All in a Day's Work

First Prize

Erika DuVal, Modoc County

Erika DuVal and the crew she was working with had just finished baling hay for the day when she saw the perfect opportunity for this shot. According to DuVal, these eight John Deere tractors are kept in top working condition and had just been used to bale 2,500 acres of alfalfa hay. Each day the owners line up the tractors like this when they've finished their work, a tradition that DuVal believes represents the enormous pride they have for keeping the “Johnny Popper” traditions alive in Modoc County. This is the first time the new mom and avid photographer has entered the Farm Bureau's photo contest.

Second Prize

Dorothea Garrett, Shasta County

When it comes to the care necessary to maintain the flock of emus that roam Dorothea Garrett and John Smelcer's ranch, the term "hands on" is an understatement--especially in the case of a character named Bullet, shown kneeling in front of Garrett in this cleverly shot photo. The distinguished member of the 80-bird flock was born right in Garrett's hands. She said that the egg started to crack and out he popped like a bullet, hence the name.

It took several tries using a timer to get this photo. Emus are extremely curious birds, Garrett explains, and found her husband's hat irresistible. They kept nibbling at it and knocking it to the ground, just as the timer would go off.

The couple began raising emus in the early 1990s, after restructuring their ranch from a horse-boarding operation so that could maintain the farming way of life they both enjoy.