The scholarship winners were selected from a pool of 21 applicants based on scholastic merit, leadership activities, pork production industry involvement and future pork production career plans.

"Helping develop the next generation of pork professionals is one of the top issues that the Pork Checkoff has identified as critical for the industry's future," said Karen Richter, president of the National Pork Board and a producer from Montgomery, Minn.

"Our ongoing service and obligation to producers includes ensuring that there is a sustainable source of young people ready to take on the industry's charge of producing safe, wholesome pork in a socially responsible way."

This year's top candidates were Dustin Compart, Jake Erceg and Matt Kerns, who will each receive a $5,000 scholarship. Compart, a junior at South Dakota State University from Nicollet, Minn., plans to eventually join his family's farm, selling seedstock and branded product direct to restaurants. Erceg, a junior at Kansas State University who is from Talent, Ore., hopes to pursue a Master of Science degree in swine nutrition after completing his undergraduate degree. Kerns, a junior at Iowa State University from Clearfield, Iowa, plans to obtain his Masters of Business Administration and focus on the business side of pork production. The other 15 applicants will each be awarded $2,000.

"A skilled workforce is essential for the competitiveness of this industry," Ms Richter said. "The scholarship awards help encourage these young people to pursue a career that offers many diverse opportunities. On behalf of the Pork Checkoff and its partners, we congratulate this year's Pork Industry Scholarship recipients."

You can read the full list of 18 recipients by clicking here.