Local student wins $1,500 First Pioneer Scholarship

Warwick — Brigitte Lyn Buckbee, of Warwick, is one of this year’s recipients of First Pioneer Farm Credit’s “Investing in First Pioneer’s Future Scholarships.” Buckbee is a junior at Cornell University, majoring in animal science. Growing up on her family’s 90-cow dairy farm, Buckbee developed her aspiration to take over the family business one day. Upon graduation, she plans to return to the farm to apply the advanced techniques and management strategies she acquired at Cornell to the operation’s maintenance, labor and breeding practices. The daughter of Wisner and Linda, Buckbee was active in the Warwick Valley High School FFA and the 4-H summer dairy judging tour. In addition, she was also involved in community activities, including working on her town’s summer road clean-up crew and for the local food pantry. “We award college scholarships annually to students pursuing careers in production agriculture, forestry, commercial fishing or agribusiness,” says Blane Allen, a vice president and branch manager of First Pioneer’s Middletown office. “Recipients are active in their communities and have demonstrated steps toward their career interests. This year, First Pioneer awarded $30,000 in scholarships to 20 impressive students who aspire to reach their lifelong goals of making a difference in their agricultural communities.” First Pioneer Farm Credit is the largest lender to agriculture in the Northeast. In addition to providing loans and leases, the organization offers a full range of agricultural-specific financial services, including tax and estate planning, record-keeping, appraisal and payroll services and crop insurance. Students interested in next year’s scholarships may log on to the First Pioneer Web site at www.firstpioneer.com in January for an application.