Casper College Students Earn First Place in Agriculture Advocacy Competition



College Aggies Online The Animal Agriculture Alliance is excited to announce the results of its third annual College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship competition. The nationwide program was developed to help college students utilize social media to share agriculture's story.

CAO is an online competition open to all college students with an interest in agriculture. Since its launch in 2009, more than 750 college students from more than 50 different universities and clubs have registered to participate in the program.

Forum members earn points by posting weekly blogs, photos and videos related to agriculture at http://aggiesonline.ning.com and by hosting agriculture advocacy events at their schools. This season, CAO participants shared 4,500 photos on the network and authored nearly 250 blog posts.

Members of the Casper College Agriculture Club in Wyoming formed the top-scoring club with 2,245 total points. The group will receive a $1000 scholarship and one representative will be invited to receive a complimentary trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Alliance's 11th annual Stakeholders Summit in Washington, D.C. in May.

North Dakota State University's Collegiate FFA Club came in second place with 1,815 points and will receive $500. They were closely followed by the South Dakota State University's Collegiate 4-H Club, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's Cattlemen's Club, Purdue University's Ag Task Force, and the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

With 1,005 points, the individual high score went to Jessie McClellan of Casper College. She will receive a $500 scholarship. Adam Bettenhausen of North Dakota State University came in second place with 870 points and will be awarded $300.

"Every day, thousands of conversations about food production take place online using social media. Agriculture needs to be a part of this dialogue – and that's why College Aggies Online is so important," said Alliance President and CEO Kay Johnson Smith, "We are so proud of all of our student participants for both expanding their knowledge of agriculture issues and sharing their personal stories using these new tools."

Students are encouraged to continue utilizing the CAO forum and the CAO Facebook page to connect and learn after the conclusion of the competition. The Alliance wishes to thank the National Pork Board for its generous sponsorship of the program. For more information about the contest, or to become a sponsor of next year's competition, contact Kerry Lynch at klynch@animalagalliance.org.

About the Alliance:
Animal Agriculture Alliance The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a broad-based coalition of individual farmers, ranchers, producers, organizations, suppliers, packer-processors, scientists, veterinarians and retailers. The Alliance's mission is to communicate the importance of animal agriculture to our nation's economy, vitality and security. Find the Alliance of Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.

4.06.2012