The 2016 Ag Day Essay Contest is divided into two categories of competition: written essay and video essay. Both are national competitions.
Contestants must compose an original written essay and/or video essay with limited guidance from adults, teachers or agricultural industry professionals. Interviews with industry professionals are acceptable research; input beyond research is unacceptable.
Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will have the right to publish or otherwise duplicate any essay entered in the contest, along with the author's name, without payment to the author.
All entries must be received at the Agriculture Council of America office by midnight CST, January 29, 2016.
Section II - Qualifications for Contestants
The contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12 in the 2015-2016 school year. Contestants must be a U.S. citizen and attending school in the U.S. Contestants must meet all requirements to compete.
Contestants are eligible for only one written essay entry during any given year.
Contestants are eligible for only one video essay entry during any given year.
Section III - Written Essay Contest Rules
Each entry must begin with a title page containing: official topic, "Agriculture: Stewards of a Healthy Planet" number of words, writer's name, address, phone number, date of birth, school name and grade.
Essays may be handwritten or typed, double-spaced.
Essays must contain 450 words or less. Every word of the essay is counted. This does not include the bibliography, footnotes identifying non-original material or title and author information.
Each page of the essay must be numbered, starting with the first page of the essay, not the title page. The numbers must be centered at the bottom of each page.
Any quotation or copyrighted materials used in the essay must be properly identified using a bibliography and footnotes or proper citation. Failure to identify non-original material will result in disqualification.
No reference can be made in the essay that will identify the contestant beyond the listing of the name on the title page. The author is allowed to reference a state's name within the essay.
Essay must be written in English.
Awards Available: 2