Ah, that makes sense! I got to open a chest last night. So you get the prize if the actual contest takes place. So perhaps the message should say something other than “you failed”.
I’m on 1511. It’s not a rancid level. I was playing a rancid level to get through the gate. But however many crops I removed of the required type, the percentage only reduced by 3 or 4. At 1 point the entire board was blue (one of the required crops) and it only reduced by 8%.