Scott Fairbairn of Prairie City was among the first-place winners of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area’s Capture the Heart of America photo contest celebrating America’s agriculture story through agriculturally-related photos from throughout the nation.

This year’s photo contest brought in 421 photos from more than 135 participants representing 34 different states. Photos came from as far as Hawaii and New York as well as Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania.

During the last week of October, the top photo in each of five categories was posted online for the public to determine the Best of Show. Nearly 800 visitors voted for their favorite photo, with the photo Harvest Time taken by Lisa Hinzman of Guttenberg being named Best of Show. Voters also had a chance to “like” their favorite photo on Facebook, with Joyce Meyer’s photo “Farm Living is the Life for Me” winning Best of Facebook. Additional entrants receiving recognition as determined by panel judges may be viewed at www.silosandsmokestacks.org.