[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 62 (Monday, May 9, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2774-S2775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HOOSIER ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I wish today to take the opportunity 
to express my congratulations to the winners of the 2010-2011 Dick 
Lugar/Indiana Farm Bureau/Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Companies Youth 
Essay Contest.
  In 1985, I joined with the Indiana Farm Bureau to sponsor an essay 
contest for 8th grade students in my home State. The purpose of this 
contest is to encourage young Hoosiers to recognize and appreciate the 
importance of Indiana agriculture in their lives and subsequently craft 
an essay responding to the assigned theme. The theme chosen for this 
year was ``Agriculture: Then and Now.''
  Along with my friends at the Indiana Farm Bureau and Indiana Farm 
Bureau Insurance Companies, I am pleased with the annual response to 
this contest and the quality of the essays received over the years. I 
applaud each of this year's participants on their thoughtful work and 
wish, especially, to highlight the submissions of the 2010-2011 contest 
winners Alexis J. Carmony of Falmouth, Indiana, and Collin Bowlin of 
Jasper, Indiana. I submit for the Record the complete text of Alexis's 
and Collin's respective essays. I am pleased, also, to include the 
names of the many district and county winners of the contest.
  The essays and winners follow.

                       Agriculture: Then and Now

                         (By Alexis J. Carmony)

       Indiana agriculture is important to me because of the basic 
     values it instills in my life. Agriculture is about hard 
     work, appreciation for life and living things, the importance 
     of our soil and water conservation, perseverance, ability to 
     overcome hardships, and being creative in dealing with 
     factors beyond man's control.
       Indiana agriculture has an amazing responsibility. Years 
     ago, Indiana farmers were proud to feed their families from 
     the farm; today Indiana farmers are proud to feed the world 
     from their farms. The heart of Indiana agriculture has not 
     changed from decades ago. Past generations had to physically 
     work hard to produce their product, whereas the present 
     generations have to work as hard for the skill it takes to 
     market their product.
       From the time I went with my great grandfather to feed his 
     cattle and sensed his love for those animals, I was hooked on 
     agriculture. Even when those animals did not cooperate, 
     grandpa still loved them. He has cared for livestock for 
     years, and he enjoys it today as he did years ago. My great 
     grandfather continues to be active in Indiana agriculture 
     today and models what agriculture is all about: hard work, 
     appreciation for livestock and plants, and good stewardship 
     of our earth.
       In closing, I will leave you with a quote from William 
     Jennings Bryan, ``American Politician and Orator''; 1860-
     1925, that summarizes my thoughts on Indiana agriculture. 
     ``Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities 
     will spring up again by magic; but destroy our farms and the 
     grass will grow in the streets of every city in the 
     country.'' I believe agriculture was the foundation of our 
     country then and still is today.
                                  ____


                       Agriculture: Then and Now

                           (By Collin Bowlin)

       Slowly standing up from the seat of his Case-IH tractor in 
     which he has been sitting for the past two hours, he wears a 
     smile that turns into a grimace until the shooting pain eases 
     and his knee pops back into place. The pain in his knee is 
     the result of the many years of hard work he has put into 
     farming this land. Steadily stepping down from the tractor, 
     he points to where he stopped making the windrows of hay and 
     now I climb onto the tractor. It is my turn to take over, 
     where he left off.
       He has made his livelihood from farming these rolling hills 
     in southern Indiana, growing crops of corn, soybeans, and 
     hay, and raising livestock which include beef cattle, swine, 
     and poultry. He is my grandfather. He has instilled in me to 
     take good care of these blessings, land and livestock. As a 
     young boy, Grandpa worked the land with a team of horses. Now 
     we have horsepower to more efficiently produce the food that 
     people rely upon every day. After his eighth grade year in 
     school, Grandpa had no choice but to end his schooling early 
     in order to help out on his family's farm. As an eighth grade 
     student today, I have many choices, and I know I will attend 
     college in the future.
       My love for raising, showing, and judging beef cattle and 
     pigs has given me many opportunities. Agriculture will always 
     play a huge role in my life. I am proud to be one voice 
     supporting the agricultural industry which provides food, 
     fiber, and fuel to the world. The economic and environmental 
     issues facing farmers today need to be addressed by 
     knowledgeable people. So now, it is my turn to take over, 
     where Grandpa left off.
                                  ____


                    2010-2011 District Essay Winners


                               District 1

       Gabrielle Carlson, Quinn McGovern.


                               District 2

       Katie Lopshire, William Joseph Rockey.


                               District 3

       Shelbi Perry, Dakota Burghardt.


                               District 4

       Rachel Girod, Nathan Chou.


                               District 5

       Shane Slaven, Kiersten Mundy.


