Reedy awarded $2,500 scholarship

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  • Reedy awarded $2,500 scholarship Come play with the Lincoln county news! lcnok.
    Reedy awarded $2,500 scholarship Come play with the Lincoln county news! lcnok.
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Austin Reedy’s day starts at 5:30 in the morning. His job is to bottle feed the calves on his family’s dairy farm and get cattle ready for his milk hand.

His hard work on and off the farm have not gone unnoticed.

Reedy, pictured to the right, is one of four to receive the 2020 Dairy MAX $2,500 scholarship.

When Reedy heard he won the scholarship, he was stunned.

“I feel amazing,” he said. “I’m very thankful that Dairy Max does this sort of program for dairy use. I’m really thankful. It’s going to help me out in the future as well.”

Throughout the eight-state region, the Dairy MAX scholarship had 31 applicants this year, which according to Dairy MAX Farmer Communications Manager Jordan Manning, that is the most applicants they’ve had so far.

“We are very proud of our scholarship program and how it can help our local dairy farm families and future dairy leaders,” Manning said.

In order to qualify for this scholarship, applicants must reside in the geographic territory served by Dairy MAX which includes Colorado, southwest Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, western Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.

They must be a graduating high school senior or undergraduate student currently enrolled in a junior college or four-year college program.

They must also be a child of dairy farmer, a child of a dairy farm employee or be involved in FFA or be a 4-H dairy show participant their junior or senior year in high school.

“Our dairy farm families play an important role in the success of their communities,” said Marty McKinzie, Dairy MAX’s vice president of industry image and relations.

“We are honored to recognize these outstanding students for their achievements within the dairy industry and their communities through the scholarship program.”

Manning said scholarships are awarded based on a combination of scholastic achievement, leadership and involvement in agriculture in the community.

“With the scholarship program, not only are we recognizing outstanding students, but we are empowering the next generation of the dairy farmers and advocates through supporting their higher education,” McKinzie said.

“I’ve been a part of several organizations in my school like FCA, FCCLA, FFA, but FFA was the main organization that I loved,” he said.

Reedy said he has been showing dairy cows since he was eight years old.

Not only did Reedy hold officer positions in FFA, but also encouraged other students in his school to get involved within the dairy industry.

Reedy just finished his sophomore year at Oklahoma State University and made the President’s Honor Roll.

Reedy is majoring in Agri-Business and minoring in Animal Science.

“It is a privilege to work for dairy farm families,” McKinzie said.

“We are pleased to support these students with dairy roots as they start this next chapter. They all have big plans to ensure a bright future for the dairy industry.”

Reedy is the fourth generation of his family to continue to work in the dairy industry.

“I want to continue my dad’s dairy and have it in our family,” he said.

Reedy said he would like to increase the herd to 300, implement better practices for better efficiency like putting in another barn to lessen the cattle heat stress and to monitor cattle production.

“I would like to improve the farm a lot more than what it is now,” he said.

Reedy said the one thing people should know about the dairy industry is the amount of love and hard work that goes into the job.

“People should know that we love our animals,” he said.

“We love taking care of them. We do this for a living. I love the dairy cows and we try our best in doing so, so we can get good quality milk for our consumers. So they have something good and nutritious to drink for their health.”

Reedy said the way he sees it is “you only get out what you put in.”