Veterinary students at the University of California, Davis, will be among those benefiting from a $1 million-plus scholarship program recently established by the owners of Foster Farms poultry producers to aid college students who are pursuing agriculture-related careers at four California universities. The Max and Verda Foster Memorial Scholarship Endowment Funds have been distributed to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo; and the Fresno and Stanislaus campuses of the California State University. The scholarship recipients, selected on the basis of aptitude, academic standing and demonstrated experience in their field, must be pursuing careers in food animal medicine, poultry management, dairy science, agribusiness or agricultural education. Beginning this year, students at each university will be awarded full four-year scholarships from the endowment funds. On May 7, two recipients from the UC School of Veterinary Medicine will each be presented with an $8,000 scholarship to assist with their academic expenses. In future years similar awards will be generated by the Foster Scholarship Endowment Fund. "We are honored to have the names of Max and Verda Foster so prominently associated with our scholarship program," said Dr. Bennie Osburn, dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "The Foster family is a recognized leader in California agricultural production. This scholarship fund also makes them a leading supporter of veterinary and agricultural education in the state." The scholarship funds were established by their children this year in memory of Max and Verda Foster. In 1939 the elder Fosters purchased an 80-acre farm near Modesto, Calif., and began raising turkeys. A few years later they bought a second farm and switched to raising chickens. Over the years the family added to the business a feed mill as well as poultry-processing, packaging, sales and distribution operations. The Fosters also established their own dairy herds and creamery. Today, Foster Farms is the largest fresh poultry producer in the western United States.