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July 10, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

Winner announced for Missouri Department of Agriculture's annual statewide photography contest

Cara Hanway's photo

The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s annual statewide photography contest announced it’s winners this week. One photo, singled out by Governor Kehoe and his wife Claudia, was taken here in the state’s Northwest.

For KXCV, Gavin McGough tracked down the photographer:

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 Cara Hanway considers herself a seed sales associate, not a professional photographer, but her work was recently singled out by the first family, that's Claudia and Michael Kehoe for capturing a quintessential Missouri moment. Her reaction when she learned she was a winner, "Shocking and surprising to me."

Hanway of the St. Joseph area works at ANC Ag Services and Sunset Seeds.

She is often in the field working with clients across Northwest Missouri, and she has started documenting moments on the farms.

Hanway says, "I have been taking photos of our customers, during harvest planting season for about three years now, and it's always something nice that they like to receive around Christmas. So this is just kind of one of my favorite ones that I have. I have a lot in my office that are our favorites."

That winning photo, which took one of the top prizes in a statewide contest organized by the Department of Agriculture, is titled Painted Skies. It was taken on a farm outside of Colby, Missouri last October and captures a stunning sunset behind a pair of tractors working out on a cornfield late into the evening.

"We were just out there in the field just trying to get harvest done. Right before I had taken that photo, they had put the bagger up, which is you know, sometimes when we get out in those fields like that, we don't have the manpower to get things to town or the manpower to get things to the elevator. So we just put it in bags and, that was kind of what that was. We had just got done helping set up the bagger and turned around and, there was that sunset.", says Hanway.

Hanway said she is humbled by the recognition. "My sister had kind of pushed me to do that. She has always loved the pictures that I have taken. I know our customers have always liked the pictures that I have taken, but this is shocking and I guess rewarding as well, that it was acknowledged by the governor."

You can view the contest winners, including hand way's, photo at the Ag Department's website, agriculture.mo.gov. Winning photos will also be on display at the state fair from August 7th to the 17th.