This year was the 35th National Farm Toy Show for Dyersville, Iowa. This is one of the few farm toy shows where farm layouts and toy equipment competitions are part of the action; the competition is fierce in both adult and youth competition.

The first-place winner in this year’s youth layout was from a first-time attendee, seven-year-old Matt Logan who, along with his mom, Eryn, dad, Kirby, and two-year-old brother, Luke, made the trek from Bartlett, Texas just so Matt could enter this contest. The young artist became interested in the contest after viewing a layout on the Internet.

“He gets on Google and looks for John Deere toys and anything farming-related. He clicked on and found Daryl Stangler’s YouTube video of his display and said, ‘I want to do that,’” Eryn explained.

Growing up on a family farm, where they grow wheat, corn, cotton and maize, may be part of the reason this young man – who was already collecting farm toys – was so determined to create his own layout and enter the contest. When seeing how serious her son was, Eryn’s next step was to find out about the National Farm Toy Show and how to enter the contest.

Gathering the needed information, the family began forming the layout and making plans to head to Dyersville. Once at the show Matt even got to meet his idol, Daryl, and have his picture taken.

Matt’s award-winning display is a farm scene and his barn was created with a bit of assistance from his mom. “It is like our barn, but a little different,” Matt said.

His barn was filled with the Case models with which Kirby said they primarily farm and John Deere, Matt’s favorite brand.

“Matt and I built the barn out of tin and foam board, spray paint and concrete,” Eryn said. “I enjoyed spending time with him and seeing how he wanted to do this. It’s been a fun project.”

Lauren Blank, 14, a freshman from Jefferson, Wis., won the second-place spot in this year’s youth contest. Her theme came about “because we don’t have a lot of White dealerships in Wisconsin. This is something different and I had a lot of fun doing it.”

Lauren spent a lot of time on this display, which includes a shop with everything from signs and tools to a Coke machine and handmade mailbox.

Besides the intricate décor, “I had to add some White equipment; White toys can be hard to find. Besides the White equipment I also added in some older Olivers and trade-ins.”

She said the International Harvester is her favorite and White/Oliver comes in second. While this freshman doesn’t live on a farm herself, her grandparents and uncle farm.

The National Farm Toy Show is in Lauren’s blood, a part of her family history.

“My dad (Greg) has been coming to toy shows since 1981. I saw the displays and thought they might be fun,” she explained.

The only young woman to display, Lauren’s first entry at the national show was when she was around nine years old.

Eleven-year-old James Westbrook won third place. From Newton, Iowa, he has been creating farm layouts with his dad, Dave, for years, following in his older brother, Jeremy’s, stead.

This was James’ second foray into the farm layout competition at the national level, and a second win for the young layout artist. Last year he scored a second-place win.

His layout was a cattle farm. When asked why he decided to take that route, he said, “It just seemed like a good idea.”

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.