The renewable scholarship is valued at $3,000 per year and provides each recipient with a total of $12,000 over four years for tuition, books and other related expenses.

The scholarship program assists 24 college-level students each year and has provided more than $500,000 in scholarship money to agriculture students since it was founded in 1967.

All six of this year’s recipients will have the chance to meet on campus as they have all chosen North Carolina State University.

Jacob A. Bender of Warren County, a graduate of The Franklin Academy in Wake County, plans to major in agricultural engineering and mechanical engineering.

He has won several awards for showing livestock and says the experience of working on his family’s farm has been the greatest influence on his life.

“Just as the early engineers developed the irrigation systems that fed the Egyptian Empire, future agricultural leaders will lay the foundation for the continuation and advancement of the world in which we live today,” he says. “I want to be that future agricultural engineer who crafts the technology of tomorrow’s advancements in the production of food, fiber and fuel.”

Morgan D. Drake, a graduate of SouthWest Edgecombe High School, plans to major in agricultural engineering. After completing an undergraduate degree, she plans to go to graduate school, and ultimately has career goals of improving farm machinery.

“My dream is to design and help produce farm equipment that will improve production for farmers,” she says. “I hope to have a job that will allow me opportunities to travel to different states or even different countries.”

She is working on her family farm and traveling with the 4-H exchange club this summer and would like to travel outside
the U.S. to study agriculture in other countries.

Allison J. Dunn, a graduate of James B. Hunt High School in Wilson, will pursue a degree in agricultural education.

“Being an agricultural educator requires one to study various agricultural trends, practices and areas ranging from animal science to biotechnology to horticulture to agribusiness,” she says. “Each of these branches, along with numerous other areas, expands to reveal the backbone of what feeds, clothes and keeps our nation alive and thriving.”

She credits being active in the FFA Association and 4-H for teaching her to show livestock, taking part in career development events and speaking in public.

Carson L. Hilliard, a graduate of Northampton County High School East, will study either agricultural business or agronomy and plans to join the agronomy club and other organizations.

In his hometown, Seaboard, he works with the World Changers program at his church and helps at the local fire department.

“When I graduate from North Carolina State, I plan to move back home to start my own business or work with the Cooperative Extension office, helping local farmers implement new farming practices and helping them manage their business,” he says.

Taryn S. Looper, a graduate of South Caldwell High School, plans to major in animal science.

She is the fifth generation to live on the farm that has been in her family for 112 years. Last year, she attended N.C. Farm Bureau and N.C. State’s Institute for Future Agriculture Leaders and says she learned what it takes to be a leader. She put those skills into practice as FFA president her senior year.

“All of my life I have been surrounded by agriculture, and I know that my career will be related to it,” she says.

Caroline E. Yopp, a graduate of Triton High School in Dunn, was chapter and regional president of FFA. She also led an FFA gleaning project.

Yopp says she used to think she’d be a lawyer one day, until FFA and her school’s agriculture education program awakened her to the importance of agriculture. She plans to major in agricultural education, with a concentration in animal science.

“In a world where education is constantly changing, I want to be the voice of this industry in the classroom and assure the future of this industry that they will be presented with the tools they need for the real world,” she says.

The award was presented during the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association summer meeting. Rackley is also a longtime member of North Carolina Farm Bureau’s Beekeeper, Pollination and Honey Advisory Committee.

He has been a pioneer in beekeeping and has also been a driving force behind the North Carolina Zoo’s honeybee exhibit, which is scheduled to open in May.

“I was floored,” Rackley says of the award. “I thanked the people for doing it, and I told them it really belonged to them.”

Rather than focusing on the award, Rackley remains a tireless fundraiser for his pet project—the zoo exhibit.

North Carolina Farm Bureau has also contributed to the exhibit, and Rackley says he values that support, as well North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten’s advocacy toward getting the award.

In his letter to the governor, Wooten heralded Rackley, saying, “It’s rare to see the perseverance, dedication and determination that Irvin E. Rackley has shown in his mission to serve North Carolina’s beekeepers and apiary industry through the construction of the permanent bee exhibit at the N.C. Zoo.”

Rackley’s nomination for the award was bolstered by many letters from his friends in beekeeping, at the N.C. Zoo, and in the extended agricultural community.

