During the 2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference, two recipients were awarded the W.D. Farr Scholarship from the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF). THe $12,000 award recognizes superior achievement in academics and leadership and will allow the students to further their study in fields that benefit the cattle and beef industry.

Benjamin Turner is from Rapid City, South Dakota. He is a Ph.D. candidate studying Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University. He received his bachelors of science degree in Agriculture Business from Sam Houston State University. And then later received his masters of science in Agribusiness from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Over the past year Turner has been a graduate assistant for South Dakota State University in the Natural Resources Management Department. His career goals involve teaching and developing useful teaching tools, such as a textbook on ecological economics and management so that students can make better decisions of consequence under real-world conditions. Turner’s Ph.D. Dissertation is: To Plow or Not to Plow: Investigating Grassland to Cropland Conversion in the Northern Great Plains Using Systems Thinking and Dynamics. He is expected to graduate in 2014.

Listen to Benjamin’s remarks here: Remarks from Benjamin Turner

John Wood is from Greeley, Colorado. He is a MS-MBA candidate in Food and Agribusiness Management at Purdue University. He received a bachelors of science degree from Colorado State University in Beef Production and Business Leadership & Management. For the past couple of years he has had several positions at JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding.

Wood has been involved in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Young Producers Council since 2008 and currently serves as the group’s chairman. He has also been part of many agricultural based clubs and teams. Wood’s career goals are to serve in an upper management position that allows him to employ a macro perspective as he helps lead, manage, develop and coach a high caliber team to obtain organizational objectives.

Listen to John’s remarks here: Remarks from John Wood

The National Cattlemen’s Foundation established this annual scholorship in 2007 to recognize outstanding students who plan to pursue careers in meat science and animal agriculture. W.D. Farr was the first president of NCF and also served as president of the American National Cattlemen’s Association, now known as NCBA. Farr’s career spanned 75 years in the beef industry.

Here are photos from the event:2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album