Have you ever considered nominating someone to be a Master Farmer?

Maybe your parents, your sibling, your neighbors, a friend or a colleague. Someone you’ve served with on a board, or someone you’ve long looked up to.

Prairie Farmer’s Master Farmer program is a grassroots program. That means every nomination comes from you, the readers. You all look around, see someone doing great work in producing food and fiber while serving their community and raising their family, and you nominate them.

And don’t forget: You can also apply on your own, effectively nominating yourself. Many farmers submit their own names each year. You can nominate or apply as an individual, as a husband and wife, or even as siblings.

Winning tips

Over the years, Prairie Farmer has judged a lot of nomination forms. Here’s what works:

Be thorough. In the sections asking about farm history and growth, more information is better than less. Share how the individual(s) got started and show how their operation has progressed.

Be specific. The more details you can provide, the better and more complete picture you give to the judges.

Get information. Nominating someone in secret is a fantastic surprise, but it’s also tricky to do unless you have first-hand knowledge of the operation. The best secret nominations come from a son, daughter, spouse or sibling with intimate knowledge of the farm.

Related:Meet the 2020 Master Farmers

Get help. You’ll need at least 10 recommendation letters to support your nomination. These letters tell the story of your nominee’s character and are incredibly helpful to the judges.

Think broadly. When listing community and industry work, consider the nominee’s entire body of work. For spouses or siblings, list both individuals’ activities, noting who did what.

Start early. It’s not a quick process to nominate a Master Farmer. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime award, with an application that reflects an entire career.

You can find the 2021 Master Farmer application online. Download it, fill it out, and send it in, complete with letters of support, by Sept. 7.

Email [email protected] for more information or to have an application sent to you.

Judging thanks

Prairie Farmer is grateful to the 2020 panel of judges for sorting through and selecting this year’s Master Farmers. They are: