Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA
August 15, 2013
As the sugarbeet industry continues to evolve, Syngenta is committed to investing in future leadership and has identified five agriculturally focused college students as recipients of the 2013 Syngenta Sugarbeet Scholarship. The 2013 winners are Travis Chase of New Plymouth, Idaho; Michael Backman of Fargo, N.D.; Rebekah Landmark of Montevideo, Minn.; Ashtyn Shrewsbury of Alliance, Neb.; and Kody Myers of Midland, Mich.
“The future of the sugarbeet industry is looking bright based on the exceptional responses we received from this year’s applicants,” said Jeff Pomeroy, sugarbeet crop portfolio head at Syngenta. “Congratulations to our 2013 scholarship recipients. We look forward to their contributions to the field of agriculture.”
Each applicant answered an essay question about the biggest challenge facing sugarbeet production and shared ideas to address the problem. Applications were evaluated for creativity, flow and professional appeal. The winners were chosen out of 32 applicants, all with an involvement in 4-H or the National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America). Each winner was awarded $1,500 for their college tuition.
One scholarship recipient, Travis Chase of Idaho, summarized his thoughts on the challenges of sugarbeet production when he wrote, “As an industry, we can divide our efforts to address the challenges presented into two main categories: education of the agriculturalist and education of the public.”
The sugarbeet scholarship program is just one way Syngenta supports the sugarbeet industry. Syngenta is an active industry partner of organizations like the Beet Sugar Development Foundation and the American Sugarbeet Growers Association. In addition to an extensive portfolio of Hilleshög® brand sugarbeet seed, Syngenta offers products such as Quadris® and Inspire® XT fungicides along with CruiserMaxx® Sugarbeets insecticide/fungicide seed treatment combination of separately registered products. With a broad portfolio and knowledgeable local sales representatives, Syngenta is dedicated to sugarbeets from seed to the pile.