Santa Barbara County rancher wins Farm Bureau photo contest

» January 2, 2008 «

A rooster named Hippie Chicken, held in the arms of a 6-year-old girl, became the subject of the Grand Prize image in the California Farm Bureau Federation's annual photo contest.

Grand Prize photo by Charlotte Smith See other winning photos Download JPG (440 KB)

Rancher Charlotte Smith of Santa Maria snapped the winning image, chosen for the top prize among more than 360 photos submitted by Farm Bureau members in the organization's 2007 statewide contest.

Using a digital camera she received as a birthday gift, Smith captured a photo of Kayla Minetti, one of the neighbor children who came to her Santa Barbara County cattle ranch to visit the chickens and other farm animals.

Besides submitting the Grand Prize photo, Smith earned the extra distinction of being the only double winner in the Farm Bureau contest. She also took first place in the From Farm to Fork category, with a photo of her granddaughters Sarah and Shauna, shown taking a break from canning pickles at the family ranch. Second place in the category went to Cathy Wolfe of Brentwood, for a photo of heirloom tomatoes on display at her family's Contra Costa County produce stand.

A colorful image of tractors lined up after a long day of baling hay earned first prize in the All in a Day's Work category for Modoc County Farm Bureau member Erika DuVal of Tulelake. Second place went to Dorothea Garrett of Millville, who used the timer on her camera to snap a photo of herself and her husband, John Smelcer, with several of the emus they raise on their Shasta County ranch.

Placer County Farm Bureau member Janet Turner photographed her son Layton and daughter Mattie Rose as they bottle-fed a calf at their uncle's ranch. The image earned first place in the Family on the Farm category. A photo of Stanislaus County cattle rancher Sean Dunagan giving a tractor ride to a young visitor from the city won second place in the category for Dunagan's wife, Hilda Baisel of Oakdale.

In the Caring for the Land category, Leah Bigham of Fresno earned first place for a photo of her ranch dog, Posse, standing watch over the family ranch from a nearby hill. Placer County Farm Bureau member Tracy Vineyard earned second place for a photo of her 12-year-old son, Andrew, collecting discarded cans and bottles from the road adjoining their property in Lincoln.

A rare winter snow in the Coast Range provided the subject for the winning photograph in the Natural Beauty category. San Benito County Farm Bureau member Stacy Schmidt shot the photo of horses standing in the serene snowscape. The rural beauty of Stahley Hill in Auburn inspired the second-place photo in the category, submitted by Placer County Farm Bureau member Janet Davis.

San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau member Misty Tartaglia of Harmony captured a tender moment between her 3-year-old daughter, Reese, and her horse, Biscuit. The image earned first place in the Kids and Critters category. Second place went to Monterey County Farm Bureau member Armin Neubert of Pine Canyon, who photographed his granddaughter, Kate, feeding a friendly goose at a reservoir on his ranch.

The Grand Prize photograph in the Farm Bureau contest earned a $1,000 award. First place in each category won $500; second place winners earned $250 each. The winning photos are printed in the Farm Bureau's two member publications, Ag Alert® and California Country®, and are displayed online at www.cfbf.com/programs/photo.

The California Farm Bureau Federation, the state's largest farm organization, works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 91,000 members statewide.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.