With Miss Agribusiness titles, Vollmer sisters advocate for industry

Victoria Vollmer of Grace City is already a regional and statewide ambassador promoting agriculture, having served as the North Dakota America's Miss Agribusiness since being named to the title two years ago.

Her younger sister, Vanessa, an incoming sophomore at Midkota High School, decided to get in on the fun too.

Vanessa was crowned the Teen Miss Agribusiness for 2022-23 in mid-July, along with Victoria in the Miss division once again, and will continue in her sister's legacy of bringing education and awareness to the agriculture industry.

"Miss Agribusiness was something Victoria had brought up to me," said Vanessa. "I thought it would be a nice experience to get involved, so I told her we should go for it."

The elder Vollmer explained that since the title is not known in the state, there is no formal pageant involved, at least not as of yet.

"We contacted our Midwest representative, had to pay a fee, and then we were given the titles through the mail."

Victoria says that by being named to the AMA crowns, she and Vanessa get the chance to compete at a national level against other states, but to make their way to the competition stage, they have to self-fund their trip.

"We can do this by having sponsors from the agriculture industry to help support our cause," said Victoria. "Not only will they help us get to nationals, but they can help us with travel expenses as well. We plan to travel to different agriculture events, fairs, and parades."

The siblings will plan on traveling together to certain events, but will also have to travel separately on occasion since Victoria will be teaching elementary science in the Tioga school district beginning this fall.

Explaining the roles that she and her elder sister take on as Miss Agribusiness, Vanessa explained:

"Our goal is to teach the importance of agriculture and providing food for our country. Being a part of the agriculture industry teaches you many values, like how to work hard for things you want, and to appreciate the farmers and ranchers that bring the food to your plate."

Victoria added, "The behind-the-scenes things that we are doing is donations to local food drives, as well as helping out at local food banks. We haven't gotten to do many things yet, since we were just crowned, but we plan on trying to make as much of an impact as we can."

What a queen does, says Victoria, is promoting the entire agribusiness industry, doing their duties as "AgVocates."

"This can mean anything from attending a local farm and garden show, all the way to becoming part of the official AMA National Ambassador Queen's Team. This also means learning as much as we can about America's agribusiness, and the opportunities available to our young people."

She also says that while not all states are involved with the AMA program, "it is becoming more popular."

In addition, Victoria has taken the time to author a children's book, "A Rancher's Hands," an experience which was chronicled in an article published in the Independent on March 21, 2022, as part of the National Ag Week section.

She has also served as the North Dakota Angus Princess in 2016 and Queen in 2018, both times crowned in Mandan.

The two credit the backing of their parents, Jason and Veronica Vollmer, for their support of their mission, and also their siblings, Joseph and James.

"Agriculture has been a huge part of our family, and is something we are all very passionate about," said Vanessa. "The decision to have these titles was easy from the support our family gave to us, because we share the same values."