USDA Names 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum Student Diversity Program Winners

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the selection of 30 university students who will attend USDA’s 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum (AOF), as winners of the USDA Student Diversity Program. These undergraduate and graduate students will receive a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., capped off by their attendance at the AOF, the USDA’s largest annual meeting, held Feb. 22-23 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.

“These students are the next generation of agriculture, and it is important for the USDA to support their training as future agriculture professionals,” said USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson. “At the Ag Outlook Forum, these students will hear current leaders share their vision for agriculture as they begin to map out their own careers.”

Now in its 11^th year, the USDA Student Diversity Program gives undergraduate and graduate students real-world learning opportunities in contemporary agribusiness, scientific research, and agricultural policy. The program selects 20 university undergraduates and 10 graduate students based on essays on agricultural careers and challenges. These students major in agriculture-related studies, including business, economics, communications, nutrition, food science, and veterinary studies. Finalists are selected from land-grant universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and non-land-grant colleges of agriculture. During their visit students will take part in a USDA briefing and discussion of career opportunities with agriculture leaders in academia, government, and industry, as well as tour the nation’s capital.

Among the winners, Justin Keay, an Environmental Sciences graduate student at Lincoln University, wrote on the topic The Greatest Challenge Facing Agriculture Over the Next Five Years. “Researchers, extension professionals, educators, NGOs, policymakers and government officials across the globe must embrace the need to educate producers at every scale of production, in order to begin a global and comprehensive transition to climate-smart farming.” Emma Jobson, a Ph.D. student studying Plant Genetics at Montana State University, sees “depleted resources and feeding over 10 billion people” as significant challenges. Esha Tariq is an Agricultural and Resource Economics major at the University of Maryland. In her essay on Agriculture as a Career, she envisioned helping “find new markets for our agriculture commodities.”

Undergraduate winners

Graduate winners

The Student Diversity Program is supported by academic and government institutions and corporations dedicated to promoting the education of the next generation of agriculturalists. This year’s sponsoring organizations include the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Farm Credit. USDA sponsors include the Agricultural Research Service; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Office of Advocacy and Outreach; and the Office of the Chief Economist.

Now in its 94^th year, the Agricultural Outlook Forum is the USDA’s largest annual meeting, attracting as many as 2,000 attendees from the U.S. and abroad. The forum highlights key issues and topics within the agricultural community, offering a platform for conversation among producers, processors, policymakers, government officials, and non-governmental organizations, both foreign and domestic.

Learn more about the program and sessions; plenary speeches will be webcast on Feb. 22 after 6:00 p.m. EST. Register at USDA 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum. The forum offers discounted room block rates through Monday, January 29, 2018.