WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 15, 2010)—The Hand That Feeds U.S. (THTFUS), an educational resource for urban media on the importance of U.S. agriculture to the security and future of our country, is hosting a photo contest that will run from March 15 through June 4, 2010. The group is asking farmers across the United States to submit their best farming photos for consideration.

When the submission window closes on April 23, the judging panel—which is made up of THTFUS advisory board members—will select 30 photos for the second round of the contest. These photos will be posted on the THFUS website (www.thehandthatfeedsus.org), where site visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite photo.

At the close of the contest on June 4, votes will be tallied and the individual whose photo receives the most votes will be awarded $500. The second-place winner will receive $300, and the third-place winner will receive $200. In addition, the 30 finalist photos will become part of the photo gallery on the THTFUS website, a new site feature that currently showcases photos from the Harvest Series, a THTFUS project in which everyday Americans visited farms to work their first harvests.

According to Linda Raun, a rice farmer and the Texas Rice Producers Group representative for the USA Rice Federation, "American farmers are the best in the world, and we work hard to produce our nation's food supply. The Hand That Feeds U.S. photo contest is a great way for us to show the country how proud we are of our farms."

THTFUS will be reaching out to farmers through its website, Facebook page, and Twitter accounts to solicit submissions for the contest. To view the official contest rules, please click here.