Farm dogs play a special role on the farm. Versatile, intelligent, and hard working, these dedicated canines help our farmers feed the world. Farm dogs can serve in a variety of roles, including herding livestock, guarding property and even assisting with daily chores. They help manage and protect livestock by ensuring they are kept in designated areas and safeguarded from potential threats. Driven by instinct and a strong desire to please, farm dogs also provide an invaluable source of companionship and joy to their families. 

In 2024, Georgia Farm Bureau is on a mission to highlight a few of our furry heroes through the 2024 Georgia Farm Dog Contest. The winner and finalists will be featured in an upcoming issue of Georgia Neighbors. Enter by May 1st! See Official Rules below. 

ENTER THE CONTEST

The contest is open to members of Georgia Farm Bureau. Not a member? Consider joining today! Georgia Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the future of Georgia's family farms and our access to locally grown food and fiber. Most of your membership fee, which is just $35/year, stays right in your county supporting your local farms. Membership is open to everyone.

Georgia Farm Bureau 2024’s Georgia Farm Dog of the Year Contest

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. BY ENTERING, ENTRANT AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

1. SPONSOR. Georgia Farm Bureau Federation (hereinafter “Sponsor” or “GFB”). Sponsor affiliates include Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance and Georgia Foundation for Agriculture.

2. DATES. Judging for the 2024 Georgia Farm Dog of the Year Contest (“Contest”) will be May 1-May 30, 2024. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules (“Official Rules”). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winners.

3. THE CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF GEORGIA WHO ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AND MEMBERS OF FARM BUREAU IN THEIR LOCAL COUNTY FARM BUREAU. This contest is NOT open to: (a) past grand prize winners of the Contest, (b) employees, directors, officers, agents or representatives of Sponsor, or its Georgia Farm Bureau affiliates, (c) members of the immediate family of any of the persons in (b) above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, persons serving on state Farm Bureau boards of directors and their immediate families may participate in the contest. The term “immediate family” includes spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether as “in-laws,” or by current or past marriage(s), remarriage(s), adoption, co-habitation or other family extension, and any other persons residing at the same household whether or not related.

4. HOW TO ENTER. Entries must be received after March 1, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. EST and before May 1, 2024, at 10:59 p.m. EST, or when 200 entries that comply with the Official Rules are received, whichever comes first (“Contest Entry Period”). To enter the Contest, you must: 1) complete a nomination form which includes a photo submission and a written narrative describing how your dog assists on the farm to make farm work a little lighter, offers companionship and makes recreation time more fun, 2) acknowledge and agree to the terms listed on the submission form. Those terms include giving Georgia Farm Bureau and its affiliates permission to use the content of the submission for promotion of the Georgia Farm Dog Contest on its website and social media forms, certifying that the information included in the submission is accurate to the best of your ability and that you own the copyright to any materials uploaded (such as photos). The winner (farm dog owner) and the dog must be available for a photoshoot on their farm between the dates of May 30 – October 1, 2024 (date to be determined based on availability of the winner and the photographer).

5. JUDGING CRITERIA. The Contest consists of two (2) rounds of evaluation by judges. The judges will be selected by the Sponsor. The judges will apply the particular criteria detailed on the nomination forms to measure which entry has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the judges, that their farm dog plays an important role on the farm or ranch, assisting and lightening the work load and enriching the farm family’s life through faithful companionship to the extent that it should be recognized as Farm Dog of the Year. These criteria will be used to review the first 200 entries that comply with the Official Rules to reduce the number to the twelve (12) most highly scored entries. The grand prize winner and four (4) runners-up will be selected by the judges on or about May 8, 2024. Sponsor will use the contact information provided in the Contest entry to attempt to notify the winner of the Contest and the four (4) runners-up on or about May 13, 2024.  If they are not able to make contact, another winner or runner-up will be chosen.

All winners must demonstrate that he or she meets the requirements for entering into this Contest. If Sponsor determines each winner meets the requirements for entering into this Contest and did not violate any of these Official Rules, and agreed to the terms of the Contestant Release, then the winners will be awarded the prizes outlined below.

If Sponsor determines that a Contest winner does not meet the requirements and/or violated any of these Official Rules, then the judged winner will be disqualified, and Sponsor will select an alternate prize winner. In addition to the other requirements set forth herein, if 1) the Contest winner passes away before completion of the required photoshoot, or 2) the Contest winner is unable to participate in the required photoshoot due to illness or infirmity, Sponsor shall have the right to select an alternate winner.

6. CONTEST PRIZES. There is one (1) grand prize winner. In addition, there will be four (4) runners-up as described in Section 5. The grand prize winner shall receive the following: 1) A cover feature in an upcoming issue of Georgia Neighbors 2) a gift card with a retail value of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).

In addition, four (4) runner-up winners as described in Section 5 will also be featured in an upcoming issue of Georgia Neighbors as a finalist. Prizes may not be transferred or assigned by the winner(s).

RETURN OF PRIZE NOTIFICATION AS UNDELIVERABLE MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF AN ALTERNATE WINNER.

7. ODDS OF WINNING. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and skill of the entrant.

8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE. Sponsor assumes no liability or responsibility resulting from any entrant’s participation in or attempt to participate in the Contest or in connection with receipt or use of any Prize. Sponsor assumes no liability or responsibility for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences which may affect the operation of the Contest: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; unauthorized human or non-human intervention in the operation of the Contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Contest, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Contest. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical errors in the announcement of the Prize(s) or these Official Rules.

Sponsor is not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained by entrant’s or any other person's participation in the Contest, or use or receipt of any Prize. By participating in the Contest, the entrant releases the Released Parties from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such entrant’s participation in the Contest. By accepting a Prize, the winner agrees that the Released Parties shall not be liable for any loss or injury resulting from participation in the Contest, or the acceptance, use of any Prize, or participation in any event associated with or comprising a part of the Prize. The Released Parties are not liable in the event that any portion of the Contest or any scheduled events related to this Contest are cancelled due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other condition beyond their control.

9. CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entrants agree that this Contest shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the state of Georgia and the forum for any dispute shall be in the state of Georgia. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or on connection with this Contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries are void if the Sponsor determines the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, obtained through fraud or theft or do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined above.

Participants also agree (1) to be bound by these Official Rules; and (2) that the decisions of the Judges are final and not appealable on all matters relating to the Contest. In the event that the selected winner of any Prize is ineligible or refuses the Prize, the Prize will be forfeited and Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may choose whether to award the Prize to another winner.

10. TAXES. The value of each Prize is includible in the winner’s income. Sponsor is required to report the actual value of the Prizes to the Internal Revenue Service. The winner agrees to provide his/her valid name, address, and Social Security number to Sponsor for tax reporting purposes. THE WINNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL INCOME AND OTHER APPLICABLE TAXES THAT ARE DUE IN CONNECTION WITH RECEIPT OF THE PRIZE.

11. RIGHT TO CHANGE, CANCEL OR SUSPEND CONTEST. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper or attempt to tamper with the entry process. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, Trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. In addition, Sponsor reserves the right, for any reason and in its sole discretion, to change these Official Rules at any time, and to suspend or cancel the Contest.

12. PRIVACY POLICY. Sponsor may use any information provided to Sponsor in accordance with the terms of Sponsor’s Privacy Policies, which can be found at https://gfb.org/about-us/legal.  

13. WINNER’S LIST. For names of the winners send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Georgia Farm Bureau Federation, 1620 Bass Road, Macon, Georgia 31210. Requests for a confirmation of the winner must be received by December 31, 2024.