WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — A Wausau 3rd grader won the big prize for growing one big cabbage plant. Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Ben Brancel was at Newman Catholic School Wednesday to present Riley Olbrantz with the top prize in the statewide Grade Cabbage Program.
This wasn’t just your average corned beef side dish or sauerkraut starter. Most heads of cabbage only weigh in at under five pounds. Riley’s winning cabbage weighed in at 28.6 pounds. She started the plant in in school, and took it home for the summer to keep it growing. Bonnie Plants supplied over 11-thousand of their O.S. Cross oversize head cabbage plants to third graders around the state.
Wisconsin may be known for dairy products, cranberries, and potatoes, but vegetable production is also a huge part of Wisconsin’s agribusiness economy. Wisconsin ranks first in the nation in production of cabbage for sauerkraut, growing 27% of the U.S. total. The state harvested 2,900 acres of fresh market cabbage last year, a value of more than $10 million.