Pea-growing contest for kids to start Feb. 20
Plant peas, please!
American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture invites youth organizations and classrooms to participate in a national pea-growing contest. The contest celebrates AFBF's 2016 Book of the Year, “First Peas to the Table,” by Susan Grigsby. As a grand prize, the winning team will receive a visit from Miss America 2017, Savvy Shields.
The goal is to be the student team that grows the greatest amount of shelled peas, measured in cups, using no more than 20 pea seeds, during the official contest period which runs Monday, Feb. 20 to midnight, Monday, May 15.
The contest is open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. An entering team may consist of one or more students. Each student or student team must contact the foundation through an adult representative age 21 or over.
No planting may be done until Feb. 20. Peas may be grown in any manner, including in a hothouse, hoop house, indoor pot or planter, or outside garden. Plant garden shelling peas, often called English peas, not snow peas or snap peas. Peas must be shelled before measuring.
Each team may use no more than 20 pea seeds. Larger groups could divide into smaller teams of 20 or fewer so everyone may participate.
For more information, rules and downloadable resources, go to www.agfoundation.org. To enter, go to www.agfoundation.wufoo.com/forms/peas-contest-2017-entry-form and complete the online entry form when peas have finished growing.
Forms are submitted electronically. Entrants must submit a photo of their completed pea log and a photo of their shelled pea harvest being measured. Entrants are also invited to send in a group photo of the team members, but a written photo release for each recognizable person in a submitted photo is required. No purchase is necessary to enter this contest. Void where prohibited.
Delaware Farm Bureau's Promotion and Education Committee has included the “First Peas to the Table” book in book barns distributed to 14 elementary school libraries across the state. In 2014, Delaware farmers grew green peas on 5,000 acres, harvesting an average of 2.26 tons per acre for a total of 22.6 million tons valued at $3.8 million.
