College students are gearing up for the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s annual College Aggies Online Scholarship Competition, which kicks off Sept. 16. This year, student agricultural advocates and collegiate clubs are competing for more than $21,000 in scholarships and a chance to win a trip to the Alliance’s 2020 Stakeholders Summit. For more information or to sign up, visit their website.
CAO connects college students from across the country who are interested in promoting agriculture. Individual division participants receive training from experts and engage with their peers on social media by posting information about current and emerging issues facing farmers and ranchers and telling personal stories.
In the club competition, students are challenged to host events on their campus to talk about modern agriculture with their peers. Events include “Scary Food Myths” where students hand out candy with myths and facts about food and agriculture; “Undeniably Dairy” where students host a booth on their concourse about dairy farming; and “Newbies on the Farm” where students invite their peers who have never visited a farm to tour a local operation. Last year, students reached 2 million people on social media and more than 13,000 people at club events.
“College Aggies Online is an opportunity for college students who are passionate about agriculture to learn how to communicate about the industry from some of the best agriculture advocates out there,” said Casey Kinler, Alliance communications manager. “This year we doubled the number of mentors available to the students and made sure to include farmers and ranchers who are active on social media.”
Mentors for the 2019 competition include:
- Chloe Carson, Manager of Digital Communications, National Pork Producers Council
- Lukas Fricke, Hog Farmer, ChorChek Inc.
- Don Schindler, Senior Vice President of Digital Innovations, Dairy Management Inc.
- Rebecca Hilby, Dairy Farmer, Hilby Family Farm
- Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, LD, Street Smart Nutrition
- Marissa Hake, DVM, Veterinarian, Midwest Veal, LLC/Strauss Feeds
- Beth Breeding, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, National Turkey Federation
- Jennifer Osterholt, Strategic Marketing Consultant and Farmer, Osterholt Marketing & Communications, LLC
- Virginia Beckett, Director of Issues Response and Monitoring, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
- Elizabeth Barber, Vice President of Corporate Development, The F.L. Emmert Company
- Lauren Arbogast, Chicken Farmer, Paint The Town Ag
- Karoline Rose, Leader, KRose Company
- Michelle Jones, Grain Farmer, Big Sky Farmher
- Allison Devitre, Regulatory Scientific Affairs, Bayer Crop Science
- Jessica Peters, Dairy Farmer, Spruce Row Farm
- Michelle Miller, Sheep and Cattle Farmer, Farm Babe, LLC
