LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Cash prizes and a new category await participants in the 31st annual California Farm Bureau Photo Contest, which begins June 1.  

If you are a member of the Lake County Farm Bureau or another county Farm Bureau, you can enter your photos in the 2012 California Farm Bureau Photo Contest.  

The contest gives amateur photographers who are Farm Bureau members an opportunity to capture photos that best highlight California agriculture.

New for 2012, contributing members of the California Bountiful Foundation also are eligible to enter.

The grand prize winner will earn a cash prize of $500, while prizes will also be awarded to first- and second-place winners in each of five categories.

First-place winners will receive $250 and second-place winners will receive $100.

The new category, California’s Bounty, joins the returning categories: Kids and Critters on the Farm; All in a Day’s Work on the Farm; Rural Scenic; and Budding Artists.

Aspiring shutterbugs 13 years and younger who are children of Farm Bureau or California Bountiful Foundation members are encouraged to enter their photos in the Budding Artists category.

Presented by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, prizes for this category include a total of $350 in cash and copies of the book, “Imagine this… Stories Inspired by Agriculture.”

Photos may be in color or black and white. They must be printed on photographic paper and measure at least 5 by 7 inches, but no larger than 8½ by 11 inches, unmatted and unframed.

Photos must have been taken in 2011 or 2012. Judges will consider the photo’s composition, lighting, creativity and agricultural message.

The contest is open only to amateur photographers – those who do not regularly receive income from photography.

All photos become the property of the California Farm Bureau and may be published in Ag Alert newspaper or California BountifulSM magazine and other promotional items.

Winning photos will also appear on CFBF Web sites: www.cfbf.com , www.agalert.com and www.californiabountiful.com .

All entries must be postmarked by Sept. 29.

Entry forms and official contest rules are available online at www.cfbf.com and www.californiabountiful.com and from the Lake County Farm Bureau office located at 65 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport.

For more information, contact Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Claudia Street at 707-263-0911.