Two men from Colorado and South Dakota are the latest recipients of the National Cattlemen's Foundation W.D. Farr Scholarships, announced last week at the 2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference.
The $12,000 awards, which recognize superior achievement in academics and leadership, were presented to Benjamin Turner of Rapid City, S.D., and John W. Wood of Greeley, Colo.
Turner is a Ph.D. candidate studying Biological Sciences at South Dakota State University. He received his bachelors of science degree Cum Laude in Agriculture Business from Sam Houston State University. He then later received his masters of science in Agribusiness from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Turner has been a graduate assistant for SDSU 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. He is expected to graduate in 2014.
Wood is an MS-MBA candidate in Food and Agribusiness Management at Purdue University. Wood received two bachelors of science degrees from Colorado State University in Beef Production and Business Leadership and Management. Since 2009, Wood 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.
The scholarships are named after W.D. Farr, the first president of NCF. Farr also served as president of the American National Cattlemen's Association, which would later become the NCBA. His career spanned 75 years and included innovations in cattle feeding, uniform beef grading, water conservation and banking. Farr died at age 97 in August, 2007.