Bumpers College Students Earn Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Scholarships

Micayla Blair

Front from left: Bumpers College academic advisor Lucas Simmons, Bairek Bush and Heather Parks, Bumpers College project specialist for scholarships, development and external relations. Back: Crop science professor Rick Norman, Neal Benson, Charlie Farr, Matthew Woolard and Chuck Farr, Bumpers College graduate (agronomy, 1987) and chairman of the AACA Scholarship Committee.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four students in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences have earned scholarships from the Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Association.

Chuck Farr, a Bumpers College graduate with a bachelor's degree in agronomy in 1977, was on campus recently to present the scholarships to crop science majors Neal Benson, Bairek Bush, Charlie Farr and Matthew Woolard.

Benson is from Manila, Bush from Fisher, Farr from Proctor and Woolard Fayetteville, all in Arkansas.

"Students from the U of A Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences have received 95 percent of the AACA scholarships awarded over the last six years," said Farr. "That is something to be said for CSES students."

Farr is chairman of the AACA Scholarship Committee and a crop consultant with Mid-South Ag Consultants.

The AACA is an organization of licensed agricultural consultants in the state. It was formed to serve consultants and the agricultural industry by providing current information, promoting research, assisting producers in the production of crops by the most economical means and promoting improved environmental practices. AACA consultants inspect their growers' crops throughout the season and report findings and recommendations.

AACA also sponsors a $750 scholarship for a high-school senior who will be enrolling as a freshman.  The application deadline is Feb. 15 each year.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.