The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
Board members handing out prizes at Hulett, left to right: Lucy G. Neiman, Parker Hamilton, Rilee Bears, County Agent Andrea Robinson and County Secretary Cassie Pickrel.
Handing out prizes at Moorcroft, left to right: Marshall Williamson and County Secretary Cassie Pickrel.
County winners in the coloring contest: Lucy G Neiman, Hulett; James Williamson, Sundance; Luna Gillis, Sundance.
County Winners in the marketing contest: Parker Hamilton, Hulett; Bella East, Sundance; Rilee Bears, Hulett.
County winners in the poster contest: Maya Buckman, Sundance; Marshall Williamson, Moorcroft; Aspen McDonald, Sundance.
Board members handing out prizes at Sundance, left to right: County VP JW Moore, Luna Gillis, James Williamson and County Treasurer Keith Haiar.
The Crook County Farm Bureau Federation promoted a program called Ag Books for Kids in the Crook County elementary school classrooms. This year's book was "Seed, Soil and Sun" by Cris Peterson.
The purpose: to instill the knowledge that many of our daily necessities come from agriculture! American agriculture provides us with the food we eat, the clothes we wear and so much more.
"Donating accurate agriculture books to Wyoming elementary schools has been the goal of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation (WyFB) Young Farmer and Rancher Committee 'Ag Books for Kids' program since its inception in 2004," explains Kerin Clark, WyFb Media and Member Relations Director, in the June edition of Wyoming Agriculture. Every year, the Crook County Farm Bureau Federation delivers copies of the book to classrooms, kindergarten through fifth grade.
"In the last 20 years, 11,575 agricultural books have been donated to Wyoming elementary schools through the 'Ag Books for Kids' program. In 2024, county Farm Bureau Federations across the state donated 710 'Seed, Soil and Sun' books," she continued in the article.
Clark also wrote in the article explaining how the kids get involved with the designated book. "Contests are held in association with the book of the year to encourage students to learn even more about agriculture. The contests included: Coloring Contest for kindergarten and first graders, Poster Contest for second and third graders, and a Marketing Ad Contest for the fourth and fifth grades."
This year, Crook County had 167 total entries from Hulett, Moorcroft and Sundance elementary schools. The top three contest entries went on to compete in Districts, and then on to the state level.
Every student that participated in the contest was given a packet of flower seeds and instructions on how to plant them at home, a way to put their knowledge to work! The county winners for Crook County also received a cash prize and were acknowledged in front of their classmates by a member/s of the county board. The Crook County winners were as follows:
Coloring Contest: 1st Place - Lucy G. Neiman, Hulett Kindergarten; 2nd Place - James Williamson, Sundance First Grade, 3rd Place - Luna Gillis, Sundance First Grade
Poster Contest: 1st Place -Maya Buckman, Sundance Second Grader; 2nd Place - Marshall Williamson, Moorcroft Third Grade; 3rd Place - Aspen McDonald, Sundance Second Grade
Marketing Ad Contest: 1st Place - Parker Hamilton, Hulett Fourth Grade; 2nd Place - Bella East, Sundance Fourth Grade; 3rd Place, Rilee Bears- Hulett Fifth Grade
Three students from Crook County went on to place at the district level, where they were awarded with their own copy of "Seed, Soil and Sun" and their entries were forwarded to the state contest. Lucy G. Neiman from Hulett was the District First Place Coloring Contest Winner, Maya Buckman from Sundance was the District Second Place Poster Contest Winner and Parker Hamilton from Hulett was third at Districts for the Marketing Ad Contest.
