BOZEMAN – Montana State University’s College of Agriculture is seeking nominations for its Outstanding Agricultural Leader award, which will be presented during the annual Celebrate Agriculture weekend November 1-2, 2019 at MSU.

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The award recognizes individuals or families who have gone above and beyond for the Montana agricultural industry in the realms of public service, advocacy, production or business. Awardees will be honored during the Celebration of Agriculture pre-game event on Saturday, November Nov. 2.

“This award embodies the land-grant mission and values we stand for, specifically our long-standing engagement with the agricultural community of Montana, and the value we place in the leaders who have made significant contributions to agriculture,” said MSU Vice President of Agriculture Sreekala Bajwa. “Partnership with this community and leadership of those recognized with this award are vital to the success of our research and educational enterprise that provides an economic advantage to our farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses.”

The selection committee for the Outstanding Agricultural Leader award comprises past chairpersons of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Advisory Council, the College of Agriculture’s Academic Advisory Committee and the college’s development booard, as well as a current faculty member and a member of the College of Agriculture Student Advisory Council.

The 2018 honor was awarded posthumously to Ron Ueland of Butte. Ueland was a 1974 MSU graduate who spent a long career with Tri-River Chemical and ConAgra. He advocated before the Montana Legislature for $15 million in university research funding and worked closely with the College of Agriculture as president of Northern Seed Company, communicating and educating on myriad seed varieties, including those specifically engineered for agriculture in Montana.

To be considered for the award, nominees must be well respected in their agricultural community with accomplishments that have wide-ranging impact; have a lifetime of achievement in agriculture; be an industry leader or an upcoming active innovative producer; and be actively involved in the agriculture industry.

Active MSU or government employees will not be considered, except in the Friend of the COA/MAES category. Retired university or government employees will be considered if they have been retired for at least two years and have shown service above and beyond their job description. Nominees who are not selected will be reconsidered in future years, but application forms should be updated.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, August Aug. 30, and supporting letters of recommendation are highly encouraged. Nomination forms can be downloaded at http://agriculture.montana.edu/celebrateag. Completed forms can be returned to Susan Fraser, 202 Linfield Hall, P.O.Box 172860, Bozeman, MT, 59717.

The Celebrate Agriculture weekend is an annual event to honor Montana’s agricultural legacy and current and future agricultural leaders, producers and students. Further details for the event will be posted to the Celebrate Agriculture website this summer.

- By Reagan Colyer, MSU News Service -

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