Agriculture is an industry that relies on innovation, new research, high-performing tech and hardworking people with open minds willing to put it all to work. With one in five jobs in Iowa tied to agriculture, the next generation of farmers, agriculturists and researchers are needed to continue to drive and push Iowa ag forward. Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) has awarded $1,000 scholarships to 179 of these emerging young leaders to support their continued ag education at their chosen university or college.
“Iowa Farm Bureau takes pride in the strength of our state’s agricultural backbone, and we are honored to support our youth across the state who want to continue that strong tradition,” says IFBF Community Resources Manager Ronnette Vondrak. “Since 1997 we’ve awarded nearly 1,200 scholarships to help students pursue their education, and we know these students have gone on to become agronomists, livestock nutritionists, seed geneticists, grain merchandisers and more.”
In addition to the 179 IFBF scholarship recipients (54 first-time recipients and 125 renewable scholarships), Malorie Probasco of Davis County received the Daniel Johnson Memorial Scholarship, awarded in honor of the late Daniel Johnson, a former Iowa Farm Bureau director, farmer, volunteer firefighter and school board president. This one-time $500 award is reserved for a student from one of eleven counties in southeast Iowa: Keokuk, Washington, Louisa, Muscatine, Wapello, Jefferson, Henry, Des Moines, Davis, Van Buren and Lee.
Jordyn Salter of Wapello County was named the recipient of the Edward W. and Isabelle M. Klodt Memorial Scholarship, a one-time $500 award for a Wapello County student pursuing a degree in agriculture. The Klodts were community leaders, progressive farmers and conservationists focused on the future and improving their farm and community. The memorial scholarship embodies the values of leadership, hard work, dedication to others and a belief in higher education that Ed and Isabelle represented.
Six graduating high school seniors or students currently enrolled in secondary education from each of IFBF’s nine districts were selected to receive a first-time Farm Bureau scholarship. These 54 scholarships were awarded to children of Farm Bureau members who plan to or currently attend an accredited college, university or community college to earn two- or four-year degrees, and applicants were asked to write an essay on the contributions they expect to make to agriculture and their rural communities through their studies. Selections were made based on academic achievement, financial need, community and extracurricular involvement and letters of recommendation. Students are eligible to renew the scholarships for up to four years by being a student of good standing and maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.5.