Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund Now Accepting Applications

By Lynsey Mukomel

Youth exhibitors who are getting ready to graduate high school or are newly graduated are encouraged to apply to the Michigan Youth Livestock Scholarship Fund (MYLSF) cycle for 2025, which was announced today.

The scholarship program provides funding awards for applicants that are residents of Michigan and are graduating seniors or graduated students that are continuing their education at an accredited institution in the year in which they are applying. The awards are given as either a general scholarship or a statewide scholarship. Applications for the scholarships are due on May 1, 2025.

Proceeds from the Michigan Livestock Expo Sale-Abration auction, held annually in mid-July, as well as charitable donations help fund the scholarships. The fund is governed by an 11-member board comprised of volunteers from Michigan's agricultural community, including representatives from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).

Since its inception in 2000 at the Michigan State Fair, MYLSF has awarded $840,255 in scholarships and educational awards to outstanding youth who have exhibited at premier livestock events in the state of Michigan. In 2024, A total of $50,500 in scholarships awarded to 43 deserving students.

In 2025, a select number of applicants will be offered an opportunity to interview, prior to the Sale-Abration event for a larger scholarship with awards up to $5,000. The decision is made the discretion of the MYLSF Board.

For the general MYLSF scholarship, the applicant must have been a youth exhibitor at the Michigan Livestock Expo or the Michigan Dairy Expo for a minimum of three calendar years prior to the year of application. For the statewide scholarship, an applicant must have been a youth exhibitor at a local, county, or statewide exhibition for a minimum of three years prior to the year of application.

The 2024 MYLSF scholarship winners were:

• $5,000 scholarship: Madalyn Laskowski of Bad Axe
• $4,000 scholarship: Samual Jones of Reading
• $3,000 scholarship: Olivia Black of Eagle; and Maddux Locke of Albion
• $2,000 scholarship: Nastassia Benjamin of Webberville; Madyson Garza of Palms; Jena Bradley of Cassopolis; London Eldridge of Stanton; Brianna Stockwell of Dowagiac; and Drew George of Niles
• $1,500 scholarship: Sydney Fowler of Montgomery; Joscelyn Layman of Reading; Meah Palmatier of Williamston; Jordyn Chant of DeWitt; Madyson Garza of Palms
• $1,000 scholarship: Taylor Smith of Linwood; Talan Hiemstra of Marcellus; Cassidy Cashen of Muir; Jack Thielen of Reading; Aaron Ernst of New Lothrop; Ryder Greenman of Olivet; Cassidy Harris of Ovid; Natalie Bounds of St. Johns; Zoe van Rijn of Deford; Aden Hathaway of Coldwater; Travis Boeskool of Hamilton
• $500 scholarship: Sophia Barnum of Leslie; Kate Stewart of Charlotte; Natasha Bickel of North Branch; Carragh Cashen of Muir; Tyler Landis of Homer; Willow Evans of St. Johns; Olivia Birchmeier of Durand; Lillian Merrill of Charlotte; Alivia Burlingame of Litchfield; Samantha Armstrong of Gregory; Joelle Boeskool of Hamilton; Jacob Reif of Allen; HallieAnn Holtz of Mendon; and Tally Laarman of Allegan
• $1,000 statewide scholarship: Chloe Steiner of Mecosta
• $500 statewide scholarship: Chloe Lawrason of Beaverton; Katlyn Cunningham of Corunna

Applications and qualification requirements for the MYLSF and the statewide scholarship are available online. Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 p.m. on May 1, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact Jeff Haarer, MDARD's Commodity Section Manager at 517-896-2236 or HaarerJ@Michigan.gov, or Sheila Burkhardt, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, at 248-474-6672 or sheila.burkhardt@mimilk.com.