VERONA, Ill. — Unlike many high school and college graduates across the nation, agriculture scholarship winner Austin Granby plans to stay in his hometown, work in the family greenhouse and continue with his FFA ag project of raising pumpkins and broom corn.

“A lot of kids in my class are moving,” the Seneca Township High School grad noted. “Many are going straight to four-year universities. Others are looking for something new.

“To be honest, I think I live in the best location in the U.S. I truly love the community I’m in, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. To come back to the farm and help with the greenhouse and start my other projects that I’m looking forward to expanding on, I think is the greatest thing in the world. I wouldn’t trade it.”

Granby topped 24 other candidates across northern Illinois to win the 1st Farm Credit Services Presidential Scholarship of 2012. His scholarship totals $1,500. His contenders were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The goal is to assist students in an agriculture or rural life-related field of study and to promote ag as a growing field of career opportunities. Granby is attending Joliet Junior College this fall to pursue a degree in agribusiness.

“I really have a passion for agriculture,” Granby said. “It started through the greenhouse. I was born and raised in sight of it, and live right across the road from it. Since I was three to four years, old, I was at the greenhouse every day, helping Grandpa or Dad do something. As I got older, I put more hours in, helping as much as I can.”

A privately-owned Illinois corporation established in 1975, Granby’s Greenhouse, Inc. is on Waupecon Valley Road southwest of Morris, Ill. Granby believes his passion for agriculture is a family thing. His grandfather, father and mother were FFA chapter presidents in high school, and his aunt was a state FFA officer.

“My dad and grandparents worked together in the greenhouse,” he said. “To see how much they truly enjoyed and dedicated themselves to it, started it for me. Once I got into the greenhouse and FFA, I found how much fun you can have at working hard. If you can get that combination, you’re doing pretty darn good, and I think I have.”

Granby is a nine-year 4-H club member and its current president. He was president of his high school’s FFA chapter this year and vice president last year. “I put a lot of hours in for our chapter, and also at the state level in different contests and events. I think the scholarship panel saw the work and dedication I put in, and that kind of made me stand out from everybody else,” he said of his win.

Three years ago, he planted four acres of pumpkins for his FFA project. “Then, we sprayed something wrong on them and killed everything,” he said. “That was not good. But you try, try again.

“The next year, I planted about eight acres of pumpkins, and they were very successful. This year I have about 13 acres. Despite the drought, they’re not doing too bad.”

His broom corn, a kind of sorghum, also started as an FFA project. With all the seeds bundled at the top of the stalk and no corn ears, the plant makes a great decoration: “Absolutely fabulous,” he said.

Granby retails his pumpkins and broom corn through the greenhouse, where about 120,000 mums are raised annually for retail centers in the Chicago suburbs and Menard’s.

“It’s rough in the greenhouse business because you’re not going to buy from greenhouses if you don’t have money to put food on the table. But, we’re still getting by pretty good,” he said.