Nearly 11,000 agriculture books have been donated to Wyoming elementary schools through the 19-year span of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation (WyFB) Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Committee “Ag Books for Kids” program.  In 2023 county Farm Bureau Federations across the state donated 689 “Popcorn Country” books by Cris Peterson to Wyoming elementary schools as part of the program. “The Ag Books for Kids program puts informative books about different agriculture commodities into the schools around Wyoming,” said Aletta Grauberger, WyFB YF&R Promotions Sub-Committee Chair. “These books talk about agriculture topics in language and pictures for elementary age groups, so the ideas are grasped well.” Contests are held each year associated with the book of the year to encourage students to learn even more about agriculture. The contests included: Coloring Contest for kindergarten and first grades; Poster Contest for second and third grades; and a Marketing Ad Contest for fourth and fifth grades. “I find the creativity and imagination that comes through in each contest entry to be one of the best parts of the program,” Grauberger said. 2023 Contest Winners Students from across Wyoming were recently recognized for their participation in the 2023 WyFB “Ag Books for Kids” contests. The state winners in each of the three contests received a $50 gift card from WyFB and an agriculture book titled “Popcorn Country.” The state runners-up in each of the contests received a $25 gift card and an agriculture book. Coloring Contest Amelia Dunn, an out-going first grader from Mrs. Elsen’s class at Lincoln Elementary in Goshen County, was the state winner of the coloring contest.  Reese Hokanson, of Lincoln County, was the state runner-up. She completed kindergarten with Mrs. Burton at Afton Elementary. Poster Contest Shaylee Pontarolo, of Goshen County, won the state poster contest.  Pontarolo is a home-schooled out-going third grader. The state runner-up was Jocelyn Morgan, of Fremont County.  Morgan’s third grade teacher was Mr. Freedman at Willow Creek Elementary. Marketing Ad Contest Annabelle Duffy won the marketing ad contest.  Duffy, of Goshen County, is a home-schooled out-going fourth grader. Macie Sue Mathews, of Uinta County, was the state runner-up.  Mathews is an out-going fourth grader at North Elementary. In its 19th year, the “Ag Books for Kids” program is a project of the WyFB Young Farmer & Rancher Committee.  Throughout the years, 10,865 books have been donated to elementary schools by the county Farm Bureau Federations.  The grassroots efforts of the county Farm Bureau Federations, who donate the books and help educate about agriculture, contribute greatly to the program’s success.  The program’s purpose is to build the collection of agriculture reading materials in Wyoming elementary schools and educate children about agriculture and its importance to us all. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon recognized the importance of the project by proclaiming the week of March 6, 2023 as “Wyoming Agricultural Literacy Week.” The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general agriculture organization. The mission of the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is to represent the voices of Wyoming farmers and ranchers through grassroots policy development while focusing on protecting private property rights, strengthening agriculture, and supporting farm and ranch families through advocacy, education, and leadership development.