December 2020
Greetings!
It has truly been an extraordinary year. At Farm Foundation, we're proud that we've been able to build and maintain great momentum in our work through these challenging times. Indeed, we are busier than ever and have many updates to share with our community!
Mission, vision & thematic priorities
This year, we aligned on a revitalized mission and vision for Farm Foundation as we seek to fulfill our role as an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture. 
Our Mission:
To build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society.
 
Our Vision:
To build a future for farmers, our communities and our world.
Our work is anchored in these important elements, which will continue to guide us in 2021 and beyond. We return to our new mission and vision and aim to broaden our impact and engagement across multiple sectors and geographies throughout the agricultural value chain by accelerating people and ideas.

To accelerate ideas, we have identified four strategic thematic priorities for 2021.
We welcome opportunities to discuss potential collaborations with partners to help us implement meaningful projects and programs in these critical areas in agriculture:

Farmer Health
Market Development & Access
Conservation & Sustainability
Digital Agriculture
To accelerate people, at the center of all of our work is our strong, multi-stakeholder and multi-generational approach. In 2020, we launched two next generation programs to support our industry's emerging leaders, and connect them with seasoned ag professionals to enable growth and innovation. Our Young Agri-Food Leaders and Young Farmer Accelerators join our existing Cultivators and Agricultural Scholars program participants in helping to shape the future of agriculture.

Please connect with us if these areas align with your organization’s priorities—these synergies can be the start of something great!
Farm Foundation announces January 2021 Cultivators
To help nurture the next generation of industry leaders, Farm Foundation, with support from Round Table Fellows and BNSF Railway Company, selects and sponsors six university students to attend a Farm Foundation Round Table meeting. These Cultivators, who may be undergraduate or graduate students, are selected from a competitive pool of applications from accredited North American Land Grant colleges or universities. The Cultivator program is an opportunity for students to interact with leaders in today’s food and agriculture sector, and present key aspects of their studies to an influential audience.

We are proud to announce our newest cohort of Cultivators, who will join us for the January 2021 Round Table meeting:
  • Christopher Danner, University of Minnesota
  • Carson Edge, Auburn University
  • Ailie Elmore, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Jacob Lehman, University of Florida
  • Morgan MathisonSlee, Michigan State University
  • Javier Medina Sanchez, Ohio State University
Want to support our mission?
As we approach the end of the year, we know there are many organizations that need support. Farm Foundation is no different—support from donors allows us to scale our work, address rapidly evolving issues and make an impact across agriculture. Here are just a few ways you can be part of our mission:
AmazonSmile: Perhaps the easiest way to give is to identify Farm Foundation as your charity of choice on AmazonSmile. Use this link to get started—and AmazonSmile will donate a portion of all of your purchases to Farm Foundation!
Join our Seeders program: Farm Foundation Seeders is a special program for companies who want to become part of our mission in a broad way. It’s a great entry point to get connected with Farm Foundation and start to participate in our work! For just $10,000 a year, your organization will be directly investing in accelerating the best people, ideas and movements in food and agriculture—and receive exclusive opportunities to engage in our programs. Contact us to learn more.
Become a funding partner at any level: Half of the Farm Foundation budget is supported by donors like you—people, companies and organizations who recognize the value of our work, and our unique position to bring all the right stakeholders together to accelerate practical solutions for agriculture. As you wrap up your end-of-year giving plans, you can make a donation—personal or business—with just a few clicks. Every gift, large or small, makes a difference, and we are grateful for each one! Click here to donate online.
Supporting beginning farmers and ranchers
Farm Foundation recently co-hosted two events focused on beginning farmers and ranchers. The Emerging Research on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Conference was held November 9-10 in partnership with USDA’s ERS. Focused on the latest research into issues affecting the trajectory and success of new entrants into agriculture, this event drew the largest audience for an event in Farm Foundation history. You can access session recordings, slide presentations and other resources from this conference here. 
Our second conference, Training for Success: Resources and Tools for Working with Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, was held December 10-11 in partnership with Farm Credit. This event extended the conversations begun at the November event to focus on practical approaches for those working directly with these new agriculture professionals. Learn more and access the session recordings here. 
We’d like to thank the teams at ERS and Farm Credit for their valuable collaboration on these events, and look forward to continuing our work to support the next generation of farmers and ranchers.
Have you missed our recent Forums? Watch on-demand.
Farm Foundation has hosted some top-notch Forums recently. If you’re interested in revisiting these topics or viewing them for the first time, check out the links below!
November 2020 Forum—Creating Supply Chain Agility Through Data Innovation. Moderated by Shari Rogge-Fidler, Farm Foundation. Speakers included Ed Treacy, Produce Marketing Association; Larkin Martin, Martin Farm; and Ranveer Chandra, Microsoft Azure Global.
December 2020 Forum—The Next Four Years in Ag Policy: Leading Experts Set the Stage. Moderated by Clinton Griffiths. Speakers included Former Secretaries of Agriculture Mike Espy, Dan Glickman and Ann Veneman, along with Farm Foundation Board Member and trade expert Darci Vetter.
Publications
Farm Foundation is pleased to have contributed once again to the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences annual GAP (Global Agricultural Productivity) Report. This year’s report, Productivity in a Time of Pandemics, features an Expert Essay co-authored by VP of Programs and Projects Martha King and Marketing Intern Abby Durheim: “Florida Agriculture Faces the Economic Impact of COVID-19.”
 
Farm Foundation President and CEO Shari Rogge-Fidler has contributed insights to several publications in recent months:
Connect with us!
Our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter communities are growing, and we would love for you to join us! Stay up-to-date on upcoming events, opportunities for involvement and all the happenings at Farm Foundation.
Happy Holidays!
As this truly unusual year comes to a close, all of us at Farm Foundation would like to wish you a safe and healthy holiday season. We’re heading into the new year with tremendous momentum and drive to do even more to fulfill our mission and vision. See you in 2021!
Farm Foundation is an accelerator of practical solutions for agriculture. Our mission is to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. Our vision is to build a future for farmers, our communities and our world.
Farm Foundation