“My Drone’s View Returning Home” is the grand prize winner of the 2021 National Corn Growers Association Fields-of-Corn photo contest. The picture was taken via drone by Todd Wachtel of Illinois. This was the first time a bird’s eye view category was offered as a part of the contest.
The most popular entry by April Anthony of Ohio for “Fire in the sky!!” was also entered in a new category this year – equipment. Returning popular categories included corn, growing field corn, the farm family lifestyle, scenery/landscapes, farming challenges and conservation. In the 8 years of the contest, nearly 3,000 photos have been submitted.
“We’re always looking for new and different categories to add to the contest, and this year it was fitting that one of the new categories produced the grand prize winner,” said NCGA Graphic Communications Manager Beth Musgrove. “Every year, it is a challenge for the judges to pick the winners because of the number of high-quality submissions. There are a lot of very talented photographers who enter the contest, and each year we get a wide variety of photographs.”
In total, 26 prizes were awarded across the eight categories. Winners are determined through a combination of Facebook likes and consideration of a panel of judges. Images submitted to the contest are valuable assets for NCGA in publications, social media channels and the website. The contest will re-open in spring 2022.