Holiday giving season is underway, and the National Milk Producers Federation’s National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program is an option for anyone who cares about a better industry future, explains Nicole Ayache, who leads the program at NMPF, in the latest Dairy Defined podcast.
The scholarship supports graduate students enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of research that directly benefit milk marketing cooperatives and the U.S. dairy industry at large.
“As we look at the last 10 years or so of recipients, all of those recipients have stayed within agriculture,” said Ayache, who also serves as NMPF’s vice president for environmental stewardship and sustainability and leads the FARM Program’s Environmental Stewardship initiative. “In research, academia, allied industry, whatever it might be, those individuals have stayed within agriculture, and the majority within dairy itself. So we do believe that the scholarships we are awarding are really fulfilling our goal, which is to support the future of dairy.”
Who can apply?
Graduate students pursuing research of direct benefit to milk marketing cooperatives and dairy producers are encouraged to apply (they do not need to be members to qualify).
“This scholarship will help me to continue focusing on my studies, allow me to do more dairy resiliency research, and help me to further share my findings with dairy producers,” said one recipient. “Receiving this scholarship is just another reminder of how blessed I feel to get to work with dairy farmers and the incredible folks in the dairy industry.”
Recommended fields of study include but are not limited to:
- Agriculture Communications Economics
- Animal Health Environmental Science
- Animal / Human Nutrition Food Science
- Bovine Genetics Food Safety
- Dairy Products Processing Herd Management
- Dairy Science Marketing and Price Analysis
Each year the top scholarship applicant is awarded the Hintz Memorial Scholarship, which was established to honor Murray Hintz following his death in 2005. Hintz served as Chairman of the Board for Cass-Clay Creamery, Inc., one of the cooperatives that played a key role in establishing NMPF’s National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program.
The 2023 application period will open in January 2023.
