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12-4-2007

SPENCER ELEMENTARY STUDENT WINS BIG PRIZE FOR BIG CABBAGE

Austin Cox, a fourth-grader at Spencer Elementary School, is the West Virginia winner of this year’s Bonnie Plant Farm Third Grade Cabbage Program contest. West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass and Bonnie Plant representative Sidney Phelps surprised Cox with a $1,000 savings bond at an assembly at the school November 14.

“I applaud Spencer Elementary and all the schools throughout West Virginia that participated in the program,” said Commissioner Douglass. “It’s important that young people have an understanding of where their food comes from, and allowing them a hands-on experience really reinforces the message.”

The national program distributed more than a million of the company’s “oversized cabbage plants” – along with growing instructions and tips – to students in 25,000 schools. The student with the biggest plant at a school is entered into a drawing to select a state winner, according to Bonnie General Manager Dennis Thomas.

“Our distribution network of over 46 growing stations and sales routes in 48 states allow us to share our love and knowledge of gardening throughout the country,” Thomas said. “Bonnie hopes to build upon our success in the next few years partnering in 2008 with FFA to provide even more third-graders with the opportunity to plant one of our oversized cabbage plants.”

Bonnie Plant Farm is based in Union Springs, Alabama, and has about 40 farms located throughout the United States. The company sells garden vegetable plants, herbs and flowers to retailers nationwide, including Lowe’s, Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

To see a photo of Cox with his cabbage, or for more information about the Bonnie Plant or its Cabbage Program, visit www.bonnieplants.com.

NOTE: The Guinness Book of World Records says the heaviest cabbage ever grown weighed 124 pounds.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.

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