Waitaki Girls' High School pupil Holly Beazer (18) receives $2000 towards the costs of attending Lincoln University next year, where she will begin studying for a bachelor of science majoring in soil and plant science.
The five scholarship applicants were interviewed by a panel of Federated Farmers and ANZ personnel. Federation vice-president Jared Ross said all candidates were ''quality individuals'' but Holly was their unanimous choice.
She had ''a really good understanding''of issues rural people were facing, including climate change and how it could affect future food production.
Holly, who lives on a lifestyle block, grew up mostly on dairy farms. She said she was passionate about agriculture, horticulture and science and also enjoyed being outdoors.
She does not want to become a farmer but would keep her future options open.
''I would like to be able to pursue a career in which I am able to use scientific knowledge to help farmers increase production whilst using less resources and being more sustainable.
''As our populations in the world are increasing, the amount of resources we have is also decreasing.
''I see this as an issue we are going to have to face and would love to be able to research and apply methods in how we can create more sustainable industries so that we are still able to provide for our people.''
Mr Ross said the federation was looking forward to hearing how Holly progressed with her studies.
It had received a ''fantastic report'' from last year's scholarship recipient, Waitaki Valley student Isabelle Keeling.
