GROWMARK Announces 2021 Iowa Essay Contest Winners

BENSCOTER IS A STUDENT AT IOWA VALLEY JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL AND A MEMBER OF THE MARENGO FFA CHAPTER

Sydney Benscoter of Marengo, Iowa, has been named the Iowa state winner of the 2021 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members. The theme of this year’s contest was “If you could invent a new technology to improve agriculture, what would it be?” Students were encouraged to think creatively, not necessarily realistically, as they described their ideal invention.

In her contest entry, Benscoter said: “There is far less land available for growing food, and that in combination with the growing population is a recipe for disaster. I believe that the solution to this problem can be found in the very cities that caused it: skyscrapers. When we ran out of space to build houses, we built up! Why not do the same with farming?”

Benscoter is a student at Iowa Valley Jr/Sr High School and a member of the Marengo FFA chapter. Her FFA advisor is Marcia Kilgard.

As the contest winner, Benscoter will receive a $500 award from GROWMARK. The Marengo FFA chapter will also receive a $300 award in honor of her accomplishment.

Four state runners-up will each receive a $125 award. The runners-up and their FFA chapters are, in alphabetical order: Cade Haughenbury, North Linn FFA chapter, Coggon, Iowa; Zach Ihde, North Fayette Valley FFA chapter, West Union, Iowa; Mattie Nielsen, Audubon FFA chapter, Hamlin, Iowa; and Tessa Tauke, Beckman Catholic FFA chapter, Earlville, Iowa.

This is the 28th year for the program, sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives, in conjunction with state FFA leaders, to help young people develop their writing skills, learn about current issues in agriculture, and understand the unique role of cooperatives.

GROWMARK is an agricultural cooperative serving almost 400,000 customers across North America, providing agronomy, energy, facility engineering and construction, and logistics products and services, as well as grain marketing and risk management services. Headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, GROWMARK owns the FS trademark, which is used by member cooperatives. GROWMARK also owns and operates SEEDWAY, the largest full-line seed company in the United States. More information is available at growmark.com.