National Sorghum Producers Foundation And Scholarships Duerksen Keren

About Foundation & Scholarships

Promoting Research, Education and Leadership

The National Grain Sorghum Foundation promotes research and education for sorghum and develops the leadership potential of active university students interested in studying agriculture and, more specifically, the sorghum industry.

National Sorghum Foundation Members

National Sorghum Foundation members have financially contributed to the advancement of education and science within the sorghum community.

There are also members of the Golden Grain Society who have contributed $5,000 or more in current gifts or $10,000 or more in future gifts, through wills, insurance etc.

Agriculture Scholarships for the 2026-2027 School Year

National Sorghum Foundation Scholarships

View the Scholarship Criteria and Previous Winners:

2026-2027 Agriculture Scholarships

Bruce Maunder Memorial Scholarship

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Scholarship Benefits
A selection committee made up of the Sorghum Foundation Board of Directors will rank the applications and award the winner of the Bruce Maunder Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will consist of the following:

$1,500 award to be applied toward one semester of tuition expenses

Applications
The National Sorghum Foundation will be accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2026.

Download Application Form

Questions and Submissions
For questions, please contact Jeff Dahlberg at jeff@sorghumgrowers.com or (559) 305-3555.

2026-2027 Winner – Seth Cope

Seth Cope, a senior at Texas Tech University, is the recipient of this year’s Bruce Maunder Memorial Scholarship. He is majoring in Plant and Soil Science with a focus in Crop Science, where his studies and research center around sorghum improvement, drought tolerance and crop physiology. His passion for agriculture was shaped through experiences with his agricultural family and time spent learning from producers and crop consultants in West Texas. As a member of the Texas Tech Crop and Forage Systems Lab, he has contributed to research focused on sorghum root architecture, heat stress and sustainable production systems, including the development of a 3D imaging platform for root phenotyping.

2026-2027 Agriculture Scholarships

Darrell Rosenow Memorial Scholarship

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Scholarship Benefits
A selection committee made up of the Sorghum Foundation Board of Directors will rank the applications and award the winner of the Darrell Rosenow Memorial Scholarship package. The scholarship package will consist of $1,500 to be applied toward one semester of tuition expenses.

Applications
The National Sorghum Foundation will be accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2026.

Download Application Form

Questions and Submissions
For questions, please contact Jeff Dahlberg at jeff@sorghumgrowers.com or (559) 305-3555.

2026-2027 Winner – Samantha Guzzetta

Samantha Guzzetta, a rising senior at Texas A&M University, is the recipient of this year’s Darrell Rosenow Memorial Scholarship. She is majoring in Plant and Environmental Soil Science with an emphasis in Soil and Water and is actively involved as Legacy Affairs Chair for Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority, a Soil and Crop Sciences Ambassador and a member of Texas A&M’s prestigious College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Council. Raised showing livestock through FFA, Guzzetta developed a passion for agriculture that continues to shape her education and career goals. Following a summer internship with Georgia-Pacific as an environmental engineering intern, she plans to pursue a career in environmental health and safety while advocating for the importance of agriculture in everyday life.

2026-2027 Agriculture Scholarships

Bill Kubecka Memorial Scholarship

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Scholarship Benefits
A selection committee made up of the Sorghum Foundation Board of Directors will rank the applications and award the winner of the Bill Kubecka Memorial Scholarship package. The scholarship will consist of the following:

$1,500 award to be applied toward one semester of tuition expenses.
A trip to Washington, D.C., with NSP or a virtual meeting. Students will meet their Congressional representatives and watch the legislative process as association leaders discuss and resolve timely agricultural issues for the producers they represent. The trip will coincide with NSP’s legislative fly-in.

Applications
The National Sorghum Foundation will be accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2026.

Download Application Form

Questions and Submissions
For questions, please contact contact Jeff Dahlberg at jeff@sorghumgrowers.com or (559) 305-3555.

2026-2027 Winner – William Robinson

William Robinson, a second-year law student at Texas A&M University School of Law, is the recipient of the Bill Kubecka Memorial Scholarship. Robinson is focusing his studies on agricultural law, property law and public policy after earning degrees in agricultural journalism from the University of Missouri and agricultural studies from The Ohio State University. Raised on his family’s livestock operation in east-central Missouri, he remains actively involved in agriculture while helping revive the Agricultural Law Club at Texas A&M. Through internships with the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, a Texas litigation firm and the Texas Legislature, he is building a career dedicated to advancing agricultural policy.

Testimonials

Hear From Past Recipients

“...communicating where you are from and what you do to other people, especially in D.C., is really important in this day and age...”
“I think talking to lawmakers and all of the farmers that I went around Capitol Hill with really exposed me to the idea that communicating where you are from and what you do to other people, especially in D.C., is really important in this day and age where not that many people are still involved on the farm. You may think they know what is going on but they really don't. If you don't tell them, someone else is going to tell them for you."
- Ciera Ware | Bruce Maunder Sorghum Leadership Scholarship | Texas Tech University - Plant and Soil Sciences

“…in school I loved math and science, and I thought about combining those two things. That led me to agronomy, and I’ve loved it ever since…”
“Growing up on a small farm, I always loved asking dad questions. I was the fourth child and my brothers all grew up and left the home, so my parents took me to all the farm meetings, all the different insurance meetings, and I loved asking questions,” Duerksen said. “I loved learning about it. But in school I loved math and science, and I thought about combining those two things. That led me to agronomy, and I’ve loved it ever since."
- Keren Deurksen | Darrell Rosenow Memorial Scholarship | Kansas State University Agronomy Major

“…you kind of have to see if you relate to that in a sense that it is not only a monetary support, it is an investment in your future…”
“No matter what the scholarship is, you need to do your research. There’s usually clues about the goals and the values of the scholarship as well as related to the organization. You kind of have to see if you relate to that in a sense that it is not only a monetary support, it is an investment in your future,” Traskowsky said. “So you want to make sure that you are wanting to learn more about it or doing something that is going to benefit both yourself and the organization that is putting the money out there to help you go to school."
- Mardi Traskowsky | Sorghum Feed & Food Scholarship | Kansas State University - Milling Science & Management Major

Foundation

Sorghum Foundation Leadership

Jeff Dahlberg, Chairman

Prior to his role with the National Sorghum Foundation, Dahlberg worked for more than a decade as the director of the University of California Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier and has spent time as the research geneticist and sorghum curator at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Tropical Crops and Germplasm Research Center in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. He also dedicated 20 years to working as the research director for National Sorghum Producers and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program, during which he served for two years as the president of the Whole Grains Council.

Sorghum Foundation Board

Jeff Dahlberg National Sorghum Foundation Chairman Parlier, California

J.B. Stewart Keyes, Oklahoma

Scott Staggenborg Longmont, Colorado

Doug Keesling Chase, Kansas

National Sorghum Producers Staff Larry Lambright

Larry Lambright Lubbock, Texas

Sorghum Foundation Highlight

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Foundation & Scholarships

Promoting Research, Education and Leadership

Questions & Submissions