HURON, S.D. – Winners of the South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) Farming for the Future Scholarship contest were announced during the organization’s 109th State Convention held in Huron, December 11 and 12.
Winners are: Hailey Kizer, from Howard placed first receiving $3,000; Karlie Stiefvater, from Salem placed second receiving $2,000; Madi Raymond, from Ethan placed third receiving $1,500; Aeriel Eitreim, from Sioux Falls placed fourth receiving $1,000 and Madelyn Caulfield, from Bradley placed fifth receiving $500.
Students’ placings reflect points earned each week by creating social media posts focused on agriculture. Weekly winners also received scholarship dollars.
South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation awarded a total of $15,000 in scholarships to student agriculture advocates.
“This scholarship contest gave Farmers Union another opportunity to focus on agriculture education,” explained Samantha Bowman, SDFU Education Program Specialist. “There’s a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to agriculture, and these students took on the challenge to debunk the misconceptions and educate individuals about agriculture.”
While she worked to create engaging and informative posts each week, McCook Central senior, Karlie Stiefvater said she also learned a bit. “I learned a lot about Farmers Union as an organization and I learned how to create posts that people wanted to look at.”
Fall 2025 Stiefvater plans to attend South Dakota State University (SDSU) and pursue degrees in agronomy and agriculture science. “I am super involved in my family’s farm and I’ve always loved the crop side of things. I hope to return to farm with my dad and sister after college.”
Unlike scholarships she has applied for in the past, SDSU sophomore, Aeriel Eitreim said Farming for the Future was fun. “It was something different,” Eitreim said. “Most scholarships you have to write a bunch of essays and you wait to see if you get the scholarship or not. I liked the fact that this scholarship was a contest and I could earn money each week that I won.”
Eitreim grew up in Sioux Falls but spends quite a bit of time on her family’s farm.
“Because I grew up in the city but spent so much time on farms, from a young age I realized my friends at school did not know much about where their food comes from or agriculture in general, Eitreim explained. “This contest gave me an opportunity to educate my friends and others.”
Eitreim has been participating in Farmers Union youth and leadership camps since she was 8. And over the years, she served in several youth leadership capacities, most recently serving as on the Senior Advisory Council and as an SDFU intern.
Educating youth on agriculture has been a big part of Hailey Kizer’s freshman year at SDSU. Serving as the State FFA Reporter, in addition to her class load, the pre-veterinary major travels the state hosting classroom workshops along with the other officers she serves with.
“Agriculture is what I love. It has always been a part of my life and this is the reason I want to build my career in agriculture,” Kizer said. “I enjoyed this contest. For me, it was not just about earning scholarship dollars – which are important because vet school is extremely expensive – but it was really about the opportunity to share about agriculture.”
Ethan senior, Madi Raymond agreed. Actively involved in Farmers Union youth programming, summer 2024 Raymond helped organize and facilitate a state leadership and youth camp along with other high school youth who serve as Junior Advisory Council members. It was through her involvement in Farmers Union that she first became interested in agriculture advocacy.
“I see how Farmers Union advocates for agriculture with policy makers and people from across the state and nation, and it is inspiring,” Raymond explained that she plans to attend SDSU and pursue degrees in agriculture communications and political science. “Farmers Union introduced me to agriculture advocacy, and I fell in love with it.”
SDSU freshman animal science and political science major Madelyn Caufield said the Farming for the Future scholarship contest introduced her to agriculture advocacy. “Until this contest, I did not post to social media or create social media videos. When this contest started is when I got my Facebook account,” said Caufield, who quickly figured out how to create engaging posts. Along with placing in the top five, Caufield was named Social Media Rock Star for creating the best overall social media post during the seven week contest.
“Agriculture makes our world run,” explained Caufield who raises show cattle with her sisters on their family farm. “I feel like not enough people realize that when you get dressed in the morning, when you eat your breakfast, when you start your car – it all starts with agriculture. Social media is a great way to help get the message out.”
To see the social media posts made by Caufield, Eitreim, Stiefvater, Raymond and other student agriculture advocates, search “#farmingforthefuture #SouthDakota” on your favorite social media platform.
To learn more about these scholarship recipients and all the ways SDFU supports rural youth, visit www.sdfu.org.
