FARMS Leadership Program

How FARMS Leadership Works


Farms On Location

How does FARMS Leadership Work?

Each FARMS Leadership group is comprised of a culturally and socially diverse group of 30-35 students from 5 high schools. Over the course of a school year, selected youth participants attend monthly field days on farms, ranches, wildlife areas, agriculture businesses, colleges and universities, where they gain valuable insight into the food and agriculture industry, associated careers and college opportunities.

The field day curriculum is primarily driven by what there is to learn and do at the field day site. Coordinators infuse the day with teambuilding activities, lessons about healthy food choices and nutrition, and at every field day, students reflect on the many careers involved in food and agriculture production. Every student participates in a Community Action Project that is meaningful to them and that benefits their own community, thus building their leadership and citizenship skills.

For twenty years, the FARMS Leadership program has been providing urban and rural youth with hands-on, experiential education that exposes them to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) applications in agriculture and environmental science. At each field day, students are challenged to work collaboratively with peers from different schools and different backgrounds, helping to build their inter-personal communication skills. FARMS Leadership staff and industry mentors help guide students' learning and understanding of career and college options in agriculture and environmental science.

The FARMS Leadership program promotes a higher level of understanding and application of academic content areas by exposing students to interdisciplinary themes that have been identified essential 21st Century skills:

  • Global Awareness: learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures
  • Civic Literacy: Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions
  • Health Literacy: Using available information to make appropriate health-related decisions
  • Environmental Literacy:
    • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the environment
    • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of society's impact on the natural world
    • Investigate and analyze environmental issues
    • Take individual and collective action towards addressing environmental challenges
an image of a group of students on a wheat collector an image of 3 students working with power tools in a woodshop an image of a group of students standing around a large barrel of food an image of an instructor teaching students who are gathered around in a circle