A student at Central DeWitt High School, and a member of the DeWitt Central FFA Chapter, has been named the national winner of the 2022 GROWMARK Essay Contest.
Megan Clark of Grand Mound, Iowa is this year?s national winner. Her FFA Advisor is Amy Grantz. Clark will receive a $1,000 award from GROWMARK, and the DeWitt Central FFA Chapter will receive $750.
GROWMARK?s Karen Jones explains that this year?s essay contest theme was, ?What, in your opinion, has changed for the better in the agricultural industry as a result of the pandemic??
?I toyed with the idea of using the pandemic as our topic because it?s of course on everyone?s mind right now, but I wanted it to have a positive spin,? said Jones. ?I decided to ask the students to think about some of the good things that might have happened for agriculture by asking them to put a positive spin on it and think of some things that have impacted agriculture specifically as a result of the last 18 months or so.?
In her essay, Clark said: ?While other sectors in the country found themselves at a standstill, agriculturalists continued to thrive and emerged from the pandemic with new business opportunities and a stronger public image. Forever the optimist, farmers pushed back against adversity and found new ways to grow.?
Jones says the 2022 essay contest had tougher competition than years past because eligibility expanded to all 50 states.
?For the last 29 years, GROWMARK has sponsored an essay contest for FFA members in the Midwest,? said Jones. ?For a while it was just Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin students. In the last few years, we had expanded to a few more Midwestern states. But as our company footprint has grown ? and we are reaching more customers across the US ? it just made sense for us to open up eligibility to students in all 50 states.?
Four runners-up were also selected. They each receive $500 and their FFA chapters receive $300. They include:
? Liz Elam, of Clovis, New Mexico. She is a member of the Texico FFA Chapter and a student at Texico High School. Her FFA advisor is Chris Flanagan.
? Kylie Oakland, of Elgin, Iowa. She is a member of the North Fayette Valley FFA Chapter and a student at North Fayette Valley High School. Her FFA advisor is Ryan Holthaus.
? Sidney Stiers, of Williamsfield, Illinois. She is a member of the Williamsfield FFA Chapter and a student at Williamsfield High School. Her FFA advisor is Kent Rigg.
? Makenna Stundebeck, of Salisbury, Missouri. She is a member of the Salisbury FFA Chapter and a student at Salisbury High School. Her FFA advisor is Breanne Brammer.
The essay contest is sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives.
