Issues began the decade before as farmers began taking on more debt for land and equipment. In 1987 alone, 5,500 farmers and ranchers were uprooted in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. In response to this crisis, NDSU began a program for displaced farmers. Dean H. Roald Lund and his associate, T. Ross Wilkinson created the Farmer Career Change program in 1985, after a graduating senior, Ward Eichhorst, asked if the college could help his farming father in Washburn. That money provided up to 60 full scholarships for farmers, ranchers, and spouses in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

Source: New York Times December 08, 2023 07:05 UTC