Harrisburg – The American Agriculturalist Foundation has donated $100,000 to support the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania’s Endowment Fund. This generous donation helps kick off a year-long effort to build the center foundation’s endowment to $1 million to support dairy youth and development initiatives.

“We are appreciative of the American Agriculturalist Foundation’s generous donation, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to carry on their work in supporting leadership education and youth development initiatives,” said Emily Yeiser, dairy initiatives manager, Center for Dairy Excellence.

 The center’s foundation has had tremendous success with educational and scholarship programs, thanks to key partnerships and donations like the American Agriculturalist contribution. Key initiatives funded by the foundation include the Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow program, the On-Farm Internship and Scholarship programs.

The Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow program was fine-tuned and enhanced for the 2014-2015 school year. Three courses are offered, as well as two industry certifications all available on a new website launched at www.dairyleadersoftomorrow.com. Enrollment in the program has taken off, with more than 2,500 students enrolled to date.

Additionally, each year, up to seven students are selected to participate in on-farm internships, thanks in part to the center foundation. The partnership between the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation connects students with farms to complete a 10–12 week on-farm internship program, intended to provide on-farm learning experiences to the next generation of dairy managers in Pennsylvania. 

 Scholarships are another part of the foundation that allow students to attend events, and partnerships with other industry organizations can be established as well.

Thanks to increased support from the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, seven college-level students received $3,000 scholarships through the Student Leader Scholarship Program. Additionally, more than 40 students and young producers attended the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit through the Future Leaders Scholarship provided by the center foundation and the Dairymen’s Association.

These key initiatives are made possible through the generous support of the Foundation.  To learn more about the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation and how you can support these initiatives and others, please visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/our-foundation/or contact Emily Yeiser, Dairy Initiatives Manager, ateyeiser@centerfordairyexcellence.org