It’s no secret that trucking provides a critical link to famers, manufacturers, and feedlots. It was with this in mind that the Illinois Farm Bureau teamed up with the IAA Foundation (Illinois Agriculture Association) to create the Driving Agriculture Forward Scholarship to help offset the cost of obtaining a c commercial driver’s license (CDL).
“With a shared vision to ease the financial burden on individuals who need driver training, we are grateful to ISA for adding value and impact to this scholarship program,” said Jennifer Smith, IAA Foundation Development Manager.
In the program’s first year 20 individuals were selected to receive $1,000 in tuition assistance. Thanks to a charitable donation from the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA, each scholarship awarded will be doubled in 2023, allowing Illinois residents who are directly connected to agriculture and enrolled in a truck driver training course at a local community college to receive $2,000 each.
Through their gifts, the ISA and IFB are working in partnership, focused and committed to providing opportunities to drive agriculture forward.