Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Insight FS.
Insight FS recently paid out scholarships to high school seniors and college students for the fall semester. Since 2015, Insight FS and the Insight FS/GROWMARK Foundation have donated over $140,750 to students pursuing a career in agriculture.
“We want to play a vital role in the future of agriculture, and in order to do that we need to support the industry through education and awareness of the diverse career options available,” said Dave Mottet, general manager at Insight FS. “These students are going to support the farmers of the future, a role that continues to shift with more technology, data utilization and changing landscape. We want to be there with them on that journey.”
Insight FS scholarship applicants are evaluated on academic achievement, active participation in local and state clubs or groups promoting agriculture and environmental stewardship, leadership potential, and essay responses. Ten winners are chosen and awarded $1500 during Fall semester. To be eligible, the student must be the dependent of an employee or patron of Insight FS. Applications for 2022 will be available in December at insightfs.com/scholarship and are accepted through March 15, 2022.
Insight FS also donates $5,000 in scholarships through UW-Platteville each year. Those winners are chosen by UW-Platteville and can be renewed yearly. Winners in 2021 were: Haylee Spence, Jay Long, Austyn Capouch, Jacob Beauchem, Stanlee Rillie, Jason Long, Haylee Spence, Kelsey Carey, Kaitlin Asche and Sydney Van Swol.
2021 Insight FS scholarship recipients included:
Morgyn Haumschild, a sophomore at UW-River Falls, is majoring in Ag Business and Dairy Science. Over the last year, Morgyn expressed interest in pursuing a career in nutrition.
Audrey Pelikan, from Sullivan, is majoring in soil and crop science and environmental horticulture at UW-Platteville. She intends to continue her education to receive a master’s degree and focus on plant breeding and improving seed hybrids.
Elizabeth Katzman, from Whitewater is attending Northeast Technical College in Green Bay and plans to major in entrepreneurship and launch a protein-based product line for her family farm. Elizabeth made significant contributions to the dairy industry in 2020 with her idea to sell “Support Wisconsin Dairy” yard signs during covid. She raised over $10,000 and sold 1,000 signs.
Lindsey Propst, a 2021 graduate from Beaver Dam High School is pursuing a degree in genetics and genomics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lindsey would like to become a plant geneticist and improve seed varieties.
Tiffany Neuheisel from Spring Green is currently attending Southwest Wisconsin Technical College pursuing a degree in agribusiness management. Tiffany is part of the 6th generation on her dairy farm and looking to step up and continue to be involved in the agriculture industry. She plans to continue her education at UW-Platteville after achieving her associated degree.
Nicole Plenty, daughter of Agronomy Area Sales Manager, Jeff Plenty, is pursuing a degree in soil and crop sciences from UW-Platteville. Nicole found that her interests may lie in crop science after working in the research lab and taking a plant biotechnology class. When not at school, she resides in Delavan.
Madison Russell, a 2021 graduate from Shullsburg, is attending Oklahoma State University with plans to major in animal science. Madison has an interest in small ruminant reproduction after working as a part-owner in Presidential Livestock, a 100 commercial ewe operation.
Cassandra Wendt, daughter of Daniel Wendt, a propane sales and delivery specialist at Insight FS, is attending UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course for meat animal farm management. Her passion for working with animals has led her to plan for a small herd of Simmental cattle in the future.
Matthew Fischer from Owen, Wisconsin is attending UW-River Falls with aspirations to pursue a career as a dairy nutrition specialist. Matt also serves as his church head organist and director of music.
Brenna Murry, from Mosinee, is a college freshman at UW-River Falls. Brenna is passionate about agricultural education and plans to become an ag teacher and FFA advisor.
Insight FS is headquartered in Jefferson, Wis., serving patrons in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Insight FS is part of the GROWMARK system. GROWMARK is a regional cooperative providing agronomy, energy, feed, facility planning, risk management, and logistics products and services, as well as grain marketing, in more than 40 states and Ontario, Canada. GROWMARK owns the FS trademark, which represents knowledgeable, experienced professionals acting with integrity and dedication to serve more than 250,000 patrons. More information is available at insightfs.com.
