Fruit and Vegetable Industry Scholarships

The Michigan State Horticultural Society and the Michigan Vegetable Council, with the help of generous industry Scholarship Sponsors, provide scholarships each year to students pursuing careers in or connected to the fruit and vegetable industries in the Midwest. Undergraduate and graduate students at Michigan State University and other Midwestern universities are eligible to apply. Students must be in at least the second year of their 2-year, undergraduate or graduate degree program. The target amount of each scholarship is $1,500, but it could be more or less at the discretion of the selection committee. Application submittals will open in August.

This year's application deadline is September 30.

The recipients will be selected in the fall and the scholarships will be presented at the annual banquet program during the Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO.

The Michigan Vegetable Council and the Michigan State Horticultural Society invite other companies and organizations to contribute to the scholarship fund. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please visit our page Become an Expo Sponsor or email Liv Hagerman.

Jordan Tatter Scholarship in Horticulture

Jordan was recognized statewide and nationally as a leader in agriculture, natural resources, and improving state government services.

He completed both his bachelor's and master's degrees in entomology, botany, and plant pathology from Michigan State University's Honors College inaugural class in three years and lettered in soccer where the team was undefeated all three years he played and national champions two of the three. He was a member of the Sigma Xi scientific honor society.

He began his career as an apple grower and an agricultural consultant, co-founding Prescription Farming in Eau Claire. He then worked as a district agent for fruit crops with the Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service. Among his proudest accomplishments was helping to build Hanson Cold Storage (formerly Southern Michigan Cold Storage) into one of the largest and most successful refrigerated warehousing corporations in the United States, initially as a board member and finally as President and Chief Executive Officer.

He was appointed to the Michigan Agriculture Commission in 1991 by Governor John Engler. He was elected as Chairman of the Commission four times in the ten year period he served. He served two years on the Michigan Natural Resources Commission.  Jordy passed away in 2003, the year the Tatter Scholarships were established.

In recent years, one undergraduate student and one graduate student have been selected to each receive a $2,500 scholarship award. The recipients are selected in the fall and the scholarships will be presented at the annual banquet program during the Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO.

This year's application deadline is October 1.

For more information, contact:

Jim Flore
A318 Plant and Soil Science Building
MSU Dept. of Horticulture
phone: 517 355 5191 x375

flore@msu.edu