Recognizing the value of the land we walk on and the farmers who serve as crucial conservation allies, the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District announces its summer-ending poster contest.

School-aged children have until August 31, 2023 to submit original artwork that illustrates this year’s summer poster theme, Farming Feeds the Future.

Winning entries in five age groups are eligible to receive one free ticket to the Hillsborough County Fair, where posters will be on display. Cash prizes will be awarded to first- second and third-place finishers. The 2023 fair runs Nov. 2-12 at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover, at 215 Sydney Washer Road.

The HSWCD Summer Poster Contest is open to children in kindergarten through grade 12. Any media can be used, including paint, crayon, colored pencil, charcoal, stickers, paper or other materials. Poster size must be 14-inches by 22-inches, which is half the size of a standard poster board.

Artwork must be original. In keeping with the contest’s theme, the body of work submitted is expected to reflect the many ways farmers cultivate the soil, grow crops and raise livestock.

“Farmers are among our greatest conservation allies,” notes The Nature Conservancy, in Farming for a Sustainable Future. “They produce the crops that help to feed, fuel and clothe a growing world, while caring for the lands and waters on which their livelihoods depend.”

For more on farming, visit USDA Farming and the Florida Farm Bureau Federation.