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Almond Facts
MAY | JUNE 2016
BDG
Foundation
Awards
12 Scholarships
for Fall 2016
Agriculture is an ever-evolving industry. It will
require the dedication of a new generation to
continue meeting the needs of a growing global
population. With these needs in mind, the
Blue
Diamond
Growers
Foundation
seeks to assist
students whose goal is to be a positive influence on
the future of agriculture through scholarship funds.
This year, the Foundation awarded 12 scholarships
to deserving students who hail from the almond-
growing regions of the Central Valley and plan to
pursue an agriculture-related degree.
Here are profiles of this year’s
Blue Diamond Growers Foundation
scholarship recipients, with an excerpt from their essay in
which they were asked to describe a key problem in agriculture.
Jose Pimentel
– McFarland
Fall 2016 School:
University of California, Davis
Major:
Plant Science
“There are many issues in the world today which
can all be solved with plants, and for that reason I
have decided that this major is what I need to pursue
in order to make a difference in the world. Some of
the problems that could be helped by agriculture
are feeding a growing world population, the need
for healthier foods, lowering pollution, finding
renewable energy sources and climate change.”
Julia Pitman
– Tulare
Fall 2016 School:
Oklahoma State University
Major:
Agricultural Communications
“In my opinion, the most important issue facing agriculture is a lack of public awareness.
There is a large population that doesn’t understand that without dairies and farmland,
there would be no food, clothing or everyday products needed to survive. The lack of
public awareness is not just among our citizens but also with our elected officials who
lack the education to lobby for agricultural interests.”
Kent Norman
– Stockton
Fall 2016 School:
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Major:
Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering
“The most prevalent problems with agriculture and farming today are the lack of water
and the lack of labor. Although California is starting to come out of the drought, there will
still be fights for water in the future and we will need to be more efficient with irrigating
our crops. Also the lack of agricultural laborers means that labor prices will increase and
we will need to find new ways in which to be more efficient. I hope that my work as an
agricultural engineer will help ease these issues and make farms profitable.”
