The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) announced the 2011 National Ag Day written essay and video essay contest winners, Nora Faris and Kyle Trevino, respectively.
ACA called upon ninth- to 12th-grade students nationwide to submit an original written essay of 450 words or an original, two-minute video essay about the importance of agriculture in the U.S. Using this year's theme, "American Agriculture: Your Food. Your Farmer." students addressed how the agriculture industry continues to feed a growing population while acknowledging the many ways today's farmers continue to provide a safe, stable food supply and sustain the significant role agriculture plays in everyday life.
The ACA honored Faris, a ninth-grader at Concordia High School, Concordia, Missouri, and Kyle Trevino, an 11th-grader at Peachtree Christian Academy, Madera, California, at the 2011 Ag Day event held at the USDA Whitten Building Patio. Faris read her essay aloud and Trevino's video essay played to an audience of industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and others at the Celebration of Agriculture dinner in Washington, D.C. Below is an excerpt from Faris' essay:
"... America's 'Most Valuable People' aren't found on magazine covers. Rather, they are found in farm fields, feed stores and livestock barns. They are American farmers, a group whose labors, although largely unrecognized, are vital to the lives of all U.S. citizens – or at least the ones who eat."
Trevino's video shared his firsthand insights about production agriculture on his family's farm. To view his video, click here. This was the first year for the video essay contest.
"This year's theme – American Agriculture: Your Food. Your Farmer. – asked students to truly stop and give thought to the many ways American farmers influence their everyday lives," says Linda Tank, vice president, marketing and communications, CHS Inc. "This year, we also wanted to provide students more flexibility to submit a written essay or create a video essay because today's students communicate in multiple mediums." PD
—From ACA news release
