five to seven different kinds of vegetables grown in their garden, with judging based on both vegetable quality and decorative presentation.
The show took place during a challenging growing season marked by extreme weather across Iowa. “This has been a really weird weather year in Iowa,” said Rich Pope, 4-H horticulture co-superintendent. “We’ve had parts of the state receiving tremendous amounts of rainfall while others dealt with prolonged dry periods. We saw that reflected in the crops exhibitors brought to the show this year.”
Despite the conditions, Iowa 4-H Youth Development program leader Mitchell Hoyer said the experience goes far beyond the competition itself. “There are a lot of skills that you learn through exhibiting produce at the 4-H Horticulture Show, such as perseverance and decision making,” Hoyer said. “Those are skills that help youth become beyond ready to continue to lead in their communities, schools, workplaces and everyday lives.”
Following the display period of August 15th through 17th, many exhibitors chose to donate their produce to the Ronald McDonald Houses of Des Moines. Approximately 325 pounds of produce were donated to support families staying at the houses.
Youth interested in participating in the Iowa 4-H Horticulture Show can find additional information through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach county offices. Entries are submitted through FairEntry by July 1st, and the horticulture show is one of the few Iowa State Fair 4-H project areas that does not require county fair qualification, allowing any eligible Iowa 4-H member to participate.
