Submitted photo: (Left to to right): Lakeview’s Adeline Louwagie, Teegan Fiene, Kiara Hinz and Blake Louwagie hold their second place trophy at the FFA State Convention in April. Fiene also finished first individually in the event.

MINNEAPOLIS — More area schools came away with top placements at the 2025 Future Farmers of America (FFA) State Convention, including Lakeview junior Teegan Fiene finishing first individually along with the team’s second-place award in the Meats evaluation.

“Last year we were third [in Meats],” Lakeview FFA advisor Codi Payne said. “This year, we are second, so that’s really good and I’m really proud of them … There was a lot of time that went into preparing.”

The Meats team consists of Fiene, Adeline Louwagie, Blake Louwagie and Kiara Hinz.

Along with Fiene’s champion finish, Adeline placed seventh, Blake took 14th and Kiara followed for 22nd out of 132 individuals. There were 38 teams that competed in the event.

“They have to be able to identify different cuts of meat. It’s not just identifying the species in the cut, they also have to have the background knowledge to know how to cook it,” Payne said. “They grade carcasses. So, like what the USDA does before any cuts get sent out of any butchery. They’re all graded, and that’s how they’re priced.”

The convention took place April 28 and 29 between a few locations around the Twin Cities.

When it came to being named first overall, Fiene knew she was among the top finishers after being invited on stage, but wasn’t sure where she’d land.

“It was always her and her brother [Tucker Fiene] going back and forth … This was her first year competing without him [who since graduated], and she was first place. I am so proud of her,” Payne said. “They were up on stage, I was standing right in front of her, and they called the second place person. It wasn’t her, and her eyes just got super big, and she looked right at me and had this huge grin on her face. It was amazing.”

With the team earning second, they now booked a spot in the Denver Stock Show in January 2026 to compete against other Meat teams from across the state.

“The Denver Stock Show is actually one of the biggest, might be the biggest stock show, but a lot of 4-H teams go, so it’s not just FFA,” Payne said. “I have one senior on the team [Blake], so he’ll be in college next year when we get to go to Denver, but we’re actually going to pick him up on our way, so he’ll still get to compete as well. They’re very excited for this opportunity.”

After returning back to Cottonwood, Lakeview FFA got the news that Profectus Livestock Solutions and Zoetis partnered together to give the chapter a donation.

Profectus Livestock Solutions works with farmers around southwest Minnesota to provide animal health supplies and livestock nutrition. Zoetis is an animal company that manufactures medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.

Payne said the students were excited to meet representatives for the two companies on Tuesday after school, and the donation was much appreciated and will help with equipment and travel expenses.

Lakeview also placed 23rd in Farm Business Management out of 42 teams. Aubrey Nething finished in 26th, with Dustin Schlenner, Colton Schlenner and Logan Herrick placing 95th, 103rd and 108th respectively out of 153 individuals.

WWG

The Westbrook-Walnut Grove FFA team also walked away with a handful of team accomplishments.

WWG placed second out of 45 teams in Soils, with Sage Bents and Natasha Wahl taking fifth and sixth place. Leah Carter finished eighth, and Anna Byers placed 13th out of 167 individuals.

The Chargers also placed fourth as a team in both Meats and Milk Quality, with a ninth place finish in poultry and Fish and Wildlife.

Rounding out WWG’s state convention appearance, it finished seventh in Companion Animal Science of 60 teams and 13th of 39 in Agronomy.

Minneota

The Minneota FFA team earned a 17th place finish of 60 teams in the Dairy Cattle Evaluation.

Brock Fier led the team with a 25th individual placement, followed by Cael Fier in 36th, Adam Devlaeminck in 48th and Derek Fier in 101st out of 216 individuals.

The Vikings also finished in 21st in Farm Business Management, and 60th in Best Informed Greenhand.

Others around the area

Wabasso’s FFA chapter earned a 17th place finish of 48 teams in Floriculture, along with 31st in Poultry, followed with 33rd and 36th place in Best Informed Greenhand and Fish and Wildlife.

Canby placed 20th in Farm Business Management, highlighted by Cooper Pesek’s 25th place individual finish. Rachel Fairchild took 82nd, Sadie Skogen in 84th and George Steffen placed 101st out of 153.

The Yellow Medicine East Best Informed Greenhand team also placed 42nd, along with a 34th place finish in the Horse event out of 60 teams.