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Scholarships for College Students

Farm Bureau Foundation will award up to 22 scholarships.

College students, here’s your chance to apply for scholarships to help with the cost of your college education. Seven different scholarships are available to students of Farm Bureau member families through the Farm Bureau Foundation.

Beginning April 1, students may apply online at: www.PlantALegacy.org/scholarships. Deadline to apply is June 12.

For college sophomores, juniors & seniors

Ag Discipline Scholarships – These ag scholarships are available to college students in agriculture-related degree programs. Up to four scholarships valued at $1,200 each will be awarded to college sophomores, juniors and seniors with aspirations of an agricultural career. The Ag Discipline scholarships have been awarded annually by Farm Bureau since 1989.

Bob & Norma Wildenradt Ag Scholarship – Bob and Norma Wildenradt established this scholarship in 2020 to benefit a student majoring in an ag-related field of study in pursuit of a future career in agriculture. The Wildenradts of Sycamore have a real affinity for agriculture and passion for assisting young people. One, $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to a student in their sophomore, junior or senior year enrolled at a college in the state of Illinois.

DeKalb Ag Scholarship – The DeKalb Ag Scholarship was developed in 2020 to pay tribute to the DeKalb Ag company which originated in DeKalb, Illinois. Initial donations to this scholarship were provided by the DeKalb Ag Alumni Association and its members to carry on the ag company’s namesake. This $1,200 scholarship is for college students in their sophomore, junior or senior year with an agriculture-related degree and eventually a career in agriculture.

For college juniors & seniors

Arden & Dorothy Baie Scholarships – These scholarships were established in memory of Arden and Dorothy Baie of Waterman by their daughters in 2015. The Baie farm couple were avid supporters of agriculture and education. The Baie Scholarship is available to college juniors and seniors pursuing any field of study. Two, $1,200 scholarships will be awarded to deserving students.

Orville A. Olson Ag Scholarship – The Olson family created this scholarship in 2019 in memory of their father, Orville A. Olson, a lifelong Cortland farmer. Orville’s legacy continues with this endowed scholarship earmarked for a deserving agricultural student. One $1,200 scholarship will be awarded to a college junior or senior majoring in an agriculture-related degree and seeking a career in a field of agriculture.

Robert Morley Science Scholarships – A former DeKalb science teacher, Robert Morley gifted the Farm Bureau Foundation with a generous endowment for scholarships upon his passing. The first science-related scholarships were awarded in 2007. Multiple scholarships of $1,200 each are awarded annually to juniors and seniors in college majoring in a field of science. 

For medical students

Medical Scholarships – The Medical Scholarship program, started in 1975, assists students with their medical degrees. Funds for these scholarships were derived from a trust fund of the DeKalb County Producers Supply Company, an affiliated Farm Bureau company which used to provide vaccines and livestock supplies for farmers in the 1930s-1960s. The scholarships are available to students studying to become physicians, optometrists, nurses, dentists and other medical professions. A student must currently be in medical school or accepted to medical school or in a four-year nursing program. Two, $2,000 scholarships will be awarded annually.