As Ag Week is celebrated, we take a look at how agriculture got to where it is. It takes a lot of devoted and passionate individuals to keep everything going. The late Keith Steinbeisser, of Sidney, can be considered one of those ambassadors for agriculture.
Steinbeisser’s love for agriculture was evident and his devotion brought his passion out into the community. He worked alongside Keith Dynneson to organize and plan the annual livestock judging contest that was held in conjunction with MonDak Ag Days. Unfortunately, on October 14, 1998, he passed away at the age of 34 following a tragic farm accident. He left behind numerous family and friends including his wife Kathy, who was 7 months pregnant with their son Jared, and his daughters Krista (4) and Hailey (2). Steinbeisser thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his family as well as other hobbies including bowling and agate picking. He even had all the rock cutting and polishing equipment for his agates, but his passion for agriculture trumped all. He was always involved in FFA and farming.
Before the FFA program was what it is now in Sidney, there was talk of cutting the program. Steinbeisser, who was the president of the FFA alumni, rallied the alumni together and went door-to-door petitioning. There was going to be a public vote on whether or not to cut the FFA program. As the old saying goes, ‘we fight for what we believe in.’ He went out of his way to fight for what he believed in.
Considering the passion and devotion that Steinbeisser had, it was only fitting that the livestock judging contest be named after him. So Dynneson, who was chairman at the time, officially named it in his honor. In 1999, the first Keith Steinbeisser Memorial Livestock Judging Contest was held in Sidney.
The livestock judging has been held in his honor every year since then, although a few years were postponed due to bad weather as it is usually held in January. During the contest, the goal for the participants is to determine which animal appears to have the best quality and amount of meat. Participants are given 4 animals within the same class and are asked to rank them from best to worst, which is then scored according to how the officials ranked them. In some of the classes participants are asked to provide oral reasoning for placing them the way they did. They are then scored on how well they explained themselves.
The 2013 Keith Steinbeisser Memorial Livestock Judging Contest will be held March 16 at the Sidney Livestock Market Center. Judging will begin at 9 am and conclude with awards around 1 pm.
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