Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

The Department of Agriculture is partnering with nine Midwest community colleges to support hands-on student learning about conservation and to foster conservation-minded farmers and ranchers. On Monday, Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement representatives and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service signed a memorandum of understanding. Through the memo, they agree to enhance and accelerate training and adoption of technologies and best practices for improved agricultural productivity and natural resources stewardship. The agreement aims to reach not only agriculture students but also the broader community, through events such as field days. NRCS and the member institutions are developing local plans to address regional and statewide challenges and to support student internships and other training opportunities. All member institutions have college farms where they can implement conservation practices to educate and inform students and producers. Community colleges in the program include institutions in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. More information about the partnership is available at nrcs.usda.gov.