If you’ve lived on a farm all your life and want to keep the family business alive, or just have a love for the great outdoors, locating Agriculture Scholarships that’ll help with educational expenses is a wise move. There are your traditional Agriculture Scholarships which are described below, but if you’re interested in becoming a specialty farmer in horticulture, scholarships related to those fields are available from the Garden Club . Either way, heading to the Future Farmers of America is a great place to begin a search on a variety of Agriculture Scholarships. Becoming a farmer and working the land is the oldest, yet most necessary, profession anyone can enter into. There are archaic principles to growing crops that we’ve all learned about in elementary school, but thanks to advancement in technology, solutions and chemicals, the work won’t be so backbreaking as it was in days past. To be able to receive quality education on all the new methods of growing crops without taking out a huge loan, I’ve found a few Agriculture Scholarships that can help ease the debt burden.
USDA Scholarships
The United States Department of Agriculture has a mixture of memorial, native American and public service scholarships to those pursuing careers in agriculture. Their 1890 National Scholars Program awards students currently enrolled in one of the 1890 Historically Black Land-Grant Universities which reside mostly in America’s Heartland. Land-grant colleges were a result of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 to establish institutions that would focus on agriculture and mechanic arts, aiding citizens during the industrial revolution. The William F. Helms Scholarship offers $5,000 in financial assistance per year, provides mentoring from seasoned agriculture workers and employment opportunities to studentsВ during school breaks that, if desired, will eventually lead to permanent job placement once graduated. The Public Service Leader Scholarship will award those who meet eligibility a full-ride in scholarships, paid internships, career development, leadership training and more. Just visit this site to learn more about application and eligibility.
National Corn Growers Association
The NCGA in partnership with the BASF Corporation will offer $1,000 in scholarships to five individuals pursuing agriculture-related degrees. And in addition, will provide travel and lodging to their annual NCGA Banquet for recognition. BASF is a world leading chemical company which, through their pesticide division, supplies herbicides, insecticides and fungicides to promote pest free crops for workers in agriculture. View eligibility details, applications and past winners on the NCGA website .
Syngenta Scholarships
Syngenta has a number of Agriculture Scholarships with varying award amounts and eligibility requirements. A few of them are in partnership with other organizations while others are specific to a particular food item. For instance, they have their Syngenta Potato Scholarship that awards $5,000 to students interested in the potato-growing industry or who participate in 4-H or the Future Farmers of America (FFA). They also provide $1,000 Sugarbeet Scholarships and $5,000 Almond Scholarships to students participating in their respective industries or are active in 4-H or FFA. Find more Agriculture Scholarships on the Syngenta website .