Welcome to the Winter 2025 AgriProspects Workforce Development newsletter. We have decided to combine efforts and produce one quarterly newsletter to go out to everyone, and each issue will include programming from across the country plus a focus on a specific region. We feel like this will get the most information to the most people and look forward to sharing with everyone. If items of regional interest emerge, we will use the regional mailing lists to provide updates.
Save the Date! AgriProspects Summit Plans are underway for the first AgriProspects Summit, which will be held in Nashville, TN, June 24-25, 2025. This gathering will bring together practitioners from across the country around the topic of adult agricultural workforce development programming offered by Cooperative Extension. Whether you are new to the topic or a long-time contributor, we invite you to participate in this informative and engaging two-day event. Please visit the event website to sign up for future updates about this exciting event: https://agriprospects.extension.org/agriprospects-summit-2025/
Professional Development Webinar Series
Join us on tomorrow on January 15th from 3:00-4:00 Eastern for our next webinar showcasing innovative projects supporting agricultural entrepreneurship and the ecological land management workforce. Learn about Farm Business Coaching: Cultivating Entrepreneurship, a transformative program from the University of Maryland Extension that equips agricultural entrepreneurs with tools for success, and Permaculture for Professionals, led by Utah State University, which advances training in regenerative and ecological land management techniques. These initiatives, both recipients of AgriProspects Round 1 mini-grants, demonstrate practical solutions to workforce challenges while paving the way for broader educational impact. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights and connect with leaders driving workforce innovation in diverse fields. Read more about these projects and register below!
While we’re on the topic, we’re happy to share that we’ll be offering these webinars every other month to spotlight and share some of the great things happening in this area. Times are 3:00 – 4:00 Eastern. Mark your calendar now for March 19th to learn about the AgriProspects Marketplace!
Mini-Grant Awardees
In case you missed it, the mini-grant awardees have been announced and are beginning programming. The 11 projects represent 16 Land-grant institutions from across the country as well as a variety of external stakeholders:
Colorado State University, Agricultural Workforce Development: Building Capacity for Young Adults with Disabilities
The Pennsylvania State University, Success Skills in Spanish 4 Ag (SSS4A)
South Dakota State University, Dairy Farm Safety Management: Promoting Biosecurity, Safety, and Hazard Control for Hispanic Workers
University of Hawaii, Developing Supplemental Courses to Increase Hawaii Farm Revenues
University of Maryland, Farm Business Coaching: Cultivating Entrepreneurship
University of Kentucky, Filling Gaps in the Specialty Crop Ag Workforce: A Focus on Minority and Underserved Populations
University of Kentucky, Growing Kentucky Growers: A Project for Prison Horticulture Education Expansion
University of Vermont, Farmworker Education Hub
Utah State University, Permaculture for professionals: Developing pathways for a skilled workforce in regenerative and ecological land management
Virginia Tech, Leveraging inter-organizational resources to develop multilingual viticultural educational materials and training resources for Virginia farmworkers
Washington State University, Phase 1 (of 3) Modernization and Expansion of WSU Extension's "Cultivating Success Sustainable Small Farms Education Program"
Regional Highlight: Northeast
1. Workforce Development Spotlight: University of Maryland Extension Internship Program
“Creating Leadership & Professional Development Through Extension Internships” was launched in 2022 to address the growing need for qualified professionals in agriculture and Extension roles. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), this program provides a 10-week, 40-hour-per-week paid summer internship for 7–10 undergraduate students exploring careers in agriculture and food systems. The program actively recruits students from two-year and four-year institutions, as well as certification programs, broadening access beyond the University of Maryland College.
Interns are matched with faculty mentors at University of Maryland Extension (UME) county offices or Research & Education Centers, where they gain practical experience in Extension programming, applied research, and non-formal education.
This program aims to inspire continued education while cultivating critically thinking, skilled, reflective, and adaptable professionals for the agriculture and natural resource sectors. Alumni are already excelling in continued public and private sector internships, advancing their education at four-year institutions or in master’s degree programs, or contributing with Extension on a part-time basis while completing their degrees.
Right photo: Cohort 2024 Internship Closing Ceremony
2. Vermont Commodity Program partners with the Center for an Agricultural Economy to pilot a minimal processing program
Salvation Farms is a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the resilience of Vermont’s food systems through the management of agricultural surplus. One of Salvation Farm’s programs is Vermont Commodity Program (VCP), which leverages gleaning as a workforce development opportunity. The VCP allows community members with barriers to employment to engage in work-readiness training while also providing value-added products in the supply chain for charitable and institutional meal sites. Although the program has been through many iterations and while Salvation Farms' own facility shut down during the pandemic, Salvation Farms is working hard to restart the program at full capacity with their own new facility planned for completion in 2025. In the meantime, they've been partnering with the Center for an Agricultural Economy's Just Cut Program (JCP) to trial aspects of the next phase of the program
At the end of 2024, Salvation Farms shared the importance of building strong community partnerships and collaboration in the effort to increase the resilience of Vermont’s food system. The VCP finished three of four scheduled production runs to trial, model, and execute minimal processing with a full staff. With specialized equipment from the JCP and locally procured vegetables, they produced 555 pounds of raw winter squash, diced and flash-frozen; 600 pounds of gold potatoes, diced and roasted, diced and blanched, and fully cooked, mashed; and over 300 pounds of carrots, coined and frozen. To learn more about Salvation Farms and the Vermont Commodity Program, visit https://www.salvationfarms.org/.
Caption: Carrots being processed into coins for the Vermont Commodity Program (Photo credit: Salvation Farms).
And in Other News.... Resilient Food System Certification launches in Norfolk, VA In August 2024, food systems leaders in Norfolk, VA, gathered to participate in the Resilient Food System (RFS) Certification, facilitated by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Food Systems team. Organized by Generate More Health, LLC, Norfolk State University, and Old Dominion University, the 10 participants included community members, researchers, extension professionals, activists, producers, and students. The goal of RFS is to introduce food system educators, researchers, and practitioners to a strategic planning process for food systems development based on the Resilient Food Systems framework. One participant shared, "[RFS] really helped me fully understand the process of resiliency and what that looks like in food systems."
The Resilient Food System Certification is newly revised and one of the food systems certifications offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The Community Food Systems program was developed in 2013 and expanded to certifications in 2016 with the launch of the Local Food Leader Certification. After over ten years, the ISU food systems incorporated their learning and experiences into developing the new Resilient Food Systems framework. For more information on how Local Food Leader, Resilient Food Systems, and other food systems certifications can support professional development and increased capacity for the food and agriculture workforce, visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/ffed/food-systems-certifications.
Caption: Courtney Long, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach food systems program manager, demonstrates how coalitions can prioritize projects based on impact, alignment with values, and feasibility (Photo credit: Megan Kemp).
Extension Foundation, One Kansas City Place, 1200 Main Street, Suite 3800, Kansas City, Missouri 64105-2122
