Farm Mom of the Year nominations
The fifth campaign to honor America’s Farmers Mom of the Year is underway, but the nomination window ends at the end of this month. Anyone can nominate any farm mom, and Jessica Simmons, corporate marketing director at Monsanto, says there is nice prize money on the line.
“They just go and fill out a simple questionnaire to be entered into the contest where they could win $5,000 as a regional winner and up to $10,000 as the national Farm Mom of the Year.”
Simmons (left) says Monsanto believes it is important to recognize the role women play in agriculture, thus the national contest.
“They’re often the unsung heroes of the farm and we want to make sure that we’re giving them the spotlight and the due deference they deserve and make sure that we’re really helping people to understand that women are just as important on the farm as men. So we’re really excited to tell their stories and help promote them.”
April Hemmes from Iowa was the 2011 Midwest Region Farm Mom of the Year winner and the honor made for a very special year.
“Oh it was great,” she told HAT. “You get so many opportunities to promote this program all over the country and what a great program. Being honored for something you love to do, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Hemmes continues to work with the program to promote moms in agriculture.
“I get asked to speak at some other things too, being a woman farmer. They actually presented the check at our Franklin County fair. I’m the beef superintendant for the 4-H kids so it really meant a lot to me to showcase this program at our county fair where there are a lot of farm moms doing a lot of hard work.”
“Last year we received nominations from 48 different states, all featuring wonderful stories of active and empowered women who make a positive impact on their families, farms and communities,” Simmons said. “We know there are still so many great stories out there to share and more women to recognize, so we want to hear from you.”
To make a nomination visit AmericasFarmers.com by March 31st to submit a brief essay describing how the nominated farm mom contributes to her family, farm, community and agriculture. Entries may also be mailed with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to America’s Farmers Mom of the Year, Attn: Sue Dillon, 349 Marshall Ave., Ste. 200, St. Louis, MO 63119.
All nominations will be judged by a panel from American Agri-Women, and Monsanto will select five regional winners based on the judges’ decisions. Profiles of the regional winners will then be posted to AmericasFarmers.com, where the public can vote for one national farm mom winner. The winner will be announced around Mother’s Day and will receive an additional $5,000 cash prize.
Hear more in the full HAT interview:Jessica and April