Farm Bureau Scholarship Opportunities

NEWS FROM NEW YORK FARM BUREAU
Contact: Sandra Prokop
(518) 431-5633
sprokop@nyfb.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 9, 2009
New York Farm Bureau Offers Scholarships to Students Studying Agriculture

Albany, N.Y. – New York Farm Bureau is encouraging high school seniors who have been involved with agriculture and plan on continuing studies in this field to apply for the 2010 New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship sponsored by the New York Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee. Scholarship awards are $1,500 for first place $1,200 for second and $1,000 for third place. The first place winner will be invited to present their essay at the annual Spring Conference.

Students applying must have a family Farm Bureau membership or a Student Farm Bureau membership (a membership application may be included with scholarship enclosures). Students are required to complete an application and submit a brief essay answering the question, “If you had the power to change something in your community or on your farm, what would you change and why?”

At the District level, a personal interview and essay presentation may be scheduled at the discretion of the District Representative. The county winner will be the applicant scoring the highest for each county. The District winner will be overall highest county winner. District level winners will have two weeks from the time they are notified to update any part of their applications for state consideration. The final applications must be sent to the New York Farm Bureau office in Albany, N.Y., and postmarked within two weeks of the date of notification for the student to be eligible. The state competition is based upon the application and attachments.

County Farm Bureaus are urged to utilize the talents of these young people for county events such as Earth Day and Ag Day Celebrations, special events, county Annual Meetings and Rural Urban Dinners. These young people are the future of Agriculture in NYS and a voice of hope and passion in this ever-changing environment we call home.

The following is a list of the 2009 scholarship winners who entered college this fall:

First Place, $1500: John Lathrop, Sherburne, Chenango County

Second Place, $1,200: Sean Galley, Garrettsville, Otsego County

Third Place, $1,000: Elizabeth Fullerton, Argyle, Washington County

The application submission deadline is November 22, 2009. To nominate someone for the scholarship or to request an application, call 1-800-342-4143 or visit http:www.nyfb.org/promote.htm then scroll down to "Recognition & Awards" to Scholarship Information & Application.

Heather Davis
Coordinator, NY Ag in the Classroom

106 Kennedy Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Hed24@cornell.edu
(p) 607-255-9253
(f) 607-255-7905