North Dakota’s Hope Page High School FFA students win scholarships

For Immediate Release: May 31, 2023

Contact: Doug Jardine 801.638.5020

Sandy, UT — Nano-Yield™, the world’s foremost manufacturer and distributor of nanoliquid™ technology for agricultural use, has recognized Hope, North Dakota Future Famers of America (FFA) students in an essay contest, detailing their role in the future of all ag-related businesses.

In the contest, overseen by Hope Page High School FFA Adviser, Sarah Wendt, and through cooperation with Erickson Custom Operations of Colgate, North Dakota, all members of the FFA club were offered the chance to address the essay theme: The Next Generation of Agriculture: How My Peers Will Make a Difference.  Several students took part and in a fun twist, both money winners were juniors. Esther Steinke won the first place price of $3500.00 and Kaleb Dows won second place and a check for $1500.00.

Clark Bell, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Nano-Yield™, formerly known as Aqua-Yield®, thanked all those who wrote essays for this contest. “I'm just very excited about the future of farming. And by reading these letters, I'm even more excited about the new generation,” he said. “And, I can promise you that with your tenacity, with your passion, with your drive and as you find purpose, you'll enter into this field of agriculture and you'll be blown away by the results of what it can do to shape you to be a better person, to serve your community and to feed the world.”

In an excerpt from her winning essay, Ms. Steinke shared these thoughts: My peers, the farmers and ranchers of the next generation, will face new challenges as they work to provide food for people worldwide. Since 2007, the number of farms in the U.S. has steadily dropped. As farms have gotten larger, the risks have also gotten larger. The challenge is that every year farmers are risking their net worth just to put the next year’s crop in. The expenses are high without a guaranteed return. The advantage our generation has is access to education and experienced agricultural minds who can pass their knowledge down to us. While the number of farms does go down each year, the future is bright as long as we work to assuage the risks and continue to encourage our peers. 

With new challenges also comes new opportunities. Agriculture is a field that is always evolving. The agriculture industry has radically transformed just over the past fifty years. Advances in machinery have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm equipment, leading to more efficient use of more land. Seed, irrigation, and fertilizers also have vastly improved, which helps farmers increase yields. Now, agriculture is in the early days of yet another revolution. Artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies could further increase yields, improve the efficiency of water, and build sustainability. The next generation of workers in the industry must embrace the digital transformation. These new technologies can upgrade decision-making to allow better risk management to optimize yields and improve economics. My peers are at the turning of an age in agriculture, and what an exciting opportunity lies ahead. 

Experiencing the success of this initial foray into essay contests and scholarships, Nano-Yield® executives have already committed to duplicating the program next year, and may, in fact, expand to other strategic areas for the company. 

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Aqua Yield® Operations, LLC is a nanoliquid™ technology brand. Our patented delivery system allows growers to more efficiently and effectively deliver their crop/turf inputs into the plant. While most nutrients enter the plant cell wall through active transport or diffusion, the nanoliquid™ particle will load the molecules in the tank and then bulk transport them through the cell wall via endocytosis for a quicker and more efficient delivery method.

Hope, ND FFA Students with Darcy and Jim Erickson of ECO.

Esther Steinke, winner of the $3500 scholarship.  Read her essay HERE .

Kaleb Dows, winner of the $1500 scholarship.  Read his essay HERE .