CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University Extension Service is leading a national effort to prepare the next generation of agriculture and natural resources professionals, using a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to coordinate projects across the country.
Through this work, OSU Extension brings together universities, educators, youth leaders and community partners to expand access to learning, strengthen workforce pathways and support long-term success in food and agricultural sciences.
Together for Innovating Youth in Agriculture, housed at Oregon State University and designating OSU Extension as a National Center of Excellence for Youth Development, emphasizes collaboration, technology and shared learning to strengthen youth agriculture initiatives nationwide.
Oregon State is the sole institution maintaining the Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America Coordination Network, or YEA-CN.
“We are building a strong national community of educators, youth leaders and partners who are shaping the future of agriculture together,” said Kristopher Elliott, vice provost for the Division of Extension and Engagement and director of OSU Extension Service, and the grant’s principal investigator.
“In just a few years, our partners across the country have moved from planning to action — developing new learning tools, strengthening collaboration across regions and creating opportunities for young people to explore careers and leadership in food, agriculture and natural resources,” Elliott said.
That progress was on display in March 2024 at the inaugural Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America conference at the OSU Portland Center, which brought together representatives from six land-grant universities to share outcomes and strengthen collaboration across institutions.
As the designated coordinating network home, YEA-CN supports individual projects through:
- The development of a national online clearinghouse and website.
- Hosting regular professional development sessions and YEA project meetings.
- Hosting community of practice workgroups, facilitating translation of all learning and marketing materials and producing an annual observations brief.
- Organizing a YEA National Youth Leadership In Agriculture Program, which includes youth membership from all the YEA projects.
What the YEA grant supports
Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America (YEA) cultivates interest in STEM, climate-smart agriculture, nutrition security and the many career pathways that connect science and food systems.
The initiative supports the development of youth-centered learning resources that connect agriculture, natural resources and community well-being through the Flourishing Agriculture, Communities, and Ecologies (ACE) project.
This project, hosted by Oregon State University, aims to develop and has already advanced a culturally and ecologically responsive curriculum that supports youth and educators in building deeper understanding and relationships with interconnected ecological systems, agriculture and forestry, and community well-being.
The curriculum is designed to serve youth across the United States. Previous curricula in this area have not included the evolving knowledge and practices of Indigenous, Pacific Islander and U.S. insular communities impacted by multiple and intersecting socio-ecological challenges.
As a result, this curriculum incorporates these vital perspectives to strengthen learning and growth opportunities for youth of all backgrounds and cultures. Partners from across the United States, U.S. insular territories and tribal nations are collaborating toward these goals.
For youth and learners, the curriculum offers a multidisciplinary learning journey that builds technical knowledge, collaborative purpose, skills for complex discussions and pathways for practical action and career development.
At its core, the curriculum is student-centered, cultivating youth leadership and agency while nourishing creativity, kinship, wonder and joy. Lessons are designed to be highly relevant and interactive.
The project also supports youth, educators and communities in multigenerational learning, helping them build meaningful connections with one another and grow resilience that seeds hope and opportunity for future generations.
Across the YEA national network, participating universities advance shared priorities that include youth leadership development, community resource building, curriculum addressing current agricultural and food science issues and tools that support youth participation.
Universities leading this work include Oregon State, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Maine.
YEA is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Education and Workforce Development Program.
Previously titled OSU Extension leads national youth agriculture network with $10 million USDA grant
