Farm Foundation Next Generation Programs

In 2013, Farm Foundation established its first Next Generation Program, Cultivators. The aim of the Cultivators program is to nurture the next generation of industry leaders by inviting six university students to attend and present at each Farm Foundation Round Table meeting. There are currently 109 alumni of this program, many of whom are now in leadership positions in agriculture. In 2020, Farm Foundation in partnership with the USDA Economic Research Service created the Ag Scholars program, focused on development of graduate students in applied and agricultural economics. As a year-long program, this partnership with ERS connects students with a USDA economist mentor and has provided our cohorts with exclusive professional development opportunities including meetings with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chief Economist, the Administrator for ERS as well as participation in WASDE lock up meetings and more. At inception, the program included 10 students per year but expanded for the third year and beyond to 15 total students, with a focus on recruiting additional students from 1890 Land Grant Institutions. There are currently 18 alumni of this program. Additionally, in 2020 the new Young Agri Food Leaders and Young Farmer Accelerator programs started to actively engage emerging leaders in farming, food, and agribusiness in a yearlong series of interactive learning and networking experiences, focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the food and agriculture value chain. There are currently 10 Young Agri-Food Leader alumni and 15 Young Farmer Accelerator Alumni from across the country.