Meet the Minnesota State Fair's Superintendent of Vegetables and Potatoes

By Kirsten Mitchell

August 29, 2023 / 6:00 PM / CBS Minnesota

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — The giant pumpkin competition at the Minnesota State Fair may be the most well-known, but there's about 150 different categories in the vegetable and potato competition.

Visitors can see the winning produce at the Agriculture Horticulture Building throughout the fair.

Phil Klint oversees the competition as the Superintendent of Vegetables and Potatoes.

"You pray for it to be over, but the minute it's over you have to start planning for next year, and God I can't wait to get back!" Klint said.

He has run the state fair competition for 36 years.

"After all four judging days we put the points together and see who is the grand winner of the sweepstakes, and they get the bragging rights for the year," he said.

Judges look but don't taste the submissions. Klint describes it as a beauty contest.

"Judging goes really smooth and then you hit the cherry tomatoes and it just stops because the judge has to look at everything," he said.

The giant pumpkins typically get the most attention. The 2023 winner weighed 814.5 lbs. Gargantuan, but only half the size of last year's winner, which was a state fair record.

"A lot of it was the plants got real stressed with the heat and the drought and you couldn't put enough water to keep the things going," he said.

Klint said hail and sudden rain also caused crop damage to some entries. It's a delicate art to grow award-winning vegetables but even amateur backyard gardeners are welcome to submit their crops.

Kirsten Mitchell joined the WCCO team as a reporter in November of 2021. A Saint Paul native, Kirsten is proud to tell stories in her home state. She graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Go Gophs!) and interned at WCCO during her time there.

First published on August 29, 2023 / 6:00 PM

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.