Photos show agricultural abundance, variety

Grand Prize Winner: Desiree Williams, Butte County Farm Bureau

All in a Day's Work on the Farm, First Place: Janet Turner Johnson, Placer County Farm Bureau

California's Bounty, First Place: Rosie Barnett, San Diego County Farm Bureau

Budding Artists, First Place: Layton Johnson, 10 years old, Placer County Farm Bureau

Kids and Critters on the Farm, First Place: Misty Tartaglia, San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Rural Scenic, Second Place: Mary Wells, Colusa County Farm Bureau

All in a Day's Work on the Farm, Second Place: Marianne Couto, Glenn County Farm Bureau

California's Bounty, Second Place: Joe Valente, San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation

Budding Artists, Second Place: Holyn Sylvester, 6 years old, San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Kids and Critters on the Farm, First Place: Misty Tartaglia, San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Rural Scenic, First Place: Misty Tartaglia, San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

From heirloom tomatoes to longhorn cattle, the winning entries in the annual California Farm Bureau photo contest provide eye-catching glimpses of the bounty of the Golden State. Participants competed in five categories: All in a Day's Work on the Farm, California's Bounty, Kids and Critters on the Farm and Rural Scenic, as well as Budding Artists, a category for children 13 and younger. Take a look through this year's winning images and read the stories behind them. Do you have a scene you'd like to share? The 2013 photo contest will kick off in June.

(Megan Alpers is media specialist for the California Farm Bureau Federation. She may be contacted at malpers@cfbf.com.)

Rural Scenic, First Place

Misty Tartaglia
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Jon and Lindy Pedotti were cleaning out their barn in preparation for their daughter's wedding celebration when their friend Misty Tartaglia, a full-time registered nurse and part-time shutterbug, caught sight of hay harvesting equipment through the barn door. "I thought it was so neat how the sun was shining through the slats in the walls," she said. The barn, now in use on San Simeon Creek Ranch, was built in 1913.

All in a Day's Work on the Farm, First Place

Janet Turner Johnson
Placer County Farm Bureau

"I love the way that Trigger and Lane pop off the page at you, out of the dust," said Janet Turner Johnson, of the image taken after a long day of branding on the family's ranch near Valley Springs. Trigger, a palomino mustang, has been a trusted mount for both 15-year-old Lane and his younger brother, Layton. The boys and their sister, Mattie Rose, have grown up in the saddle and help with day-to-day cattle ranching activities.

California's Bounty, First Place

Rosie Barnett
San Diego County Farm Bureau

Rosie Barnett loves to capture all aspects of the winemaking process, and last fall she found herself at a special event at the Escondido Wine and Culinary Campus. "The event was called 'We Have a Crush on You' and offered a unique opportunity for the community to try grape crushing the old-fashioned way—with your feet," Barnett said. She took nearly 100 photos that evening, but this shot caught her eye, with barrel walls serving as a backdrop for the grapes.

Budding Artists, First Place

Layton Johnson, 10 years old
Placer County Farm Bureau

The Johnson family is always ready to document life on a working cattle ranch. "The boys take a camera on their saddle and share it back and forth," said mom Janet Turner Johnson. Layton nabbed this image of older brother Lane and two of the family's border collie puppies, which are bred and trained to help gather the Johnsons' herd of Charolais, Hereford and Angus cattle. The family ranches in Northern California and Nevada.

Kids and Critters on the Farm, First Place

Misty Tartaglia
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Sisters Reese and Tanna Tartaglia were lending a hand at a family friend's ranch in Cambria when an abandoned calf was spotted. The girls were given the task of coaxing the calf to take to a bottle, which it did almost immediately. Photographer (and mom) Misty Tartaglia said, "My husband and I want to raise our girls in a ranching environment and demonstrate to them the importance of agriculture and family values."

Rural Scenic, Second Place

Mary Wells
Colusa County Farm Bureau

Mary Wells and her husband, Chuck, live in the small Northern California community of Sites. The couple grows rice and almonds, and their daughter and son-in-law raise beef cattle. The farm's location in the foothills created a dramatic backdrop for a recently baled field of hay. "I looked out the kitchen window one evening and thought the colors were incredible," Wells said. She jogged down the lane and captured photos of the field through a fence.

All in a Day's Work on the Farm, Second Place

Marianne Couto
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Marianne Couto describes her 2-year-old son, Carter, as "his dad's sidekick." Carter and his father, Conway, were turning on the water for a walnut orchard in Artois when Marianne took a photo with her cellphone. The Couto family, which also includes baby Lane, was spending the day together. "The four of us will go for a drive on Sunday afternoons," Marianne said. Carter is always quick to help, following in his dad's footsteps.

California's Bounty, Second Place

Joe Valente
San Joaquin County Farm Bureau

The Valente family doesn't shy away from a little competition. Each year Joe and his wife, Claudia, along with their daughter and son-in-law, gather their best photos and engage in good-natured banter about who will come out on top of the California Farm Bureau photo contest. His striking shot of a chestnut, taken in September near Linden, made the grade this year. "I carry a camera around with me everywhere," said Valente, who grows cherries and grapes.

Budding Artists, Second Place

Holyn Sylvester, 6 years old
San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau

Wendy Sylvester says her children enjoy taking care of the 35 laying hens on their farm in San Luis Obispo and entering eggs in the county fair. Holyn Sylvester photographed her younger brother, Jack, now 3, holding one of the family's hens. "Jack always walks around holding her," Wendy Sylvester said of the Belgian d'Uccle Bantam the family nicknamed Christina.

Kids and Critters on the Farm, Second Place

Victoria Del Curto
Stanislaus County Farm Bureau

Victoria Del Curto captured this image of a Texas Longhorn cow and calf while out on an early springtime walk with her 3-year-old sister, Analiese, and 5-year-old brother, Joseph. The homeschooled high school sophomore said she enjoys photography and has submitted a number of photos to various contests. She and her eight siblings can often be found riding horses near their home in Oakdale.

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.