Congratulations to Vivian Stephenson, the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair Sheep Supreme Exhibitor. She has been raising and showing sheep since she could walk, growing up in the show ring with her Shropshires and in the barn at Sugar Ridge Ranch.
In fall 2026, she’ll begin her senior year at Viterbo University, pursuing a B.S. in nursing with a dance minor. After graduation, she plans to become a Registered Nurse Midwife — after all, she jokes, “How different can delivering lambs and babies really be?”
Though Vivian grew up showing across the nation, showing at Wisconsin State Fair Junior Show for the past 10 years has always been a favorite. She loves the focus on agricultural education and rewarding exhibitors for their knowledge through communication and quiz contests. Becoming the Supreme Sheep Exhibitor has been a longtime goal, and she’s proud to achieve it, though a bit sad to be closing out her Junior Show chapter.
Vivian plans to keep raising sheep and showing in open shows nationwide. In 2023, she exhibited the Champion Shropshire ram at the NAILE junior show in Louisville. She’s also served as Shropshire Sheep Princess and Queen, Secretary of the National Junior Shropshire Sheep Association, and a Junior Shropshire Regional Representative.
Outside the livestock industry, Vivian is active in her community and involved in many hobbies. She is the 2025 Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest and will compete for Miss Wisconsin in 2026. She also teaches at two dance studios and, in high school, served as 4-H president, NHS vice president and secretary, and the 2023 Vernon County Fairest of the Fair. A 2023 Valedictorian of the Rural Virtual Academy, in her free time she enjoys playing guitar, horseback riding, hiking, fishing, and photography. Vivian is excited to continue to watch the future of agriculture grow in Wisconsin. She encourages youth involvement in ag.
