KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aidyn Barber, Channing, Texas, was awarded the Ball/Cottonwood Springs Farm Scholarship during the 2026 American Hereford Association (AHA) Annual Meeting and Educational Forum in Kansas City, Mo., on Oct. 23. In a special awards ceremony, the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) and its donors awarded $168,000 in scholarships to 28 National Junior Hereford Association (NJHA) members to help support their higher-education goals.

Barber is a junior at Texas Tech University studying animal science. She plans to continue her education and pursue a master’s degree. While developing her Hereford herd, she wants to have a professional career working with youth programs and creating opportunities for junior members.

“My career goal is to build a career within the livestock industry where I can combine my passion for agriculture, leadership and working with youth,” Barber says.

The $5,000 scholarship honors the legacy of Nancy Keilty’s late father and mother, Ed and Virginia Ball. They instilled in her the mentality of always “leaving the campsite better than you found it,” and this scholarship is designed to recognize a Hereford junior with the same mentality. Nancy and her husband, Tim, own Cottonwood Springs Farm, in Cedar, Mich., where they raise Hereford cattle and focus on their Leelanau Natural Beef program, offering home grown beef to local consumers.

“It was exciting and inspiring to read scholarship applications from a very strong group of Hereford juniors,” says George Sprague, HYFA scholarship committee member. “Their academic records and their contributions both to agriculture and to their communities were first rate and set standards that make the Hereford breed proud.” 

The scholarship fund is the bedrock of HYFA, and countless youth are benefactors of its mission. Since its inception, HYFA has fueled educational opportunities with scholarships and awards. For years, these scholarships have been lighting the way for young Hereford enthusiasts. The Foundation continues to invest in the future of the Hereford breed, recently surpassing $2.6 million in scholarships awarded to youth pursuing higher education.

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The Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) was established in 2000 and is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to its four core pillars of scholarship, leadership, education and research. The mission of HYFA is to encourage, recognize and reward the development of life skills and values in the next generation of leaders by providing education, scholarship and leadership opportunities for Hereford youth. For more information about HYFA, visit Herefordyouthfoundation.org. 

Find photos and press release here.