CattleWomen honor artists

The PC CattleWomen sponsor the "Ag in Montana Schools" bumper sticker contest each year. This contest is open to all Phillips County school youth grades first through fifth.

County Superintendent and area school teachers work together to inform youth of the importance of the agricultural community that they live in.

The youth create a bumper sticker depicting what agriculture means to them. These bumper stickers are judges on the county level.

The winners this year were: First Grade – Keira Larsen from Malta, Second Grade – Kennedy Simonson from Whitewater, Third Grade – Evelyn Anderson from Whitewater, Fourth Grade – Addison Ulrich from Malta and Fifth Grade – Kora LaBrie from Whitewater. These bumper stickers where displayed at Ag Day by the Phillips County CattleWomen and each youth received a gift card to the Joe's In and Out for a cheeseburger meal. All top winners of each county are judged on the State level. Phillips County youth, Kora LaBrie, was unable to attend Ag Day because she was in Helena at a ceremony for the top winners in the State (see her story on page 2B.)

Kennedy said she was proud of her bumper sticker, which focused on hay.

"I drew a tractor, hay and some hills," she said. Kennedy lives on a farm but said she wasn't sure if she is going to be a farmer when she becomes an adult.

Evelyn's bumper sticker featured the phrase "good grief, I love Montana beef."

"I came up with it on my own," she said. "I liked it because it rhymes...and then I drew cows after I looked on Pintrest. My Uncle Scott has cows, but they don't look like the ones I drew."

Addison's sticker focused on noxious weeds, with a boxing glove punching the weeds, though she wasn't sure where she got the inspiration.

"I have no idea," she said. "I like to draw and I think it turned out good."

Keira used her bumper sticker to let the world know "Montana Farms are Mootastic!"

"I really like farming," the first grader said. "When you are out on the farm you are really thinking about raising animals and making them healthier."

Keira said she enjoyed drawing the barn, cow and pig on her sticker, but admitted that her favorite animal to draw are horses.

"Next year's sticker might have a horse on it," she said, adding that if she isn't a farmer when she gets older she thinks she's like to be a singer.

Honorable mention bumper stickers were: First Grade – Skylar Gilkerson, Carley Mears, Danaley Smith, Finn Witmer all from Malta, Second Grade – Kylie Bishop, Morgan McEwen and Straud Sims all from Malta and Austin Hanley from Whitewater, Third Grade – Kyann Bergos, Madelyn Ohl, Amber Pearson and Treyton Wilke from Malta, Fourth Grade – Jocelyn Brown from Saco, Paige Wasson from Whitewater, Carson Ottinger and Gabrielle Giblette from Malta and Fifth Grade – Addy Anderson, Madelyn Crasco, Aubri Werk and Madison Williamson all from Malta. Congratulations to all youth.