BASF and NCGA Award Ag Scholarships

BASF, in partnership with the National Corn Growers Association, awarded five passionate and motivated agriculture students with the William C. Berg Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship. The scholarships, which recognize outstanding undergraduate or graduate students pursuing degrees in agriculture, were presented to recipients during a ceremony at the 2017 Commodity Classic tradeshow in San Antonio.

“These students have shown a commitment to the future of our industry through their enthusiasm for learning and desire for sustainable agriculture,” said Neil Bentley, Director of Marketing, U.S. Crop, BASF. “The growth of agriculture starts with promising students like these, and we look forward to seeing their impact.”

 “Our industry needs a well-educated and dedicated group of future leaders to help create demand and feed our growing world,” said NCGA President Wesley Spurlock, a corn grower from Stratford, Texas. “These five scholarship winners will help this happen.”

Scholarships of $1,000 were awarded to each of the following students:

• Izak Christensen of Ames, Iowa – a concurrent undergraduate and graduate student at Iowa State University studying agricultural business and agronomy, and pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.
• Jose Rodrigo Mendoza Jimenez of Guatemala City, Guatemala – a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying food science and technology.
• Kelsey Barnes of College Station, Texas – a graduate student at Texas A&M University studying international agriculture.
• Michael Tupper of Ionia, Iowa – a junior at Iowa State University studying agricultural engineering.
• Rachel Stevens of Falls City, Nebraska – a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying mechanized systems management.

NCGA and BASF are committed to fostering the next crop of talented agriculture students, thereby providing generations of critical growth in our industry.