DES MOINES, Iowa – The Pork Checkoff, Pioneer Hi-Bred and PIC will award 19 scholarships to college students as a way to develop the pork industry’s human capital.

"The development of human capital is one of the issues the Pork Checkoff identified as critical for the industry to address," said Steve Weaver, president of the National Pork Board. "Our service to producers includes ensuring there is a sustainable source of capable people ready to take on the industry's charge of producing a safe, wholesome food product in a socially responsible way."

The 19 recipients come from 14 different colleges and seven different swine-related fields of study.

The top candidate, Hyatt Frobose of Kansas State University, will reportedly receive a $10,000 stipend and the second candidate, Carrie Highfill of Oklahoma State University, will receive $5,000 in a scholarship sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. The other seventeen students selected will receive $2,500 each.

Source: The Pork Checkoff