Video Contest

Eligibility:

Any high school FFA member may submit an entry created by an individual or by a team of two or more current FFA members from any South Dakota High School FFA Chapter.

Objective:

To produce a commercial quality, dynamic, creative and positive video regarding the provided topic.

Rules:

• Production must be between 45 seconds and 90 seconds in length. Videos over 90 seconds will be disqualified.
• Each production must present a positive farm message and must use the required fact indicated on the enclosed Fact Sheet.
• Submissions found using an automated service that unfairly increases video views or plays will be disqualified.
• An individual FFA member may participate in only one video.
• The video must be family friendly.
• Presentations must address the given topic and facts. FFA members, not their advisors, must prepare the presentations.
• Appropriate attire must be worn by all persons in the production.
• Proper precautions must be followed to ensure the safety of all participants and anyone

  near the production area.

• Each entry must be an original production created entirely by the student or team of students.
• Any method may be used to capture or create moving images for the video.

• It is the student/team’s responsibility to comply with state and federal copyright laws. Use the following Web site as a reference: www.copyright.gov.
• Entry in the contest will be deemed consent for the use of the production, name, and photograph of the entrants by the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and the South Dakota Soybean Association for advertising, promotion, and trade purposes.
• No Purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. All federal, state, and local laws apply.
• The 2014 Video Contest is sponsored by the South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council and managed by the South Dakota Soybean Association.

  Preliminary Judging:

• Videos should be submitted for contest approval and preliminary judging by 5 p.m. on December 19, 2014. Videos should be submitted electronically using the attached Video Submission Form to Kelly Nelson at knelson@sdsoybean.org. We recommend using www.wetransfer.com for sending large files. Please contact Kelly if you need further guidance.
• For a submission to be considered, all fields on the Video Submission Form must be complete, including the following:

  o Names of each participant on the video team o Video Title
  o Videodescriptionandkeywords
  o FFA Chapter Name

  o Name of Chapter Advisor o School Address

• The top seven entries will be determined by a judging team composed of, but not limited to, soybean farmers, agricultural media, and agricultural industry representatives. The judging team reserves the right to qualify as many as they deem necessary.
• Less than seven videos may move onto the final rounds if judges feel they do not portray accurate information.
• All decisions of the judges will be final.
• Judges reserve the right to disqualify any production.
• Judging at this level will be based upon creativity, presentation, and accuracy.
• The top seven videos will move on to final judging and will be posted at www.sdsoybean.org and SD Soybean’s Youtube page for public viewing.

• The Top Seven entries will be announced on January 23, 2015. Final Judging:

• Once the participants from the Top Seven entries are announced, they are encouraged to share the link to their video with others via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Remember, the goal is to have your video go viral.
• The contest will close at 4 p.m. on February 6, 2015. Winning videos will be determined by the number of Plays as calculated by Youtube at this time.
• Winning teams will be notified after the closing of the contest. Prizes:

1st place

2nd place

3rd place

$1500 to the student/team producing the video for advisor-approved FFA activities and $1500 to the FFA Chapter

$1000 the student/team producing the video for advisor-approved FFA activities and $1000 to the FFA Chapter

$750 to the student/team producing the video for advisor-approved FFA activities and $750 to the FFA Chapter

4th – 7th places $100 to the student/team for advisor-approved FFA activities

Should a team place; the Chapter Advisor will be responsible for distributing the prize money equally among team members.

Please direct any questions to Kelly Nelson, at knelson@sdsoybean.org. Be sure to put Video Contest in the subject line.

Video Contest

Fact Sheet

We encourage you to be as dynamic, original, and creative as you can, however, you must base your video message around the topic & required fact listed below.

The topic of this year’s Video Contest is: GMO Safety.

It is required to include the following fact in your video:

• Over 25 years of independent research shows there is no evidence of harm to human health or deaths from consumption of GM foods.

Background Information

Biotechnology, or GMO, is one of the biggest buzzwords currently in the media. With most soybean and corn farmers planting biotech crops, it is extremely important for the agriculture community to help the general public understand the benefits of biotechnology. Your video submissions should be targeted to a general consumer audience, and not a farm audience.

The World Health Organization defines genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, including between nonrelated species. Such methods are used to create GMO plants – which result in GMO food crops. This technology is called biotechnology. Farmers and gardeners have been creating plant hybrids for as long as they’ve been growing plants. Biotechnology simply serves as a more technologically advanced method.

Every plant improved through the use of food biotechnology involves extensive safety and environmental reviews by the FDA, EPA and USDA for potential health risks. Tests are done on plants before entering the food and animal feed supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that current foods containing biotech ingredients have passed human health risk assessments. In addition, the WHO says no effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of biotech foods.

Currently it takes on average of 13.1 years and $136 million to develop, test and review a biotech crop before reaching the market place. According to the European Commission, “the main conclusion, after more than 130 research projects covering a period of more than 25 years of research and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, in particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than, e.g., conventional plant breeding technologies.” Every major scientific body and regulatory agency in the world has reviewed the research about GMOs and openly declared crop biotechnology and the foods currently available for sale to be safe.

By developing special traits in plants, biotechnology allows for more food to be grown in more places using fewer chemicals and fewer natural resources. Biotechnology also allows farmers reduce crop protection applications, like herbicides and pesticides.

In South Dakota we are fortunate because many us have strong ties to agriculture. As FFA students, you understand that farm families take great care and pride in growing safe food for our tables, and biotechnology is one method that helps them do that. All video submissions should keep a positive tone, and not tell others what to eat. Videos should highlight the positive aspects of the safety of biotechnology for agriculture.

Additional Resources:

USFRA- http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/gm-seeds CommonGround- http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/gmo-foods/ GMO Answers – www.GMOAnswers.com
Best Food Facts – www.bestfoodfacts.org

For additional background information, feel free to visit with a local farmer. You may also contact Kelly Nelson with any questions you have about the project or topic.

Sample Videos:

The following are examples of videos about agriculture that have gone viral:

“I’m Farming & I Grow It” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H7zOQrX3U
“Farm It Maybe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3kwdue5XS0&feature=related “What does the Farmer Say?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyMv4kkSCvk

However, please do not let these sample videos limit your ideas. We encourage you to be innovative and creative with your videos. The more creative your video, the better chance it has of going viral.