In another letter, Zoo Director David M. Jones says, “Nobody in North Carolina has done more to advocate for the importance and value of the honeybee to agriculture than Irvin Rackley.”
And bees are quite important to agriculture. In fact, the bee is worth an estimated $15 billion annually to agriculture in the U.S.

Rackley is one of just 12 living men and women in the state who have achieved the highest rank of beekeeper in North Carolina—master craftsman beekeeper. The honor requires all the knowledge of a master beekeeper, but with additional requirements for research and public service.

BLADEN COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Member Danny McDuffie (center) and his son Dan (right) received this year’s Peanut Yield Champions Award from Bob Sutter with the N.C. Peanut Growers Association. In addition to winning on the county level, the McDuffies were also awarded the North Carolina State Yield Award. The McDuffie’s average yield for the 2007 growing season was 5,700 pounds per acre, which is an accolade to their farming and production practices.

In other activity…The Bladen County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee donated photosynthesis promenade kits to county schools. Denise White, left, is shown here teaching her class using the kit. Students enjoyed the kits and learned about agriculture.

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau awarded two scholarships of $500 each to Amber Nead and Hannah Mical.

In other activity…Carteret County Farm Bureau recently hosted a two-day meeting of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The county provided refreshments for breakfast, afternoon snacks, and the use of its county board meeting room in the Beaufort office.

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau President Mickey Simmons was awarded a plaque “in recognition, appreciation and support for reading in the schools of North Carolina.”

CASWELL COUNTY Farm Bureau member Von “Mac” Baldwin, a beef and poultry farmer from Yanceyville, was recently named the 2008 North Carolina winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. He is one of 10 finalists for the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award, which will be announced Oct. 14 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.

Baldwin has more than 400 grass-fed Charolais cows, which he sells through his Web site, www.baldwinbeef.com, at Whole Foods stores in North and South Carolina and at the Carrboro Farmers Market. Caswell County Farm Bureau President Hester Vernon nominated Baldwin for the award because of his active participation in Farm Bureau and other agricultural activities.

In other activity…Caswell County Farm Bureau participated in “Aging with Gusto,” a seminar for senior citizens held June 11 at the Caswell County Civic Center. Farm Bureau representatives handed out 120 bags containing information about member services to the more than 100 seniors and other vendors in attendance.

CHOWAN COUNTY Farm Bureau members recently took part in a Farm Safety Day at the Chowan County Recreation Department in Tyner. About 300 third-through-fifth-graders from D.F. Walker Elementary School attended the event. The schoolchildren visited a variety of booths and learned ways to stay safe when dealing with combines and tractors, lawn mowers, fire, RVs, chemicals, bad weather and water. Willy the Safety Squirrel was on hand to greet the children as they arrived and passed out coloring books, crayons, safety tattoos and stickers.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY Farm Bureau held a water quality meeting June 3 at the Charlie Rose Center. Twenty-six people from several counties attended. Cumberland County Farm Bureau’s YF&R Committee sponsored the meeting.

DARE COUNTYFarm Bureau’s Board of Directors and special guests feasted on a fresh seafood dinner, which included soft shell crabs that were hauled in by veteran board member Edward Etheridge earlier in the day. The group gathered to congratulate Thomas Pratt-Lozupone on receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the county Farm Bureau to be used toward his expenses at N.C. State University.

EDGECOMBE COUNTY Farm Bureau awarded five $1,000 scholarships to local high school students. The scholarship recipients were: Matthew Drake, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Drake of Pinetops; Caroline Pilgreen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Pilgreen of Whitakers; Jacob Pearce, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Pearce of Tarboro; Eric Parker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Parker of Rocky Mount; and Michele Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kent Smith of Rocky Mount. Drake, Pilgreen, Pearce and Smith all plan to attend N.C. State University in the fall. Parker will attend N.C. A & T State University.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Farm Bureau and the United Way co-sponsored the 14th Annual Ag Field Day Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Riverbend Park. Every third-grader in the county was invited to attend the event, which offered a morning of hands-on experiences with agricultural life.

