California Farm Bureau 2024 photo contest winners
By Caitlin Filmore
“It was a beautiful moment,” Rachel Ramey remembered about the birth she unexpectedly witnessed while visiting Adamscows Dairy in Laton for a practice dairy-judging session with her Frontier FFA team.
Ramey said she advocates being a “light to shine on ag wherever you go” and uses her smartphone to capture farming moments.
This experience inspired not only the first-place image, but also a reminder that through all the work, unexpected instances of wonder make farming worth it.
“People outside of the agriculture community don’t get to experience moments like these,” she said. “I wanted to capture (them) to show why agriculturalists do what we do.”
Photography, like farming, juggles what is planned and the whims of chance. For example, the question, “Will the sun act how it should?” applies to both. Perhaps this explains the charming and poignant randomness captured in the winning images of the 43rd annual California Farm Bureau Photo Contest. The spontaneity continues with the People’s Choice category, a new award decided by you, the public. All winners receive cash prizes, with the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom sponsoring the Budding Artists category.
Maddy Nissen
Glenn County Farm Bureau
“What is so unique about this photo is that it was not posed,” Maddy Nissen said. “There are not many photos of my grandpa.
When I saw him leaning on the gate, I knew this was a memory I wanted to capture.” For Nissen, her image represents the strength of farmers such as her grandpa, Jack Bucke, a feed store owner and rice farmer. He was watching his cattle graze when she took the shot. “This photo serves as a testament to the people who work so tirelessly for not only California agriculture but to feed the world,” Nissen said.
Jacob Rix
Sacramento County Farm Bureau
A 5 a.m. wake-up call, a Nikon D3400 with a tripod and an Oakdale hillcrest resulted in “complete awe of the unexpected result” for Jacob Rix, a fieldman irrigation systems designer. A Nebraska native, Rix said he feels compelled to share the beauty he finds in Central Valley nut orchards. “Almond orchards in full bloom in every direction each season have given me the opportunity to bring California agricultural awareness back East with my photography,” Rix said. He said he hopes his image communicates “hope and faith for better days on the horizon.”
Maddy Nissen
Glenn County Farm Bureau
This moment captured the hearts of the voting public, with Nissen winning two categories this year and the first-ever People’s Choice award. Francheska “Frankie” Alves participates in the PeeWee Showmanship ring at the Glenn County Fair every year. But this time, Nissen, with her Canon R6, asked for the girl’s photo. Five-year-old Frankie obliged, striking a pose with her best friend, Catfish the dairy heifer. Nissen said she hopes this image encourages others to support youth agriculture programs. “My photo is showcasing the future of the agricultural industry: a young girl and a dairy calf.”
Monica Morris
San Diego County Farm Bureau
Pumpkins may not be the first things that spring to mind when you hear San Diego, but Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center makes a case with this winning photo. Monica Morris, a Bates employee, used her smartphone for this shot as the sun set over the Big Macs in the pumpkin patch. “We hope this photo makes people smile and enjoy the beauty of growing pumpkins,” Morris said, adding she also hopes it shows “how beautiful it can be as the sun sets over a farm such as ours that grows pumpkins every year.”
Drew Scott
Kings County Farm Bureau
When a colleague of Drew Scott expressed interest in getting family portraits made, Scott and his wife, aspiring photographer Krislyn Peterson, thought of the Kaweah Oaks Preserve as an ideal setting for a family photo shoot. “Life’s best moments are spent with family and in nature. Agriculture is grounded in both,” Scott said. As the children interacted with cattle and frolicked in the orchards, a “perfect moment” appeared. Using a Canon R5 digital camera and natural light, this photo shows the joy of being in full bloom.
Julia Elgorriaga
Madera County Farm Bureau
Livestock guardian dogs contribute to a cohesive farm operation, even if it looks like everything is all smiles. Julia Elgorriaga captured this photo on her Madera County farm, where she herds cattle and deploys sheep for tasks such as orchard grazing among almonds and pistachios. While no longer as visible as before, Elgorriaga said sheep are still a key component of agriculture in the Golden State. “A lot of people forget there’s sheep in California,” she said. “We may have to do weird things like orchard grazing, but we’re still here and making it work.”
Sean Long
Nevada County Farm Bureau
Last February, Sean Long glanced out the window overlooking his 10-acre ranch in southern Nevada County and saw baby lambs. “That sealed the deal and out I went,” said Long, who recently reignited his photography hobby with a Canon R7 and telephoto zoom lens. Although he was skeptical any of the lambs would stray far enough from their mother for him to achieve a proper portrait, this little one struck a pose. When thinking about the story his photo tells, the father of four couldn’t resist a dad joke: “Smile! Come on, I know ewe can do it!”
Christian Rivas
Monterey County Farm Bureau
Leafy greens, the signature crop of Monterey County’s “Salad Bowl,” are often harvested in cool overnight temperatures. “This county helps feed people all around our country and the world,” Christian Rivas said. With most of the crop obscured by darkness, Rivas’ winning photo—taken with a smartphone—focuses instead on the employees harvesting greens around midnight at this Western Harvesting LLC farm near King City. He said he hopes the photo helps viewers “appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of working on this type of schedule to ensure the safest, high-quality product for consumers.”
Michelle Foster
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau
The distinct reward of pulling a root vegetable from the soil is illustrated in Michelle Foster’s photo taken on the land of her employer, Talley Farms. Foster said carrots are one of the most popular crops at the farm, which ships 3,500 Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, produce boxes weekly to customers in the Western U.S. “I’ve always been drawn to up-close harvesting shots and feel that hands are at the center (of our work),” Foster said. “(Distribution) wouldn’t be possible without the hardworking men and women harvesting the crops out in the field or packing the boxes in our cooler.”
First Place
Ashley Jansen, age 13, Colusa County Farm Bureau
For the second consecutive year, Ashley Jansen takes the top prize for her agricultural photography. During a walk with her dog, Rocky, a dragonfly against rice plants caught her eye. “Rice is a significant crop in Colusa County,” said Ashley, who comes from a longtime farming background in the region. “I hope the readers will see the beauty in the agriculture that surrounds us.” The Budding Artist and active member of the Arbuckle 4-H (she shows market lambs) used a Minolta MN53Z for her winning shot.
Second Place
Grady Rocca, age 11, Fresno County Farm Bureau
A trip to Solace Lavender Farm in Kerman sparked inspiration for Grady Rocca. He noticed the bees pollinating the pick-your-own lavender and grabbed the family’s Nikon D3200 with a standard zoom lens. Grady, whose dad is a college agriculture professor, said he hopes his bee photo reminds viewers of the importance of bees. “I would like people to remember that bees are very important to agriculture,” Grady said. “We wouldn’t have many fruits or nuts if it weren’t for bees pollinating these crops. We need to make sure that we take care of bees.”
Reprint with credit to California Farm Bureau. For image use, email barciero@cfbf.com.
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