STAR Future of Agriculture Scholarship 2026

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Eligibility: high school seniors or college/trade students with at least one year remaining.

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Essay Prompt:

From Field to Future: Your Lived Problem & Impact Pathway in Agriculture

Write an essay that focuses on a problem you have personally encountered in agriculture and how you plan to create solutions that benefit current and future generations. Your response must be based on first-hand experience and include specific details only you would know.

Key Areas to Address in Your Essay

Personal Agricultural Challenge
Describe a day-to-day problem you have experienced in agriculture. Explain the context, why it matters, and any steps you have taken or considered to address it.
Impact Pathway (Future Plans & Goals)
Connect your education and training plans (high school grade and focus; college or trade major) to a clear impact pathway in agriculture. Explain how your future goals will contribute to solving challenges or advancing the industry.
Ethics & Trade-offs
Identify who benefits from your proposed solution and who might be disadvantaged (e.g., smallholders vs. large operations, local ecosystems, different workers). Propose at least one mitigation strategy to address potential negative impacts.

Minimum Requirement: 300 Words

Upload your essay in one of the following formats below: pdf, doc, docx.*

Important: The deadline for entry into the contest is April 17th, 2026. Essays should be at least 300 words. The contest will be limited to those who reside or attend school in one of the following Indiana counties: Allen, Blackford, Boone, DeKalb, Delaware, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Huntington, Howard, Jay, Madison, Marion, Noble, Randolph, Steuben, Tipton, Whitley or Wells.

To be eligible, students must currently be a senior in high school or have at least one year remaining in their college/trade school in Fall of 2026. Eligible high school students would need to be entering a trade or collegiate program within two years of earning the scholarship.

STAR employees and their immediate family members, regardless of where they live, or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter the contests. STAR will determine eligibility at its sole discretion.

Previous winners are not eligible to receive awards in consecutive years. This policy ensures fair recognition and opportunities for all participants.

If you have any questions, reach out to Chris Stark, Senior Commercial Banker by emailing him at chris.stark@starfinancial.com.

By clicking Submit, you grant STAR permission to publish, share, and distribute this content without additional notice, approval, or compensation. If selected as a scholarship recipient, you understand that your image and details may be featured publicly to promote STAR’s scholarship program and community initiatives.

If you have questions or wish to request limitations on the use of your information, please contact marketing@starfinancial.com before submitting your application.