Got a high school senior or college student at home over the holiday break? Encourage your son or daughter to spend time investing in their future by applying for a $1,000 renewable scholarship from the Iowa Farm Bureau Fed­­eration.

In 2017, the Iowa Farm Bureau will award 54, $1,000 scholarships to students pursuing a two- or four-year undergraduate degree. Six students will be selected in each of the nine Iowa Farm Bureau Federation districts.

Students are eligible to renew the scholarships for up to four years by maintaining a minimum grade point average of 2.5 and by being a student in good standing with the college and university.

To be eligible for a scholarship, students must be sons or daughters of Iowa Farm Bureau members. Applicants must apply in the county where their Farm Bureau membership is held.

Applicants must be a high school graduate or have an expected high school graduation date of spring 2017. College freshman, sophomores or juniors in a two- or four-year accredited college or university are also eligible to apply.

In addition, applicants must be working toward a degree in one of the following agriculture, health, education or conservation fields: ag production, including veterinary science; ag products and processing, including food or nutritional sciences; ag business; agricultural research; conservation and natural resources; agricultural ec­­onomics; education (ag ed­­ucation and/or elementary and secondary teachers only); environmental systems, such as mechanical engineering or wind turbine energy; forestry; horticulture; mechanization; and nursing, for applicants who will work with clients in rural communities.

Scholarship applications must be postmarked on or before March 1, 2017. Please send the completed application to your county Farm Bureau office.

Applications are available online. Contact your county Farm Bureau office if you have questions.