Annville woman advocates for agriculture as member of Pa. Fair Queen program

In her role as alternate state fair queen, Brooke Beamesderfer has maintained a singular focus.

“I just want to be an advocate for agriculture. I grew up in it, it’s made me who I am today and, in turn, I want to dedicate my career towards that. This overall experience throughout the year has really shown me how far a meaningful conversation can go,” said Beamesderfer, an Annville-area resident. “We live in a time where everyone’s on a schedule, everyone is rush, rush, rush to get to the next thing and sometimes you just have to slow down and share that conversation.”

As a state queen alternate from January 2025 through this weekend, the ag ambassador has lived the very words she speaks. Beamesderfer was also the Lebanon Area Fair Queen from July 2024 until 2025’s county fair when a new court was crowned, and she was also one of four local Lebanon countians who served on this year’s Junior Committee of the PA Farm Show.

“A mission statement (for the state queen program) is to share their (farmers’) authentic stories of agriculture. I had this opportunity as a county fair queen and just being at the state level I just have an even broader platform and we do this through multiple generations whether it’s interacting with kids and inspiring especially young girls to be a fair queen one day,” she said. “And even if they’re not fair queens to take advantage of leadership opportunities in agriculture.”

Brooke Beamesderfer, back right, speaks with children at the state fair queen booth at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. (James Mentzer)

That state fair queen outreach also extends to adults.

“And then spanning to adults in the older generations and you’d be surprised how many people don’t know where their food comes from,” added Beamesderfer, the 20-year-old daughter of Justin and Eve Beamesderfer. “So it all starts with, I always say for me it’s not about the crown and the sash, it’s about the meaning behind it and that’s just, we’re in this role where we get to share so many meaningful conversations and sometimes that’s all that it takes to gain a more overall sense of appreciation and support for the farming industry amongst the public.”

The adult messaging includes state legislators when the queens have an opportunity to meet with them.

“One of our biggest events is the Advocacy Day, where we went to the capitol. All the fair queens across the state made meetings with their legislators to not only encourage them to go to their county fair,” Beamesderfer said. “I know my legislator, Senator Gebhard, is very good. He comes to our fair, and (Rep.) Russ Diamond comes to our fair. Those are the two I met with (in Harrisburg). And then we also learned about what they’re working on in agriculture. We also heard from a couple of speakers.”

The Blessing of the Balers prayer event included, from left, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Rep. Dan Moul, Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Ava Immel, Brooke Beamesderfer, Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, and Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. (Provided photo)

Legislative advocacy is a major component of the state fair queen program.

During LebTown’s interview with Beamesderfer at the state fair queen booth during the Pennsylvania Farm Show, she excuses herself to speak with Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. (R-47th), whose legislative district includes portions of Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties. Vogel is also majority chairman of the Senate’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

“I was just kind of talking about my (Farm Show) week. I didn’t share anything specific,” Beamesderfer said about her conversation with Vogel and his wife, Sue, who is a past state fair queen alternate. “But I do want to say that having this platform to interact with them, we’re able to get just a greater sense of respect for our elders, especially with people holding legislative roles.”

Connections with lawmakers like Vogel are crucial to be an ag advocate.

PA State Alternate Fair Queen Brooke Beamesderfer pictured with her goat “Uncle Sam” for the Jonestown Memorial Day Parade. (Provided photo)

“They understand what our youth are capable of and what they’re passionate about. So it’s really cool to make those connections because as we’re holding this conversation, he appreciates my interest and understanding of what he’s talking about and furthermore that’s allowing him to want to contribute to the future of agriculture,” Beamesderfer said. “I know there’s a lot of kids throughout Lebanon County who have such an interest in agriculture and therefore they want to support that because of just the effort and the dedication that we’re putting forth.”

Beyond legislative interactions, state fair queens also attend numerous ag- and non-ag related events throughout the year.

Beamesderfer said she attended five fairs that state queen Ava Immel of Lancaster County could not make, including the massive York State Fair.

