Pictured (left to right) are: Michael DeLong, vice president – commercial/agriculture loan officer, Pillar Bank. Cassandra Krause, executive director, Wisconsin Bankers Foundation. Jenny Jereczek, director of agriculture banking & market president – Durand, Security Financial Bank. Taylor Lindsay, 2023 WBF Agricultural Banking Scholarship recipient. Dr. Brenda Boetel, professor and Agricultural Economics department chair, University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Tony Betley, vice president – senior agricultural banking officer, Nicolet National Bank.
Chad Achenbach and Taylor Lindsay are the 2023 Agricultural Banking Scholarship.
The Wisconsin Bankers Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, awarded the money. Two $1,500 scholarships go to students who demonstrate a strong understanding of the importance of financial literacy. Students are actively pursuing a career in agricultural finance.
Chad Achenbach is a declared double major in agribusiness and animal science expected to graduate from UW-Platteville in May 2025. Achenbach grew up on a hobby farm in Eastman, Wis. He’s active throughout the ag community, including 4-H and FFA through high school. In 2020, Achenbach became an inaugural member of the Wisconsin Agriculture Youth Council. Here, he gained insight into state agricultural policy development and tools available to support Wisconsin farmers. At UW-Platteville, Achenbach is active in Alpha Gamma Rho (Beta Gamma chapter), Block and Bridle, and the Pioneer Dairy Club. He also serves as an ambassador for the UW-Platteville School of Agriculture. During the summer of 2023, Achenbach interned at Peoples State Bank in Prairie du Chien, Wis. as an ag loan officer.
Taylor Lindsay is a declared agricultural business major and animal science minor expected to graduate from UW–River Falls in May 2025. Growing up on her family’s beef farm in Boyd, Wis., Lindsay has been around agriculture her entire life. Involved in 4-H and FFA throughout high school, Lindsay is pursuing an agribusiness career to not only remain active in the agricultural industry but also to help make a difference in her community. At UW–River Falls, Lindsay is a member of the Agricultural Business and Marketing Society, Agribusiness Leadership Team, Block and Bridle, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and Collegiate Livestock Judging Team. During the summer of 2023, Lindsay interned as an agriculture credit analyst at Nicolet National Bank in Eau Claire, Wis.
“In awarding the Agricultural Banking Scholarship to two deserving individuals, the Foundation aims to support and encourage the growth of talent in the agricultural finance sector,” says Foundation Chair Rose Oswald Poels. “I am pleased to recognize Chad and Taylor for their achievements and outstanding commitment to Wisconsin’s agricultural industry and wish them the very best in their future agribusiness careers.”
