Goodbye paper rulebook, hello PDF rulebook

A few paper rulebooks from Minnesota State Fairs past.

May is the month for the new Minnesota State Fair Ag Hort Bee -- including Crop Art -- rulebook. For many years,  the rulebooks have been paper. They were mailed to all past participants. It was a wake-up call to start thinking about this year's State Fair. 

Maybe five years ago, the paper books were no longer mailed to everyone. They continued to be published, but they were only mailed to people who specifically requested them every year. The main way to learn the rules -- and to enter the competitions -- has become the Internet.

This year marks the first time the paper rulebooks are no longer printed. The rules are only available online. 

That said, it's time to start thinking about this year's Crop Art.

Here are some links to get you started.

Minnesota State Fair website.

Ag Hort Bee competitions page.

Download the Ag Hort Bee rulebook in PDF.

Online State Fair competition registration forms.

A series of articles with non-official, but perhaps useful information on Crop Art competitions: 

Crop Art rules. 

Crop Art seeds. 

Crop Art everything-but-seeds.

Best wishes on your projects this year!

Crop art rulebook and online entry forms now available

The 2013 Minnesota State Fair Creative Activities, Education and Ag-Hort-Bee competitions are open for registration! Beginning today, Monday, May 6, registration is available online at the Minnesota State Fair website - www.mnstatefair.org.

Besides online registration, the website has downloadable, printable versions of all three premium books. Be sure to read the rules in the corresponding premium book(s) before you submit your registration.

Note: Crop Art is part of the Ag-Hort-Bee competition.

Crop Art season opens

  New book from the University of Minnesota Press.
Photographed on a bed of wheat berries.

If you're going to participate, it's time to start thinking about your crop art for this year's Minnesota State Fair exhibit/competition.

The entire Ag-Hort-Bee official rule book is available for download as a PDF at the competitions information page on the State Fair website.

Deadline for registration is Friday, August 10. It's easy to register online. There is no entry fee.

Be sure to review the rules before starting. The registration form asks you what categories you wish to enter and there are a lot of categories to consider.

You must deliver your finished work to the Ag-Hort-Bee building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Monday, August 20 between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Do you need a bit of inspiration before starting this year's Crop Art project? Take a look through "Corn Palaces and Butter Queens" to see all that has gone before.

Before you're finished paging through this book, I'm certain you will be grateful for the 24-inch by 40-inch maximum size restriction in the official Minnesota State Fair Crop Art rules.

Crop Art on television

No-one got kicked off the island for using non-Minnesota-native seeds. But reality television came to Crop Art this year.

Fashion-advice program, "What Not To Wear" recorded a segment at the 2011 Minnesota State Fair, and Crop Art was part of it.

The segment airs on TLC, Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 8 p.m. Central time. (Please check your local listings.)

A portrait of the hosts of the show, Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, was done by in seeds by Minnesota crop artist, Sandra Fjerkenstad-Budel. The piece was also entered in this year's Minnesota State Fair Crop Art contest.

The television show has something to do with shopping and fashion. But tune in to see Sandy's excellent seed art!

Crop Art gag cartoon

My friend, Lance Ward, did this crop art-themed gag cartoon. Thanks, Lance!

Lance is the editorial cartoonist for the Woodbury Bulletin, though they foolishly do not feature his cartoons online. For shame! Lance's decidedly adult comics appear on his Tatertot Diaper Man / Scars website.

Crop Art how-to video

Take a look at Kim Cope's guide to making crop art! See Kim making her 2011 State Fair entry, "Catcher In The Rye," featuring a portrait of Twins catcher Joe Mauer. See Kim graduate from the Seed Academy. See Kim's seed storage methods. Kim's cat does an excellent job of assisting. Check it out! It's great stuff!

Peeps Crop Art

It's a wonder someone didn't think of this before! Peeps and crop art together. Kinda wrong, kinda great -- like the combination of bacon and chocolate. Good job, Kate!