Tyne Bankester and Jacey Wesley

Every October, schools across the nation celebrate National Farm to School Month, a time to highlight the importance of locally grown food and the agriculture industry that produces it. These celebrations can take many forms, from farm field trips to harvest festivals and even carrot crunches and essay contests. In Louisiana, one event stands out as a creative and impactful way to engage students with the state’s rich agricultural history: The Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest.

In 2022, the LSU AgCenter’s Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program began hosting its annual Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest as a way for students to celebrate Louisiana’s unique agricultural traditions and food culture. Over the past three years, Seeds to Success has seen this contest grow in popularity and participation. Every year, more teachers encourage their students to participate. Among the many educators who have supported the contest is Chantelle Hataway, a third-grade teacher at Lafargue Elementary School in Avoyelles Parish and the 2024 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year, a program of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

Hataway has had students participate in the art contest every year since it began, consistently encouraging their involvement and recognizing the profound impact it has on their development.

When asked why it is important for her students to participate in the art contest each year, Hataway said, “I have found that each time I have my third graders enter an art contest, it enhances their focus, and I learn so much about them as a person. It brings out skills that are not noticed teaching math and science while sparking their curiosity to learn more about plants and animals. In most schools, art is nonexistent, and any little chance I get to encourage art, I do, and the students love it so much.”

October 2024 marked the contest’s biggest year to date, with more than 250 students across 20 parishes submitting their artwork. This impressive number of entries made it the largest turnout since the contest’s inception.

The panel of judges for the 2024 contest included representatives from Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and the Knock Knock Children’s Museum. Kathy Scherer of LPB has served as a judge for two years and says she’s seen a notable increase in the diversity of artwork as the contest continues.

“My favorite aspect of judging the Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest over the years is getting to see the children’s creativity, and how, through the contest, more and more students from all around the state are developing and showcasing an appreciation for Louisiana crops,” she said.

After a thorough judging process, 13 winners and six honorable mentions were selected. Their artwork is featured in the 2025 Louisiana Farm to School Calendar. The overall winner and cover artist was Arden Foshee, a sixth grader from Cornerstone Christian Academy in Beauregard Parish. Each of the 12 other winning artists’ works illustrates a different month within the calendar, while the honorable mention winners’ artwork appears on the back cover.

The Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest is becoming a highlight for students and teachers across the state as they celebrate Farm to School Month each year. The contest not only gives children a chance to express their love for Louisiana agriculture through their artwork but also serves as an educational tool — inviting Louisianians of all ages to appreciate and learn about local agriculture year-round through the printed calendar.

The 2025 Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest will open to young artists across the state in early fall 2025.

Tyne Bankester is the program manager for curriculum integration and MarketMaker for Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program. Jacey Wesley is the communications director for the program.

This article appears in the summer 2025 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

Arden Foshee, a sixth grader from Cornerstone Christian Academy in Beauregard Parish, was chosen overall winner and cover artist at the LSU AgCenter’s 2024 Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest. Photo provided by Jacey Wesley

Judges pick the best of the best pieces of art at the LSU AgCenter’s 2024 Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest. Photo provided by Jacey Wesley