Holly Niefergold

A North Collins High School senior is one of two statewide recipients of the 2023 New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship.

Holly Niefergold of Lawtons will get $2,000 from the bureau. Her family dairy farm is a member of the Cattaraugus County Farm Bureau.

Niefergold plans to attend SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology in Cobleskill to major in agriculture business management. She intends to start her own agritourism business.

Crowned the Erie County Dairy Princess in 2020, Niefergold currently works for Milk for Health, Erie County Agricultural Society, and the Northeast AgriSolutions Force. She’s also an active member of 4-H, FFA and the Erie County Dairy Promotion Program.

At North Collins High School, Niefergold is president of Students Against Destructive Decisions, stage crew leader in Drama Club and a member of the school band. She also finds time to volunteer at the Eden/North Collins Food Pantry.

For the scholarship competition, a panel of judges from the state Farm Bureau selected winners in 11 districts across the state based on essay submissions and applications.

The district winners then competed for the two statewide scholarships. The other statewide winner is Jacob Ziehm from Schaghticoke, which is in eastern New York.