Youth Essay Competition
NATIONAL YOUTH IN FORAGE MANAGEMENT ESSAY
The National Youth in Forage Management Essay focuses on essays written about anything pertaining to grazing management, including but not limited to, personal experiences in grazing management, observation or explanation of grazing practices, livestock management on pasture, fencing or other equipment related to grazing management, plant or animal species response to grazing management, or any other subject matter related to forage management.
There are two categories for participants: I) 6th to 9th Grade, and II) 10th to 12th Grade.
Essays must be original composition of the entrants and can either by typed or legibly hand written.
Individuals participating in this competition will receive a one year student membership to AFGC.
Prize money given for top 2 essays in each category.
Two prizes will be awarded:
• First prize – $100
• Second prize – $50
► For more information and rules click here.
2021 AFGC Youth Essay Competition Sponsor:
2021 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category I
- First Place: Audrey Hoien (AR) The Grazing Puzzle
- Second Place: Bennett Gordon (SD) Grandma's House
Category II
- First Place: Matea Gordon (SD) Fire-fear Not! A Tool to Enhance Our Rangelands
- Second Place: Ruth Haile (VA) Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue
2020 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category 1 (under 14)
- 1st Place: Lina Sturman (St. Ignatius, MT ) Rotational Grazing in my farm
- 2nd Place: David Greenhalgh (Guide Rock, NE) Why is grazing cattle better than just feeding them grains?
Category 2 (14-18)
- 1st Place: Caityn Kleffner (Rolla, MO) Winter Forages: The Experience of Silage
- 2nd Place: Cain Roberts (Hillsborough, NC) My Forage Plan
2019 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category 1 ( age 14 & under)
- 1st Place: David Greenhalgh ( Guide Rock NE ) Keeping our cattle well fed
- 2nd Place: Hannah Greenhalgh ( Guide Rock, NE ) Rotational Grazing
Category 2 (age 14-18)
- 1st Place: Ryan Porter ( Deer Park, WA ) Poor pasture management-my expensive mistake
- 2nd Place: Marie Knepper ( Cascade, IA ) Endophyte
Category 3 (age 19-22)
- 1st Place: Savanah Hortsmann ( Stewartville, MN ) Teaching an old farm new tricks
- 2nd Place: Mason Blinson (Stillwater, OK ) Efficiency and effectiveness of managing pastures
2018 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category 1(age 14 & under)
- 1st place: Sydney Hamilton (Hillsboro, Ohio) - Raising 4-H Broilers the Way Nature Intended
- 2nd place: Viktoria Scharf (Purcellville, Virginia) - Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue
- 3rd place: Olivia M. Klotz (Lexington, Kentucky) - The Cow Jumped Over the Fence
Category 2 (age 14-18)
- 1st place: Leah Scharf (Purcellville, Virginia) - Graze 300 for Small Ruminants
- 2nd place: Jake Tower (Dubois, Indiana) - Helping Dirt Stay Put
- 3rd place: Nathan Soder (Petersburg, Pennsylvania) - Importance of Not Overgrazing
Category 3 (age 19-22)
- 1st place: Tony W. Rice (Mount Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania) - Technology & Grazing: A New Horizon of Opportunities
- 2nd place: Robert Sears (Knoxville, Tennessee) - Biotechnology in Forages
- 3rd place: Sarra Wolfe (Mount Berry, Georgia) - Don’t Forget About the Calves
2017 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category 19-22
- 1st Benjamin Grismer
Category 14-18
- 1st Jake VanDergrift
- 2nd Alex Teutsch
- 3rd Katherine Haile
Category 14 & Under
- 1st Jake Tower, IN
- 2nd Seth Wilbanks
- 3rd Collin Teutsch
2016 AFGC National Youth in Forage management Essay Contest
Category 19-22
- 1st Brad Hogshead, OH
- 2nd Amber Sattleberg, OH
- 3rd Marissa Farraj, OH
Category 14-18
- 1st Cole Diggens, MO
- 2nd Kailey Bailey, LA
- 3rd Westin Cobb, LA
Category 14& Under
- 1st Jake Tower, IN
2015 AFGC National Youth in Forage Management Essay Contest
Category 14 & Under
Category 14-18
- 1st - Cole Diggens, Missouri
- 2nd - Kiera Leddy, South Dakota
- 3rd - Tony Rice, Pennsylvania