The Missouri Department of Agriculture is now taking entries for its annual Focus on Missouri Agriculture photo contest. For the contest, which runs through June 15, the department is asking Missourians to send in unique stories and images of agriculture through photographs.
The contest is an opportunity for amateur photographers in the state to show off their best images of agriculture, according to a Missouri Department of Agriculture press release. Images can be of farm landscape, harvest, tractors, animals and anything that showcases the state's agriculture.
Last year, a woman from Callaway County was among the contest's winners. Carol Gamm-Smith of Holts Summit was awarded an honorable mention in the contest for her photo of her 78-year-old father driving his 1979 pickup truck on their family farm in Bowling Green.
The truck in her photo has been in her family for more than 100 years. She said her father has farmed his whole life.
"It's not just the truck that's been at it a long time, but the guy who's driving it, too," Gamm-Smith told the Fulton Sun in August.
She snapped the photo when she visited family and it was recognized in the Pride of the Farm category.
The contest categories include Beauty of the Farm, Faces of the Farm, The Farmer's Life and Pride of the Farm. There will be a children's category, too - for photographers ages 12 and under.
Judges will take into account visual impact, creativity, quality and memorable content, according to the release. Winners will be announced at the Missouri Governor's Conference on Agriculture.
The first place winner in each of the five categories will receive a $50 AgriMissouri Market gift certificate and an AgriMissouri Market gift certificate of $150 will be awarded to the contest's best of show.
Additionally, category winners and best of show will receive a professional canvas print of their photo and winning images will be on display at the State Fair in August, as well.
Interested photographers can submit their work online at agriculture.mo.gov/focus. There, photographers can fill out the online form to submit their photo and read the contest rules and guidelines. Photos must be submitted by June 15.
"The story of agriculture is varied and vast, and often best told by the people who live and breathe it every day," Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce stated in the press release. "I look forward to seeing Missourians' outstanding talent come through in their photos of farm fields, livestock, equipment and our farm families."