The Miss United States Agriculture Pageant has been operating on at the national level for four years, but this year will be the first time there will be a Pennsylvania Miss United States Agriculture Pageant. The new development stems from Shannon Winegert, the reigning National Miss United States Agriculture, who is now also the new state director.
“The pageant is about celebrating agriculture,” said Winegert. “Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one industry, and this also helps young girls and women build their confidence, become better public speakers and make friendships that will last forever.”
The pageant will take place April 14 at the Huntington Area High School. There are 10 age divisions: Baby Miss, 0-23 months; Tiny Miss, 2-3 years; Future Little Miss, 4-5; Little Miss, 6-7; Petite Miss, 8-10; Junior Miss, 11-13; Teen Miss, 14-16; Miss, 17-21; Ms., 22-30 (unmarried) and Mrs., 22-30 (married). Those 10 age groups, according to Winegert, represent 53 county queens this year competing from 28 different counties. There are also five regional queens who signed up before the Pennsylvania Miss United States Agriculture pageant was created, so they automatically go to nationals, which will take place in Birmingham, Alabama, June 23.
“It is so great to see young women have a voice about agriculture,” said Winegert. “We are the ones feeding our country and our neighbors here in America. There are not many farmers left, so I love seeing that we can have a voice and tell people how important agriculture really is.”
Winegert wasn’t always involved in the Miss United States Agriculture Pageant. She almost never competed in the first place, and would not have gone on to win at the national level had it not been for her persistent friends.
“I found out about the Miss United States Agriculture Pageant, so I sent the information to my friends and told them it looked really cool and they should do it,” said Winegert. “They didn’t have an age group for me, which is why I told my friends to look into it, because they are all younger than me. Then they told me that they started a division for my age group, so I signed up and since then I have been the state director.”
Winegert added that her favorite part of the pageant is the queens.
For Winegert, it is nice to see that everyone there has something in common: their love for agriculture.
“It’s really fun to see the young people grow and do all of the events,” said Winegert. “It’s important that we go out into the community and talk about something that is so important like agriculture is.”
The first event for the state pageant will begin at 8 a.m., but the on-stage portion won’t start until 11:30 a.m. and is open to the public. Admission is $5 per person.
Next year’s signups will start in June after the national competition and in March of 2019.