FARMS Leadership Program

The Impact


Farms On Location

After the program, I was determined to place an emphasis on agriculture for college and major choices.
Aidee Guzman
2010 Fresno FARMS Leadership Alumnus

A recently completed survey of almost 100 FARMS graduates from 1996 - 2009 tells us that:

  • FARMS graduates learn the skills to think and act differently. 91% of those surveyed said that they cared about where their food comes from, 80% try to buy foods that are locally grown, and 76% eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
  • FARMS graduates are encouraged to continue their studies in college. They have toured campuses, met professors and instructors, spoken individually with farmers and agricultural business people, and learned about internships, work study opportunities and summer jobs. As a result, 23% of those who attended college majored in agricultural or environmental sciences.
  • FARMS graduates learn to express themselves, speak out, take charge, and work cooperatively with people who are different from themselves. 56% of the FARMS graduates have a career involving the agricultural or environmental sciences, and 85% have been involved in community or volunteer work.

California benefits from these future leaders who are prepared with knowledge about agriculture and the environment and the skills to make measured, informed decisions to support healthy communities.

The FARMS Leadership Program is advancing STEM education and promoting 21st Century Skill development with students throughout the state. The Center for Land-Based Learning works in partnership with schools and communities to design programs that expose youth to real-world applications of the skills, knowledge and higher education needed in the workplace today.

FARMS Leadership Students Learn to:

  • Be open and responsive to new ideas and diverse perspectives
  • Work collaboratively in teams
  • Ask appropriate questions to develop new ideas and effective solutions to problems
  • Understand and respond to the complexity of issues affecting agriculture and the environment
students playing outdoors walking on planks of wood two students looking in microsopes student in a yellow rain coat holding a lamb students on a hayride