The Hand That Feeds U.S: Farm Foto Contest

The Hand That Feeds U.S. (THTFUS), an educational resource for urban media on the importance of U.S. agriculture to the security and future of our country, is hosting a photo contest that will run from March 15 through June 4, 2010. The group is asking farmers across the United States to submit their best farming photos for consideration. $1,000 in prizes will be awarded. When the submission window closes on April 23, the judging panel-which is made up of THTFUS advisory board members-will select 30 photos for the second round of the contest. These photos will be posted on the THFUS website (www.thehandthatfeedsus.org), where site visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite photo. At the close of the contest on June 4, votes will be tallied and the individual whose photo receives the most votes will be awarded $500. The second-place winner will receive $300, and the third-place winner will receive $200. In addition, the 30 finalist photos will become part of the photo gallery on the THTFUS website, a new site feature that currently showcases photos from the Harvest Series, a THTFUS project in which everyday Americans visited farms to work their first harvests. According to Linda Raun, a rice farmer and the Texas Rice Producers Group representative for the USA Rice Federation, "American farmers are the best in the world, and we work hard to produce our nation's food supply. The Hand That Feeds U.S. photo contest is a great way for us to show the country how proud we are of our farms." THTFUS will be reaching out to farmers through its website, Facebook page, and Twitter accounts to solicit submissions for the contest. Submit your photos for a chance to win one of three cash prizes. A $500 First Prize, $300 Second Prize, and $200 Third Prize will be awarded. All photos must be submitted from March 15, 2010 at 12:01AM through Friday, April 23, 2010 at 11:59PM EST. _______________________________________________________ Official Contest Rules: 1) This contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Entrants must be age 18 years or older at the time of entry. 2) Photo entries will be accepted Monday, March 15, 2010 at 12:01AM through Friday, April 23, 2010 at 11:59PM EST. Any entries submitted after this time will not be considered. 3)Entries must be submitted in jpeg format through The Hand That Feeds U.S. website and must include the submitter's contact information. 4) You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Please do not submit a photo taken by someone other than yourself. Your submission of the photo is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo. In the event that ownership of any photograph submitted to The Hand That Feeds U.S. is contested in any manner, The Hand That Feeds U.S. retains the discretion to disqualify that photograph and discontinue use of the photograph. 5) An individual may submit only one photo. 6) Photos containing obscene, provocative, or otherwise questionable content will not be considered. The Hand That Feeds U.S. retains sole discretion as to what constitutes inappropriate content. 7) Photographers retain the copyright to their photographs. By entering the contest, photographers agree to have their submitted photograph displayed on The Hand That Feeds U.S. website without any fee or other form of compensation. Photos will be credited to the photographer named in the contest submission. 8) The judging panel for the first round of the contest will consist of all members of the advisory board of The Hand That Feeds U.S. The decisions of the judging panel will be final. 9) The judging panel will select 30 photos for the second round of the contest. The submitters of these photos will be contacted by email with a request to post their photo on The Hand That Feeds U.S. website, and must email or fax backed a signed permission form and, if recognizable persons are included in the photo, a model release form. Permissions must be received by 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 1. If permission is not received, the photo will be disqualified. The finalist photos will be posted on The Hand That Feeds U.S. website on Monday, May 10. 10) Visitors to The Hand That Feeds U.S. website will be able to vote for their favorite photo using voting buttons (one vote per person per day) beginning on Monday, May 10. Additional votes will not be counted. 11) Voting closes on June 4, 2010, at 11:59PM. Any votes made after this time will not be counted. 12) Contest winners will be determined by number of votes received. 13) Contest winners will be notified within two weeks of the closing date. Prizes will be as follows: 1st place, $500; 2nd place, $300; 3rd place, $200. Checks will be mailed to the addresses submitted during the entry process. www.thehandthatfeedsus.org