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����Ӱ�� student Ella Stiefvater of Salem has been awarded a 2025 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation scholarship, honoring her outstanding achievement and commitment to agricultural communications.

Stiefvater is the recipient of the Orion Samuelson Scholarship, sponsored by CME Group Inc. in support of promising talent in the field.

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation awarded $47,500 in college scholarships in 2025 to six students pursuing careers in agricultural communications. Stiefvater was recognized at the foundation’s Celebration Luncheon in November 2025 during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Stiefvater’s selection reflects her strong foundation in agricultural broadcasting and her dedication to elevating the voices of farmers and ranchers. She has served as a farm broadcasting intern with Rural Radio Network, gaining hands-on experience interviewing industry leaders and agricultural producers.

Her role as a marketing and communications intern for SDSU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences strengthened her ability to communicate complex agricultural topics to a variety of audiences. She further expanded her on-air and live-event skills as a livestock show broadcasting intern with Show Barn Flix as well as a marketing and education internship with Stockyards Ag Experience.

Combined, these experiences collectively demonstrate her commitment to agricultural storytelling and her readiness to contribute meaningfully to the future of farm broadcasting.

We sat down with Stiefvater to talk about this recent recognition.

Q: What does receiving this scholarship mean to you?

Ella Stiefvater: I am humbled and so grateful to be one of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting scholarship recipients, especially one in honor of the great Orion Samuelson. Getting to work alongside passionate farm broadcasters has been an incredible learning opportunity the past three years, and the teams at Rural Radio Network and WNAX deserve the most credit for my work. Serving our farmers and ranchers through the radio is a joy and privilege.

Q: What does it mean to be recognized at the national level by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation?

E.S.: Being recognized alongside five outstanding voices in agriculture that I get to call peers is an incredible honor. Across the country, farm broadcasting is alive and well, serving an audience who feeds, clothes and fuels the world. To see a small piece of that critical service and contribute in my own small way, I am very grateful for.

Q: What drew you to agricultural communications at SDSU?

E.S.: My very first experience with agriculture broadcasting was in seventh grade for an FFA leadership development event. My adviser encouraged me to give it a try, and I was hooked after the first contest. Since that day I knew I was passionate about agriculture communications, and after owning my own photography business in high school, I knew I wanted to make a career in the field. As a second-generation Jackrabbit, it was a natural fit to choose a school that valued agriculture the way I did and provided so many learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. It also allowed me to serve as a state FFA officer, which further solidified my decision.

Q. What SDSU experiences have most shaped your passion for your agricultural communications?

E.S.: I am so grateful for the many people and organizations that have shaped my passion for agriculture and specifically communications during my time at SDSU. Right near the top I need to thank the Collegian Report crew and Rocky Dailey for allowing me to contribute as a co-anchor and host of the “Jackrabbit Ag Report.” I’d also like to thank Little International for giving me hands-on experience as a writer for the catalog and to see my work in print.

Working for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences marketing and communications team has also had a tremendous impact on my multimedia skills from writing for Growing South Dakota to social media strategy and even graphic design. The Collegiate Cattlemen's Club trusted me to lead their social media and communication efforts, and it was followed by a role on the college’s Prexy Council doing a very similar job crafting our outreach to students. Truly each experience has given me an opportunity to grow as a person and as a professional, and any recognition I receive really points back to my mentors and those who trusted me to represent them.

Scholarships like the one awarded to Stiefvater are part of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation’s broader mission of investing in the future of farm broadcasting and agricultural communications. The foundation is the nonprofit charitable and educational arm of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, dedicated to ensuring the quality and viability of farm broadcasting and agriculture communications now and into the future.