“Another big event we went to was Ag Progress Days. We did a kid-focused activity, mainly because there are a lot of kids there. We were looking at equipment and tractors all day, so it was something interactive that they could do,” said Beamesderfer, who is a junior at Penn State’s College of Agriculture in State College. “I also attended Penn State’s Plant Yourself and Ag Day, which is where high school age students come and learn about ag opportunities and ag careers. So I told them about their opportunity with the fair queen program to encourage them to do that.”

Brooke Beamesderfer, right, and Ava Immel, with the Pennsylvania State Fair Queen program, ride in the float to promote the Pennsylvania Farm Show at the Harrisburg Holiday Parade in November. (James Mentzer)

Both queens were in an ag-themed float at Harrisburg’s annual holiday parade in November.

“We were really excited because this was the first time the fair queen program has done it,” Beamesderfer said. “It was the first year, so we have a couple of things that we wanna add next year, but our goal was to include all the youth programs. So the Junior Farm Show Junior Committee was also involved. We invited the state FFA officers, but they unfortunately had an event that day. And then we had a couple of 4-H-ers, and I believe the rabbit commodity kings and their royalty were involved. So we had all the youth agricultural organizations, and we were representing (as fair queens) the Pennsylvania Farm Show.”

A few other events that she enjoyed this past year included Blessing of the Balers.

“It was essentially an event to pray over the upcoming harvest season, specifically for hay, but also for other crops. We prayed for rain, we prayed for safety over the farmers, and as a Christian myself, I love that,” said Beamesderfer, who also served on the Junior Committee of the Pennsylvania Farm Show this year. “I felt like it was a full circle moment to bring that together with agriculture. We also used it as an opportunity to present the Pennsylvania Beef Council with a certificate to dedicate May as Safe Beef Month. So they (including local Fulton Bank ag lender Mike Firestine) were there making cheeseburgers.”

PA State Alternate Fair Queen Brooke Beamesderfer congratulates a Lebanon County hog exhibitor on her showmanship award during the Lebanon Area Fair. (Provided photo)

A few days following that event, Beamesderfer attended Farm City Days, another outreach to children to teach them about agriculture and who produces the food they eat.

“This is where essentially a bunch of elementary-aged kids come and there’s a bunch of different commodity groups. We were here representing the Pennsylvania Association of County Affairs and the Friends of the Farm Show, but there’s also the Honey Queen, the Dairy Princesses, and other agricultural groups to just kind of give these kids an opportunity to experience agriculture hands-on,” she said. “That was a two-day event, and we had an activity there where they grew their own sunflowers. We encouraged them to enter them in their county fair. We do our best to give them opportunities to be involved with their (local) fair because we know how agriculture literally planted a seed in our lives for growth. So we wanted to plant that seed in them, too.”

Beamesderfer’s reign in the state fair queen program ends this weekend during the annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs. As might be expected, she has mixed emotions about the end of her role in that program.

“It’s definitely a bittersweet moment,” she said. “I have to tell myself all good things come to an end, but this opportunity has made new connections and opened new doors for the next step in my agricultural journey. While I’m sad that this might be over, I’m motivated to use my experience to take the next step in making a positive impact on the industry.”

Brooke Beamesderfer’s family at the 2025 state fair queen coronation pageant included, from left, her father Justin, her mother Eve, and brother Kaden. (Provided photo)

Asked if she has any final thoughts to share with LebTown readers, Beamesderfer was ever the advocate for agriculture, especially the Lebanon Area Fair, which is where she said gained valuable experience working in the fair office. (Details for how individuals can enter the 2026 Lebanon Area Fair queen contest can be found here.)

“I encourage everyone to go to their county fair … to learn about ag’s impact on your local community, which is very important. You also just get to interact with the community,” she said. “And you get to give back to the local economy by purchasing PA preferred ingredients. … It is also a way to honor tradition and celebrate our agricultural heritage. So I just, it’s kind of cliche for a fair queen to say it, but go to your county fair. It goes a long way (to helping agriculture).”

Brooke Beamesderfer, state fair queen alternate, right, with Pennsylvania State Fair Queen Ava Immel at the fair queen booth at the 110th edition of the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Both of their year-long reigns come to an end this weekend when a new court is coronated at the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs’ annual convention in Hershey. (Provided photo)

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Annville woman advocates for agriculture as member of Pa. Fair Queen program

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