Apr 14, 2020 3 min read

Even though she only turns 12 in June, Abigail Yenchik has nurtured a variety of agricultural interests. She helps her grandmother take care of her chickens and is a member of the rabbit and Happy Hooves 4-H clubs. She also visits different locations throughout the county, serving as an agriculture advocate with a focus on the dairy industry.

“Abigail’s been focusing on the dairy industry because it’s something that interests her,” said her mother, Becky Yenchik, who was raised on a farm and wanted to pass agricultural knowledge on to her children. “She realizes that the dairy industry is in decline in our state and wanted to bring awareness of this industry to our area.”

All these interests plus an outgoing personality earned Abigail the 2019 Greene County Petite Miss Agriculture USA title. This achievement qualified her for the state competition last year, but she wasn’t able to bring home another title from the pageant. All that changed on March 14 when she won the Pennsylvania Runner-Up Petite Miss Agriculture USA title at the competition at the Grand Altoona Hotel in Altoona, Pennsylvania

In a competition that drew a total of 46 candidates from all over the state between the ages of 4 and 99, the fifth grader at Waynesburg Central Elementary School took first place in a number of competition categories. In the Introduction category, she stood on stage with an open microphone and told a panel of three judges and the competition audience about herself.

In the interview portion, she had to speak in front of the panel and audience, telling them of her agricultural interests, what she liked about agriculture and why she decided to enter the pageant.

“My favorite part of the competition is the Ag Wear section,” Abigail said. “I placed close to 50 wrappers of Hershey kisses and Kit Kat bars on my dress and held a large Hershey chocolate candy bar in my hand until I took a bite during my presentation. The reason I decided to feature Hershey candy is because they use Pennsylvania dairy products.”

Abigail took first place in the essay portion of the event, writing on the topic of how she represented agriculture in the county by teaching her fellow classmates where food comes from and about the dairy industry. Her head shot also earned her first-place votes in the photogenic category.

Besides submitting the written essay, she had to deliver a prepared speech on what agriculture means to her and how she relates to agriculture. In the impromptu question segment, she pulled a question at random from a bucket that asked how her friends would describe her.

“I thought for a minute and answered kind, sweet, loud and energetic,” she said.

Her runner up title earned her a glass trophy, molded in the shape of Pennsylvania, a plaque and a small cash award.

Four local organizations – the Greene County Farm Bureau, Three Rivers Royalty, Leaps of Faith Farm and the Greene County Conservation District, sponsored her participation in the pageant. To participate, she had to provide her transportation to Altoona and pay for her hotel room.

“I was very excited to get the runner up title, but was also happy for Bristol, [the girl who took first place,] because we both realized our dreams of winning in the competition,” she said.

If all goes as planned next year, Abigail hopes to enter the competition once again, this time in the junior category for 11- and 12-year-olds.

For more information on the pageant competition, go to www.missagricultureusa.org.