Minnesota Select Sires Announces 2008 "Future Leaders" Scholarship Winners
ST. CLOUD, Minn., January 6, 2009 — Continuing its ninth year of awarding scholarships to agricultural leaders of tomorrow, Minnesota Select Sires annually awards multiple $500 scholarships. This year, six very deserving students have been awarded the "Future Leaders" Scholarship. Mark Messer, Minnesota Select Sires Board President states, "One of the fundamental purposes of our cooperative is to be responsive to our members’ needs. Helping their children achieve their educational desires is as basic of an objective as we can have."
This year’s winners are: Jessica Achen, daughter of Craig and Cindy Achen, Sauk Centre, MN; Jennifer Becker, daughter of Joseph and Karen Becker, Eden Valley, MN; Brent Boyum, son of Al and Jean Boyum, Battle Lake, MN; Londa Johnson, daughter of Richard and Linda Johnson, LaCrescent, MN; Elinor Opitz, daughter of Joe Opitz and Sherry Newell-Opitz, Cold Spring, MN and Brandon Thesing, son of Doug and Cindy Thesing, Winona, MN. Additional details on each of these award winners can be found below.
A junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Animal Science, Jessica Achen hopes to eventually own her own farm. Born and raised on a dairy farm, Achen assists in a variety of ways with the 90 cow herd and their custom heifer raising facility (800 baby calves).
Currently an assistant manager intern at a dairy farm in Culverden, New Zealand, Jennifer Becker plans to pursue her Master’s degree in dairy cattle breeding. Becker has already gained extensive work experience while attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She has been involved in two research projects for the College of Veterinary Medicine, worked as a quality assurance laboratory technician at First District Association, Litchfield, MN and been a farm management student intern at the William H. Miner Institute, Chazy, New York.
After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, Brett Boyum will continue on and will be attending the University of Minnesota Vet School focusing on production animal medicine. Eager to begin a career in food animal nutrition, Boyum would like to eventually open a facility specializing in ruminant nutrition research and dairy cattle operations. In addition, he plans to take over the home farm and consolidate his private farm and professional research in one location. When the physical demands of his career become too much, he plans to become a USDA inspector making sure that products that enter our food supply are safe.
Londa Johnson plans to use her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to pursue a career in the dairy industry focusing on public relations, sales or genetics. Currently a junior, Johnson is building her own herd of registered Jersey cattle.
Not growing up on a dairy farm, Elinor Opitz has faced many unique challenges with her business of New-Vue Ayrshires which now consists of 12 head that she fully owns and makes all the management decisions. Once she graduates, she would like a place of her own, graze 200 to 300 Ayrshires, and market top Ayrshire genetics. Opitz is currently a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities majoring in Animal Science.
"My ultimate goal is to take over my family’s 130-cow commercial dairy farm," states Brandon Thesing. He’s slowly started to obtain some ownership and hopes to eventually have a herd of registered Holsteins and Jerseys. Thesing is actively involved in the home farm, planning corrective matings, studying ways to improve the rations and paying attention to cow comfort. After college, he plans to work as a nutritionist or for an A.I. company to further his education before returning to the home farm.
If you or someone you know is interested in next year’s scholarships, applications are due October 31, 2009. In addition to being a family member of a current Minnesota Select Sires member/customer, you must be completing at least the first semester of your second year in a two or four year program. You need to submit an application and grade transcripts as well as write an essay. For more information, contact Minnesota Select Sires at 800-795-1233.
Based in St. Cloud, MN; Minnesota Select Sires Inc., is part of North America’s largest A.I. organization which is comprised of 10 farmer-owned and -controlled cooperatives. As the industry leader, it provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying dairy and beef producers in Minnesota and North Dakota with North America’s best genetics tailored for individual production systems at a reasonable price.
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