SOWING THE SEEDS FOR TOMORROW

"It is our belief that future success in the agricultural industry will be more closely tied than ever to education." 

 --Dr. Bruce Maunder, Board Member and Founding Contributor

The National Grain Sorghum Foundation was established in an effort to aid and promote higher education in agriculture and, more specifically, to promote the study of sorghum and its impact on agriculture. Producers, researchers and private industry collectively fund the Foundation endowment to enhance the awareness of sorghum as the fifth most important cereal crop in the world today.

The interests of the founding contributors are best summarized in a quote from Clays Krieble Delmas. "Western societies produced a flowering of human values and enduring beauty; I hope they will not be entirely lost in the new society whose shape we cannot know. Let us try to preserve the best and encourage the shoots of the new to grow in a direction that will not entirely distort the old."

WHY DO WE NEED THE FOUNDATION?

The Foundation's goal is to increase interest in agriculture among the next generation.  The world's populations are directly dependant upon agriculture; everyone reaps the benefits of efficiently-produced agricultural products.  We now have the opportunity to give back to the industry that gives us these benefits.

THE SORGHUM CHALLENGE . . .

The National Grain Sorghum Foundation offers The Sorghum Challenge to university students who are enrolled in an agricultural department. Students are asked to submit a completed application, an official copy of current transcripts and at least two letters of recommendation. A selection committee, made up of the Foundation Board of Directors and staff from the National Grain Sorghum Producers, will rank the applications and award the winner of the Sorghum Challenge with the scholarship package.

SCHOLARSHIP TIMELINE

• March 1 - May 31: Applications will be collected from students for review.
• June 1 - July 31: Selection committee reviews essays and applications.
• Aug. 1 - Aug. 15: Winner contacted.

SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS

• $750 to be applied toward one semester of tuition expenses.
• A trip to Washington, D.C. with representatives of the National Sorghum Producers.  Students will meet their Congressional representatives and watch the legislative process as state association presidents discuss timely agricultural issues for the producers they represent.

IT PAYS TO GIVE BACK

There are personal benefits that come with your donations to the Foundation. Since the Internal Revenue Service has recognized the Foundation as a tax-exempt charity, donors may take advantage of charitable deduction rules.

Further inquiries concerning donations or scholarship information may be directed to the National Sorghum Producers Foundation. 

National Sorghum Producers Foundation
4201 N Interstate 27
Lubbock, TX 79403
Phone: (806) 749-3478
Fax: (806) 749-9002