Imagine this: Students tell stories about agriculture
The cover of “Imagine this...”
By Linda DuBois
Agricultural-themed tales featuring a visitor from outer space, a food show celebrity saving a farm and a fairy offering to grant a wish are among the winning entries in the 2026 “Imagine this…” Story Writing Contest.
Coordinated annually by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, the contest is designed to inspire students in third through eighth grades to learn more about where their food and fiber come from and practice their writing skills.
Each student is asked to select and research a topic related to agriculture and then craft a fiction or nonfiction story that educates readers about the topic. The winning stories are published in a book illustrated by high school art, graphic design and photography students. This year’s artists were all from Sacramento County schools.
Participants come from big and small towns, rural and urban, from throughout the state.
Winners are selected from each region, and seven of those are chosen as statewide winners: one from each of the six grade levels and one Honorable Mention selected from any of the grade levels.
The winners, along with their families and teachers or youth leaders, receive a trip to Sacramento for a book signing and an awards ceremony during California Agriculture Day at the Capitol in April.
This year’s winners
Farmers Are Out of This World
A boy named Cal is out picking sweet corn when an alien from outer space named Jac lands in the cornfield. When Cal learns Jac knows nothing about farming, he gives Jac an educational tour of his family’s farm, letting him sample all the produce, and shows him his neighbors’ dairy cattle, before sending him back to his planet with a bag of seeds so Jac can start his own farm.
Through researching and writing the story, Clark learned how essential water is for crops, animals and all living things.
Annie and the Strawberry Dilemma
By Julia Samulski
Fourth Grade
Teacher: Jenna Budicini
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, Stanislaus County
Illustrators: Makenna Hamilton and Emma Harbison
Calvine High School, Sacramento County
Art instructor: Corrie Soderlund
Annie is alarmed when she learns her family is at risk of losing their strawberry farm due to slow sales. But when Annie’s grandmother visits, she helps Annie create a batch of her prized strawberry shortcake. The family sets up a stand to sell the shortcake, and it draws the attention of a food show celebrity—and the publicity saves the farm.
Julia’s story was inspired by her own family’s apricot stand. She learned writing isn’t so hard if she enjoys the story and is confident in it.
The New Queen
By Penny DeBoer
Fifth Grade
Advisor: Sheila Amaral’s Turlock Eagles 4-H group, Stanislaus County
Illustrators: Brooklyn Robinson and Lillie Houser
Florin High School, Sacramento County
Art instructor: Alexandra Pease
Ruby is the daughter of the queen bee of the hive. She is thrilled when her mother tells her it is time for her to become a queen herself. Worker bees have spent four months preparing a hive for her in the same tree. She takes between 8,000 and 12,000 bees with her to her new hive, where she’ll rule as queen.
Penny was inspired by her dad, who works in pollination, to write about bees and their fascinating social structure.
Hydro The Water Hero
By Porter Machado
Sixth Grade
Turlock Eagles 4-H group, Stanislaus County
Advisor: Sheila Amaral
Illustrator: Braiden Miranda
Art instructor: Monica Ortega
Monterey Trail High School, Sacramento County
A raindrop named Hydro falls from the sky, races down a mountain and settles into some snow. On a sunny day, he melts and runs into a river and then a reservoir before being sucked into a pipe leading to an irrigation system. He finally lands in an orchard, where he helps almonds grow.
Porter said he hopes his story will help readers appreciate the complexity of getting water to the fields, growing crops and feeding communities.
The Wish of Friendship
By Amelia Cobar
Seventh Grade
Legacy Christian Academy, Kern County
Teacher: Sylvia Collins
Illustrators: Itzel Carrasco Morales and Aylin Carrasco Morales
Monterey Trail High School, Sacramento County
Art instructor: Monica Ortega
Melanie longs for a puppy. One day she finds a tiny fairy in an orange tree who promises to grant her wish if she can grow a perfect orange. Despite all her hard work in the orchard, a perfect orange doesn’t emerge. When Melanie’s parents see how responsible she’s become, they agree to get her a puppy.
Writing this story taught Amelia about seedless oranges and aspects of the growing process she had never considered.
“Bees and Almonds” was written by eighth-grader Luz Jimenez-Cruz from Jessica Beckman’s class at El Nido Elementary School in Merced County and illustrated by Jady Feng from Alexandra Pease’s art class at Florin High School.
Maya notices bees aren’t finding her family’s almond orchard, so she plants colorful, fragrant flowers at the edge of the orchard and sets out water. She keeps a log of what flowers the bees visit most, how many bees she sees each day and how the orchard responds. Her efforts work. The bees return, and the family gets a great harvest.
Luz said she hopes readers will learn how bees help flowers and the environment thrive.
The Place
By Rebecca Gonzalez
Honorable Mention
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, Stanislaus County
Teacher: Amanda Harvey
Illustrator: Vina Nguyen
Sheldon High School, Sacramento County
Art instructor: Raylene Demars
Rebecca writes, in poetic narrative form, about her grandparents’ home farm, where they grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. She follows them from planting through harvest. As winter arrives, they eagerly anticipate spring, when the cycle begins again.
As she wrote, Rebecca envisioned an entire year at the farm, capturing the sights, sounds and feelings of the changing seasons.
Applications for next school year’s contest open Aug. 1 and close Nov. 1. Winners will be announced Dec. 1.
For more information on entering the contest or to purchase this year’s book, visit LearnAboutAg.org.
Linda DuBois is a freelance writer in West Sacramento. She can be reached at agalert@cfbf.com.
In this edition…
• Researchers study potential of agave crop
• Investigadores estudian el potencial del cultivo de agave
• California grazing sector threatened as goat herder wage soars to $240K
• California's pest prevention system needs an update
• Mechanical harvest research bolsters table olive prospects
• Overnight guests add key revenue stream for farms
• Advocacy in Action: Grazing, wild horses and the Endangered Species Act
• Smart sprayers slash farm labor and herbicide costs
• How will early blooms and light crop affect navel orangeworms?
• Finding her second act: Former dancer builds new life with U-pick raspberry farm
• Bountiful Finds: A curated collection of goods made by Farm Bureau members
• Now in season: You can grill just about anything
• The scenic route: Pit stops at California farms and ranches
• Grape expectations: Sweet flavor with healthy twist
• A life in motion: Avocado farmer helped revolutionize the modern skateboard
• Imagine this: Students tell stories about agriculture
• AI in agriculture: Balancing innovation and new risk
• Workforce training program seeks input from employers
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