Championing Ag Scholarship

Scholarships will be awarded to students currently enrolled in a university, college, post-secondary institution or vocational program. The degree, certificate or technical program and desired career path must be directly tied to serving the agriculture industry. Scholarships are $2,500 and funds are made payable to the student’s financial aid department at their selected institution. This scholarship is awarded once to an individual and is not renewable.

Eligibility

An applicant must be:

• A current college student enrolled in a higher education institution in AgWest’s service territory (Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) with plans to continue their education in the fall term of 2026.
• Pursuing a degree or certificate directly related to agriculture with the intent to serve agriculture and rural communities. Examples – Agribusiness Management, Ag Economics, Ag Business, Finance, Accounting, Technology, Computer Science, Animal Science, Crops and Soil Science, Forestry, Fisheries, Production Management, Machine and Metal Workings, Diesel Mechanics, Agriculture and Food Products Processing, Horticulture, Livestock Management, Welding/fabricating, etc.
• Committed to a career supporting agriculture and rural communities
• A U.S. citizen or legal resident of the United States
• Enrolled at least part-time (6 or more credits)
• Not be a previous AgWest Scholarship winner

What you need to do

1. Obtain a copy of your college transcript and save it as a PDF, using the following naming convention for the filename:  Firstname-Lastname-Transcript.pdf (for example: Sam-Smith-Transcript.pdf). Unofficial photocopies of your transcript are acceptable.
2. Provide a letter of recommendation from an individual who taught or supervised you who can speak to your character. Must be a non-family member.
3. Write an essay. An essay helps the judges learn more about you and your future life plans.
   Essay Instructions
   • The essay should be at least a page (no more than two) in length, discussing the following essay question:
     
     Describe your past efforts in advocating for agriculture. Then, share your future goals and aspirations, detailing how you plan to continue to champion agriculture and make a positive impact on the industry after earning your degree.
   
   
   • Save your essay as a PDF, using the following naming convention for the filename:  Firstname-Lastname-Essay.pdf (for example: Sam-Smith-Essay.pdf).
4. Fill out the online AgWest Championing Agriculture Scholarship Application form and attach your PDF files.

Notification of recipients

All applicants will be notified by email regarding the status of their application on or before May 15, 2026.