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 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 a NYFB Spring event.
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 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 winners will be notified on or before the District judging deadline of January 18th, 2014. The District winners will have an opportunity to make minor changes (i.e. grammar, spelling, additional awards etc.) to their applications prior to the February 1st final deadline, at which time all applications must be into New York Farm Bureau for the state judging. The State competition is based solely 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. Help empower them to spread the message.
The application submission deadline is November 18, 2013. To nominate someone for the scholarship or to request an application, call 1-800-342-4143 or visit http:/www.nyfb.org and then scroll down to “Farm Essentials” for scholarship information and the application.
