Students Austin Ehlers of Storm Lake, Tara Gray of Toledo, and Ty Sexton of Ainsworth are each receiving $1,000 scholarships from the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation Youth Beef Team scholarship program.

YBT is a program open to all youth, ages 12 to 18, who are interested in promoting the beef industry. The youth earn points for educational and promotional activities they do each year, including activities as a county beef queen or ambassador, and graduates of the Masters in Beef Advocacy program. As high school seniors, they become eligible to compete for scholarships. This year, 13 Iowa youth applied for the scholarships, which included a personal interview and presentation on a beef industry issue.

Outstanding young people are future of Iowa cattle industry

Austin Ehlers is the son of Brent and Carol Ehlers, and a senior at Sioux Central Community School. He plans to attend Iowa State University and major in Animal Science with an emphasis in feed and genetics.

Tara Gray, the daughter of Terry and Julie Gray, is a senior at East Marshall High School and plans to attend Kirkwood Community College.

Ty Sexton is the son of Lyle and Stephanie Sexton. He is a senior at Highland Community Schools and plans to attend Iowa State University and major in Agricultural Engineering.

One of the scholarship judges was Sparky Wellman of Bonaparte. She is a cattle farmer and secretary of the ICF. "All the applicants are outstanding young people who represent the future of the cattle industry in Iowa," she says. "The Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation knows it is critical to provide scholarships to support as many students as we can." Since ICF began in 1994, ICF has provided $51,500 in YBT scholarship support.

About the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation:  The mission of the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation is to enhance the public perception of the Iowa cattle industry and to assist in providing educational and economic opportunities for Iowans in the cattle business. The ICF is a non-profit organization with 501(c)3 status, defined as exempt by the IRS for payment of federal income taxes as a group organized for charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational purposes.