GENEX Committed to the Future of Agriculture

As six college students head back to school, GENEX will help to fund their education. GENEX, part of Cooperative Resources International (CRI), offers a college scholarship program to youth who are actively engaged on a member’s farm or ranch.

The six recipients of this year’s CRI Collegiate Scholarship were asked to share what agriculture means to them. Their answers demonstrate the future of agriculture is bright:

These answers are not from youth removed from agriculture either. In their applications, they also talked about the hard work they have put in while “feeding calves at four in the morning, walking miles in the heat pushing cows and attempting to learn how to breed cows.” As another student put it, “To many, it is an undesirable lifestyle because of the huge commitment it requires.” That same student went on to say, however, “Dairy farming is truly in my blood, and I would not want to spend my time doing anything else.”

Those students earning the $750 scholarships include: Brooke Engstrom of Renville, Minnesota; Emma Gwidt of Pulaski, Wisconsin; Shelby Schiefelbein of Kimball, Minnesota; Ellen Schilderink of Hart, Texas; Genevieve VanWye of Lancaster, Missouri; and Collin Weltzien of Arcadia, Wisconsin.