Catoosa, Walker Farm Bureaus seek entries for 2019 essay, art contests

“What would happen if there were no farmers or ranchers?” That’s the question Georgia Farm Bureau is asking middle school students to answer in its annual essay contest.

Catoosa and Walker County Farm Bureaus encourage 6th, 7th and 8th grade students to enter the 2019 Georgia Farm Bureau Middle School Essay Contest. The contest is open to students attending public or private schools and homeschooled children. Students may enter in the county in which they live or attend school but not both.

The winner from each county will be awarded $50.

“Farmers and ranchers grow the food we eat, cotton and wool to clothe us, and timber for our houses. But did you know agricultural commodities are also used to make books, cosmetics, medicine, sports equipment and many other products?” said Bernard Sims, Catoosa County Farm Bureau president. “By participating in the annual Farm Bureau Middle School Essay Contest, we hope students will learn about the many contributions farmers make to their daily lives.”

To enter the contest, students should visit www.gfb.ag/essaycontest or contact their county Farm Bureau for an entry form and contest rules and submit their essay to that office by Friday, February 8, 2019. All essay entries must be officially submitted by each county Farm Bureau to the Georgia Farm Bureau home office.

The winner from each county will be entered in the Georgia Farm Bureau 1st District competition. The district winner will receive a cash prize of $100. The ten GFB district winners will compete for the state prize of $150 cash. Previous state winners are not eligible.

Essays will be judged on how well the essay topic is addressed, adherence to standard English grammar rules, and use of primary and secondary sources for research pertaining to essay topic referenced in the essay.

Teachers can access lesson plans for 6th through 8th grade students that accompanies this essay question at www.gfb. ag/19essaylessonplan.

This contest is sponsored by Georgia Farm Bureau and coordinated by the Georgia Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.

The 2019 Georgia Farm Bureau High School Art Contest is open to all public, private and homeschool students in 9th through 12th grades. Finished artwork must be on 8.5 x 11-inch white paper and should be created in the colors black, white and gray. Contestants may use a variety of media to create their artwork including graphite, charcoal, pastel, chalk, colored pencil, pen-and-ink, ballpoint pen or mixed media appropriate for printing. The artwork should be camera ready. Only one entry per person. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Previous state winners are not eligible. The winner from each county will receive $50.

“The purpose of the Farm Bureau Art Contest is to encourage students to creatively explore Georgia agriculture and increase their knowledge of the contributions it makes to our lives. Georgia farmers produce a wide variety of crops and livestock including poultry, beef cattle, dairy, cotton, peanuts, timber, pecans, blueberries and many other fruits and vegetables,” said Mike Bunn, Walker County Farm Bureau president. “Between the crops Georgia farmers grow and the jobs agriculture creates to harvest, process and transport these crops, agriculture contributed $73.3 billion to Georgia’s $972 billion economy in 2016.”

Drawings will be judged on 1) how well the artwork represents modern agriculture found in the student’s county or Georgia and 2) artistic merit.

To enter the contest, students should visit www.gfb.ag/artcontest or contact their county Farm Bureau for an official entry form and contest rules and submit their artwork to that office by Friday, February 8, 2019. Each county Farm Bureau must officially submit the entries to the Georgia Farm Bureau home office.

The winner from each county will be entered in the Georgia Farm Bureau 1st District competition. The district winner will receive a cash prize of $100. The ten GFB district winners will compete for the state prize of $250 cash. Two runners-up will each receive $150 cash.

Students must be willing to allow Georgia Farm Bureau to reprint copies of their drawings. The winning artwork becomes the property of Georgia Farm Bureau and will be printed in a calendar distributed by Georgia Farm Bureau to promote agriculture. The Georgia Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee coordinates the contest.

For more information, contact the Catoosa County Farm Bureau office at 706-9372000 or the Walker County Farm Bureau at 706-638-3237.

Founded in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau is the state’s largest general farm organization. Its volunteer members participate in local, state and national activities to promote agriculture to their non-farming neighbors. GFB offers its members a wide variety of benefits, including insurance, but enrollment in any of the member benefits is optional and not a requirement for membership.