Premier Farm Credit awards double the scholarships in 2021

Premier Farm Credit is giving out double scholarships in 2021.

“Students have shown incredible resilience through all the recent challenges and we wanted to go the extra mile in supporting them,” Becky Lenz, Board Chair, said. “Youth are the future of our communities and agriculture and we’re committed to investing in both.”

Premier’s scholarship program awards typically awards four $1,000 scholarships, but this year awarded eight $1,000 awards.

This year’s recipients include:

Preston Blach, attending Colorado State University majoring in Ag Business. Preston is the son of Ron and Lisa Blach from Yuma.

Kacyn Kessinger, Akron High School graduate planning to attend West Texas A&M majoring in Pre-Medicine. Kaycn is the son of Kory and Shanan Kessinger from Akron.

Andrea Kuntz, Lone Star High School graduate planning to attend University of Colorado, Colorado Springs majoring in Accounting/Finance. Andrea is the daughter of Justin and Sarah Kuntz from Lone Star.

Jaret Lichty, Liberty High School graduate attending North Central Kansas Technical College majoring in Welding, followed by Fort Hays State University for Ag Business. Jaret is the son of Jason and Tycie Lichty from Joes.

Grayson Pachner, Akron High School graduate planning to attend University of Dubuque and major in Flight Operations and become a pilot. Grayson is the son of Jason and Dana Pachner from Akron.

Justin Pollart, Caliche High School graduate planning to attend Northeastern Junior College and major in Production Agriculture. Justin is the son of Kristy Willis from Crook.

Ema Richardson, Yuma High School graduate planning to attend Texas Tech University and major in Agricultural Economics and General Business. Ema is the daughter of Ruben Richardson and Tina Richardson from Yuma.

Breann Shaffer, attending the University of Northern Colorado majoring in Nursing. Breann is the daughter of Theron and Kelly Shaffer from Idalia.

Premier Farm Credit is a mission-driven lender owned entirely by its member-owners focused on supporting rural communities and agriculture, today and tomorrow. This scholarship program is one of many ways Premier supports youth and our communities and the scholarship selection is based on academic aptitude, vocational promise, personal attributes, leadership and financial need. Applicants must be a child or grandchild of a current stockholder or be a current stockholder themselves. Children or grandchildren of employees or board members are not eligible.

As part of the Farm Credit System (established in 1916), Premier Farm Credit serves Northeast Colorado and the surrounding areas with loans, leases, insurance and appraisals for agriculture and ag-related businesses. They also provide rural home loans for residences in small towns and on small acreages. Premier Farm Credit has aggregate loan volume of approximately $770 million and has offices in Sterling, Fort Morgan, Yuma and Holyoke. You can learn more about them at premieraca.com or on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.