Ag Books for Kids 2024 winners announced

Food is the common bond tying everyone to agriculture. Donating accurate agriculture books to Wyoming elementary schools has been the goal of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation (WyFB) Young Farmer and Rancher Committee’s Ag Books for Kids program since its inception in 2004. 

In the last 20 years, 11,575 agriculture books have been donated to Wyoming elementary schools.

In 2024, county farm bureau federations across the state donated 710 “Seed, Soil, Sun” books by Cris Peterson to Wyoming elementary schools. Contests are held in association with the book to encourage students to learn more about agriculture. 

The contests included a coloring contest for kindergarten and first grade, a poster contest for second and third grades and a marketing ad contest for fourth and fifth grades.

Students from across Wyoming were recently recognized for their participation in the 2024 WyFB Ag Books for Kids contests.

County winners were forwarded to their district where three winners were selected. The district winners each received a copy of “Seed, Soil, Sun” and their entries were forwarded to the state contest. 

In addition to the book they received as a district winner, the state winner in each contest received a $50 gift card and the state runner-up in each contest received a $25 gift card.

Emma Gordon, a first grader at Lusk Elementary in Niobrara County, was the coloring contest winner, while fellow first grader Lexi Wheeler of Pine Bluffs Elementary in Laramie County was the runner-up.

Lincoln County third grader Birlyn Christiansen of Afton Elementary was the winner of the poster contest, followed by Gus Ivory, a third grader at Story Elementary in Sheridan County, as the runner-up. 

In the marketing ad contest, Goshen County fourth grader Lillian Mathias of LaGrange Elementary received the first-place prize, and Park County’s Linley Richardson, a fourth grader at Southside Elementary, was the runner-up.