Maryland
Grain Producers Award Scholarships
The Maryland Grain
Producers Utilization Board (MGPUB) is proud to announce the
2010 scholarships being awarded to Grace Garst, College
Park, Greg Gaver, New Market, Wes Miller, North East, and
Travis Moore, Churchville.
In its thirteen year, the
Scholarship Program provides $2,500 scholarships to college
students who are pursuing a career in agriculture.
Scholarship
funding is provided by the Maryland Grain Checkoff Program,
which
supports promotion, education, and
research projects beneficial to the grain industry.
“It is important
that we invest in our young people today so that they will
come back into our industry to help us grow and prosper,”
states Walter Gordon, MGPUB President.
“It was very competitive this
year, with the recipients all active in their communities,
honor roll students, and strong in their desire to advance
the agricultural industry in Maryland. “
Grace Garst is
pursuing a career in agronomic plant research.
Daughter of Stuart and Ellen
Garst, Grace is a graduate of Walkersville High and has been
attending University of Maryland College Park majoring in
Plant Science.
She is an Ambassador for the
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and a member
of the 2010 University of Maryland Weed Team which competes
against other Northeastern schools in agronomic weed
knowledge.
It is Grace’s mission to see
that local farmers, through new cropping rotations,
technologies, and soil care can continue passing their
heritage down from generation to generation.
Greg Gaver is
entering his second year at the University of Maryland and
Robert Smith School of Business Scholars.
He is majoring in agriculture
and resource economics, minoring in plant science, and
adding business courses to give him the background to return
to the family farm.
His parents, Michael and Lisa
Gaver, operate a diversified dairy, grain, vegetable and
Christmas tree farm in Frederick county.
Greg is active in philanthropy
with Alpha tau Omega, and helps host the Farm Safety Camp
and Maryland Day at the University.
A graduate of Linganore High
School, Greg’s goal is to be a productive, efficient
producer while also being a good steward to the environment
and protecting the natural resources used in the industry.
A graduate of
Rising Sun High School, Wes Miller is a sophomore attending
Penn State studying animal science, with minors in ag
business management and agronomics.
He is a member of the Dairy
Science Club and current President of the Delta Theta Sigma.
Upon completion of his degree,
Wes would like to return to the family farm and begin
transitioning into a management roll where his goal is to
improve efficiencies and profitability, including
diversifying through value-added production.
Wes is the son of Bob and Diane
Miller, dairy and grain farmers in Harford County.
Wes would be the sixth
generation in his family to operate the farm, and he hopes
that many more generations will be able to follow him.
Travis Moore is a
recent graduate of C. Milton Wright High School where he was
on the National Honor Society, Student Government, a scholar
athlete, and involved in 4-H for 13 years.
He volunteers through service
clubs and 4-H.
His parents, Bill and Kim Moore,
operate a grain and cattle farm in Churchville, where Travis
works and has raised and showed beef cattle and market hogs.
Travis is interested in crop
production and has chosen to major in agricultural
engineering to develop new and innovative ways to make
farming more efficient and profitable, using resources more
efficiently while keeping conservation in mind.
He will be attending Virginia
Tech as a freshman in the engineering program this fall.
Nearly 23 million
people work in agriculture and related fields, with 98% of
those working in areas outside of farming.
Nationwide there is a shortage
of agricultural graduates to fill the job opportunities in
the agricultural, environmental, and natural resources
industry.
“These exceptional
students have an exciting future ahead and will be an asset
to our industry,” concludes Gordon.
