Agricultural Commodity Risk Management

The Cattle Drive Scholarship provides tuition assistance to students pursuing agricultural risk management and capital trading studies at the University of Idaho.

• Award Amount: $1,500 per recipient 
• Number of Awards: Up to two annually, for the fall semester (awarded in spring)
• Application Deadline: April 1

Eligibility

• Full-time undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) or the College of Business and Economics (CBE).
• Enrolled in the Agricultural Commodity Risk Management Certificate Program (CALS) or the Trading and Capital Management Certificate Program (CBE).
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and in good academic standing.
• Demonstrated interest in commodity risk management and trading.

Application requirements

• One-page CV.
• A short essay (max 2 pages) outlining:
  
  • The candidate's interest in commodity risk management and trading.
  •  Involvement in the program (i.e., courses, clubs, trading, field trips)

Documents should be submitted to Andres Trujillo-Barrera at aatrujillo@uidaho.edu or Duff Bergquist at: bbergquist@uidaho.edu.

For more information or to begin the application process, contact Andres Trujillo-Barrera at aatrujillo@uidaho.edu.

Student

• Read story about Hanson Brudevold

Alumni

ACRM alum Brett Wilder ('17, B.S. agricultural economics; '19, M.S. applied economics) is an assistant professor and area Extension educator in farm business management for the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho.

Coming to the University of Idaho, Brett had no background in trading, risk management or market analysis. Learning about trading challenges, a Portland grain tour class trip, and being able to use the skills learned to earn real dollars piqued Brett's interest in the program.

"I will never forget participating in the ThinkorSwim Challenge for the first time. Together with a group of three other CALS students, we applied fundamental analysis tools learned from CALS faculty and the trading strategies learned from the CBE faculty to trade equity options during the October earnings session. Never in my life have I learned so much about a subject in such a short time."

Their team won second place in the nation that year, bringing home $20,000 which they used to establish the CattleDrive Endowment along with additional funds from CALS and CBE. These experiences continue to contribute to Brett's career success.

"I've learned to view all things in terms of 'optionality' — i.e., how I can position myself in both business and in life to prevent downside risk and take advantage of upward opportunities.”

Brett's advice to students considering the ACRM program is to get the most out of the experiences offered.

"Lessons learned will come in handy in everything from making better decisions on your home operation, understanding market movements, handling your personal retirement/trading accountings, and positioning yourself strategically to take advantage of volatility, rather than being taken advantage of by it."

Ron Rowan, director of Beef Northwest Feeders

“In today's world of market volatility and uncertainty, it is becoming increasingly important to manage commodity price risk. The University of Idaho is addressing a real need in the industry with their new and unique Agricultural Commodity Risk Management curriculum.

The program is structured with a "hands on" approach using real money and managing actual commodity positions. This experiential learning will be an asset to any employer looking for graduates who understand commodity risk management and its application in real world situations.”

Todd Strayer, director of Western Grain and Oilseeds — The Scoular Company

“As one of the trade directors for a fairly large grain company, we find it very difficult to find graduates who come out of school with "real life" knowledge. This risk management program is the first that I've been associated with that does exactly that, by giving students a strong knowledge of real life trading.

Having an understanding of risk management strategies as they relate to individual markets and the drivers of those markets is invaluable. I've talked to many students coming out of this program and am amazed at the grasp they have of individual markets, fundamental and technical analysis, supply chains, transportation, and most important, how to use this knowledge to make money.

There is a huge benefit for any company hiring a student coming out of this program due to a much shorter learning curve which allows them to be productive so much sooner and with less training costs on the front end.”