Top row, from left, Farm Bureau’s Kay Sims was on hand as Franklin County Farm Bureau’s Vice-President Steve Nelms presented a contribution on behalf of Farm Bureau and United Way to event planner Martha Mobley. United Way’s Priscilla Henderson is pictured far right. On hand for the check presentation were the children of Farm Bureau members Alyssa and Matthew Dorsey, who operate Bahemah Angus Farm in Louisburg. They are, from left, Micah, Leah, Anna and Silas.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Members Johnny and Shelby Wallace picked up an award for Wallace Farm in Huntersville at the Charlotte Business Journal’s Green Awards. The event took place April 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Wallace Farm, along with Linda Construction and R.T. Dooley, was presented the Green Entrepreneurial Effort/Innovative Idea award. The program was sponsored by the Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

NASH COUNTY Farm Bureau former board of director’s member Elmer Daniel received a certificate naming him an Honorary Director. County President Greg Bunn presented Daniel with the certificate and a plaque “In Appreciation and Honor” of his service during a directors’ meeting April 3 in Nashville. Daniel joined the Farm Bureau in 1947 and served on the board of directors from 1961 to 2007. He also served as a county commissioner and on the board of Nash General Hospital.

American Farm Bureau Federation’s American Farm Bureau Federation’s Foundation for Agriculture awarded North Carolina teacher Sandra Hatley with a $1,200 White-Reinhardt Fund for Education scholarship to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom conference in Costa Mesa, CA.

Hatley was one of 10 teachers recognized for outstanding efforts to promote agricultural literacy. American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture sponsored the awards in cooperation with the AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee.

RICHMOND COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Member Myers Waddell and his wife, Earlene, participated in Washington Street School’s N.C. Heritage Day, June 6. Mrs. Waddell spoke to nine classes of fourth-graders about North Carolina agriculture and how people farmed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The students learned about the many different commodities produced by N.C. farmers, such as chicken, turkey, cotton, tobacco and corn. Afterward, Mr. and Mrs. Waddell presented each class with donated Frisbees.

RUTHERFORD COUNTY Farm Bureau recently awarded scholarships to three students starting college this fall. Tiffany Brown, of Rutherfordton, is a graduate of Chase High School and is the daughter of Michael and Kathy Brown. She will attend N.C. State University and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years. Haley Lovelace, of Bostic, is a graduate of East Rutherford High School and is the daughter of Ronald and Debora Lovelace. She will also attend NCSU and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years. Tramell Forney, of Union Mills, is a graduate of R-S Central High School and the son of Tramell and Sandra Forney. He will attend N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years.

STANLY COUNTY Farm Bureau held a Member Appreciation Day May 31 at the local Farm Bureau office.

Georgia and Michael, the children of Andrew and Ashley Burleson, milk a cow at Member Appreciation Day.

WARREN COUNTY Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors held its Second Annual Legislative Dinner recently. Among the 60 attendees at the event were four of the five county commissioners, farm advisers from the Washington, D.C. offices of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, N.C. Rep. Michael Wray and N.C. Sen. Doug Berger.

In other activity…Women’s Committee members participated in the National Education Association’s Read Across America this spring at Mariam Boyd Elementary School in Warrenton. They served refreshments and lunch to 35 teachers at a workshop co-led by Pat Riethmier, local N.C. Teacher of the Year for Ag in the Classroom. In April, the group visited the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill and donated $200 in supplies and home-based goodies. Women’s Committee members also sponsored local Relay for Life activities.

Also…The board of directors focused on community aid this year and donated $700 to the local 4-H for the spring five-county livestock show and sale. They also donated $5,000 to a Jaycees fundraiser for a local Farm Bureau member, a dairy farmer, who was involved in a farm accident.

And…The board of directors awarded $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors Lauren Lesas and Lindsay Varnadore. The scholarships are renewable for three years as long as the students continue to major in an agriculture-related field and maintain a specific GPA. The board awarded one-time $500 scholarships to seven other worthy students majoring in a variety of fields.

WAYNE COUNTY Farm Bureau Board of Directors sponsored a team in the 2008 Wayne County Relay For Life May 16 and 17 on the Wayne Community College campus in Goldsboro. Activities were held throughout the year to raise money for the annual American Cancer Society event.

The team’s theme for its tent at the relay was “Sowing Seeds for a Cure.” The group paid tribute to team members who were cancer survivors. They encouraged event-goers to pay tribute to loved ones who either survived or succumbed to battles with cancer by sowing a seed in a planter and writing their loved one’s name on a paper flower.

In its rookie year, the team, through its fund-raising efforts, donations and corporate sponsorships raised $6,500.

“I am so proud of all the hard work that our team members and volunteers have put in to make our first year participating in the Relay a success,” said team captain Amy Shivar. “On behalf of the Wayne County Farm Bureau Relay For Life team, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to this event.”