                               District 6

       Katie Pfaff, Max Keller.


                               District 7

       Easton Booe, Whitney Halfhill.


                               District 8

       Josh Orschell, Alexis J. Carmony.


                               District 9

       Anna Hagedorn, Collin Bowlin.


                              District 10

       Amber Moore, Clayton Pottschmidt.

                     2010-2011 County Essay Winners


                                 Adams

       Eli Hill, Adams Central Middle School; Rachel Girod, 
     Bellmont Middle School.


                                 Allen

       Robert Ottenweller and Aubrey Fespel, Saint Joseph Hessen 
     Cassel School.


                              Bartholomew

       Mark Buffo and Meredith Dickerson, Central Middle School.

[[Page S2775]]

                                 Clark

       David Elias Book, Borden Junior-Senior High School.


                                  Clay

       Easton Booe, Clay City Junior-Senior High School; Whitney 
     Halfhill, North Clay Middle School.


                                Dearborn

       Matthew Bourquein, Sunman-Dearborn Middle School.


                                Decatur

       Byron Haley and Sarah Gilley, South Decatur Junior-Senior 
     High School.


                                Delaware

       Joseph Dorton and Chelsie Taylor, Delta Middle School.


                                 Dubois

       Collin Bowlin, Jasper Middle School; Anna Hagedorn, Forest 
     Park Junior-Senior High School.


                                Elkhart

       Doris Mullett, Clinton Central Junior-Senior High School.


                                 Floyd

       Ryan Didat and Erin Embrey, Our Lady of Perpetual Help 
     School.


                                Franklin

       Josh Orschell, St. Michael School; Ella Knight, Mount 
     Carmel School.


                                 Greene

       Drew Witty and Aubri Lehman, Linton-Stockton Junior High 
     School.


                                Hamilton

       Matthew Hodges and Paige Bousamra, Carmel Middle School.


                                 Henry

       Jake Wicker and Katie Pfaff, Tri Junior-Senior High School.


                                 Howard

       Nathan Chou and Ava McClure, Northwestern Middle School.


                                Jackson

       Clayton Pottschmidt, Immanuel Lutheran School; Jaylyn 
     Quade, St. John's Lutheran School.


                                 Jasper

       Sydney Dobson and Austin Fleming, Rensselaer Central Middle 
     School.


                                  Jay

       Brandon Muhlenkamp and Catherine Dunn, East Jay Middle 
     School.


                               Jefferson

       Kaitlyn Boehm, Shawe Memorial Junior-Senior High School.


                                  Lake

       William Barney and Teresa Vazquez, Our Lady of Grace 
     School.


                                Lawrence

       Anna Hawkins, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School.


                                 Marion

       Max Keller, Immaculate Heart of Mary School; Emma Moore, 
     Creston Middle School.


                                 Noble

       William Joseph Rockey and Rachel Flory, Central Noble 
     Middle School.


                                 Orange

       Andrew Hawkins, Orleans Junior-Senior High School; Keisha 
     Levi, Paoli Junior-Senior High School.


                                 Parke

       Shane Slaven and Molly Jones, Rockville Junior-Senior High 
     School.


                                 Porter

       William Alex Sanders, Kouts Middle School; Gabrielle 
     Carlson, Victory Christian Academy.


                                Pulaski

       Quinn McGovern, Winamac Middle School.


                                 Putnam

       Troy Davis and Kiersten Mundy, Cloverdale Middle School.


                                 Ripley

       Liam Tuveson and Brooke Siefert, Saint Louis Catholic 
     School.


                                  Rush

       Austin Rogers and Sarah Innis, Benjamin Rush Middle School.


                                 Scott

       Sarah Grace Hamelman, Scottsburg Middle School.


                               St. Joseph

       Nicholas Kuyers and Adeline Jongsma, Covenant Christian 
     School.


                                Steuben

       Sam Wilcox and Katie Lopshire, Angola Middle School.


                              Switzerland

       Riley Phagan and Amber Moore, Switzerland County Middle 
     School.


                              Vanderburgh

       Cooper Pratt, Plaza Park Middle School; Megan O'Leary, Good 
     Shepherd School.


                               Vermillion

       David Craft and Bethany Lewis, North Vermillion Junior-
     Senior High School.


                                 Wabash

       Devin Tracy and Jensen Zumbaugh, Northfield Junior-Senior 
     High School.


                                 Warren

       Curitis White and Maddie Rhea, Seeger Memorial Junior-
     Senior High School.


                                 Wayne

       Evan Liggett and Michaela Castleman, Centerville Junior 
     High School.


                                 White

       Dakota Burghardt and Shelbi Perry, Frontier Junior High 
     School.

                          ____________________