St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. funds several different scholarships to help agriculture majors continue their education. As of February 2010, Monsanto stated it had donated nearly $1.5 million in scholarships and awards to thousands of agriculture students over the previous 10 years. The Monsanto Commitment to Agriculture scholarship was established in 1999. As of 2010, the scholarship was for $1,500 and the company awarded 100 scholarships per year. To qualify, students needed to be a high school senior from a farm family planning to enroll as a full-time agriculture major at an accredited school. The Monsanto Roadrunner scholarship was established in 2006 and provided a minimum of five scholarships of $1,500 each to high school seniors from farm families as of 2010.
The National Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization stated it awards approximately $2 million in scholarships to agriculture majors each year as of 2010. Some FFA scholarships require applicants to be a member of the organization. The FFA has more than 1,000 scholarships available each year that agriculture students can apply for by completing a single application on the FFA website at ffa.org.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 1890 Scholars Program awards more than 35 scholarships each year to agriculture students attending one of the 1890 Historically Black Land-Grant Institutions, which includes 18 universities. Students who receive one of the USDA scholarships receive money to pay for tuition, fees, books, a computer, software and living expenses for four years. Winners of the scholarship also work for the USDA while attending school and receive employee benefits. Applicants must be first-year college students with a GPA of at least 3.0 and a combined score of 1,500 or more on the SAT.
Colleges and universities often have school-specific scholarships that students can apply for, and they often have scholarships for specific programs, such as agriculture. For example, the North Dakota State University College of Agriculture, Food Systems & Natural Resources and the Utah State University College of Agriculture offer scholarships to students who meet certain criteria including high academic scores, community involvement and financial need. Other organizations fund scholarships to specific types of students, such as those interested in pursuing a career relating to horse breeding and racing or managing livestock.