For Shannon Beishuizen, the road to becoming the 2026 Asparagus Queen could be best described as, first and foremost, a family bonding experience. It’s a journey that did not just begin this year when her father and co-worker suggested she apply when the competition was advertised, but germinated years ago as Shannon grew up on a farm. Agriculture is deeply rooted on either side of her family, leading her to join FFA in school and guiding her through the last decade growing asparagus with her husband, Scott, in New Era.
Her family was with her all the way through the spring, with her four daughters splitting the work of helping their mother prepare - from writing bios to dress shopping and hair styling. They were there to congratulate Shannon’s success and see her through the festival weekend; four grown girls, two sons-in-law, nieces and nephews, five brothers who were quick to tease their newly crowned older sister, and one granddaughter in a new green dress to match the queen’s. They doubtlessly will all be there through the next year to support Shannon’s reign - especially the girls, as Shannon laughed, “with four daughters, they’re helping something fierce.”
She goes on to explain, “The girls are excited and the family’s excited… it’s been a whole family camaraderie."
A new empty nester working part-time as the Grant Township clerk, Shannon saw the Asparagus Queen as the start to a new chapter in her life, one where she could begin focusing on herself and inspire other growers to follow in her footsteps and represent the crop nationwide. “We [growers] need to step up and do this,” Shannon explained. “A lot of them are becoming empty nesters like me - let’s do something for ourselves, let’s do something for the growers, our community.”
As she informed her grower friends, “I plan on crowning you next year!”
Of all the events over the weekend, Shannon’s favorite was the Taste of Asparagus competition, trying everyone’s different recipes and getting inspiration for her own asparagus cuisine. “It gives you different ideas,” explained Shannon. “I’m creative, so it’s like, ‘okay, I can just spin this [recipe] off and I can make that. But just trying different people’s ideas, that was my favorite.”
Shannon certainly isn’t blinded by the glamour and pageantry of the crown, as her farm-grown work ethic ensures she’s “treating it as another job.” She’s bringing to the role a collection of qualities honed from her background in agriculture. Hard work and dedication are at the top of that list - as Shannon put it, “you finish your work first, then you can play” - a lifestyle modeled by her dairy-farming parents.
Shannon and her husband have been growing asparagus themselves since 2015 and have just expanded operations to include 30 acres. Shannon has a wealth of hands-on experience from her work; “[I’m] not only picking it, but I bring it in - you don’t see very many wives back up the trucks and haul it into the processors.”
Respect is another quality growing asparagus can teach a queen - respect for the industry and respect for the workers, for whom she works tirelessly to show her appreciation. Simply put, for Shannon, agriculture, “[is] my life. That’s just what I’ve always done. I’ve always lived on a farm. We’ve always done hard work.”
Perhaps the best talking point in her asparagus arsenal is her proximity to the industry. Over the weekend, folks were asking her, “Oh, do you get free asparagus as queen?”
Shannon’s answer? “Actually, I do! Because it’s right out in my front yard!”
Now Shannon has a year of representing the asparagus industry in a new way to look forward to, and already she’s overcome with gratitude over the honor. Tearing up, Shannon expressed, “I’m excited to step up. I’m excited about the whole year. I've already met so many neat people…you know, people care, you just don’t realize how much.”
