Stockmen award scholarships

The North Dakota Stockmen’s Foundation awarded two collegiate scholarships, each valued at $500, to Levi Rue of Sheyenne, N.D., and Nickolas Hart of Chaseley, N.D.

Both Rue and Hart attend North Dakota State University in Fargo, and are pursing beef-related degrees.

In addition to short-answer questions, applicants were required to compose an essay about one issue facing today’s cattle producers.

Rue wrote about the importance of advocacy to dispel inaccurate public perception.

“The general public is easily led to wrong conclusions involving animal agriculture and animal treatment,” he wrote. “The underlying problem be-hind this is that a few producers are careless and do not take enough pride in their work to protect the industry. These few bad apples give everyone a bad image, and it will eventually lead to the downfall of the cattleman. We need to hold ourselves responsible and take action to show that we are good people and good leaders that can handle ourselves in a responsible manner,” he concluded.

Rue earned an associate degree in farm and ranch management at Bismarck State College in 2009. He is majoring in pre-veterinary medicine at NDSU. He plans on becoming a large-animal veterinarian and returning to his hometown to practice.

Rue is the son of Greg and Brenda Rue.

Hart selected the topic of bacterial resistance due to the overtreatment of antibiotics.

He wrote, “If antibiotics are used carelessly, certain strains of bacteria find ways of fighting their effects, making them useless.”

Hart also is majoring in pre-veterinary medicine. After vet school, he plans on returning to North Dakota and working in a largeor mixed-animal practice.

He is the son of Kim and Laura Hart.

The NDSF is the support arm of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association. Created a year ago, the foundation supports beef-related research, education, promotion, leadership and building objectives. Contributions to the NDSF are tax-deductible.

Tags: community, education, stockmen, scholarships