Cargill awarded a three-year grant of $3.15 million to the National FFA Organization to support its commitment to shaping future agriculture leaders.
The grant supports various National FFA Organization programs and events during the three years (from 2023 to 2025), including the organization’s sustainability platform, the equity, diversity, and inclusion pathway, and the Living to Serve program. During the National FFA Convention & Expo, the grant supports a booth and rodeo and travel grants for career development event participants. In addition, the funding supports the American FFA Degree and the American Star Awards.
Cargill’s grant also supports programs that encourage the exploration of career pathways in agriculture. This includes AgExplorer and two career pathways — Food Products and Processing and Animal Systems. In 2024, the grant will also support the Next Gen Conference, which is focused on food, processing, and products. The conference will be held June 25 to 29, 2024, in Minneapolis.
During its first year, the Cargill grant has significantly impacted FFA. In the fall 2023 semester, funding helped FFA members, non-FFA members, and adults complete 77,678 service hours through yearlong Living to Serve Grants funded projects. It also supported 619 FFA members who participated in national competitive events related to the Food Products and Processing career pathway and 1,600 who participated in Animal Systems competitive events. Additionally, funds provided 14 travel grants to CDE participants to enable them to compete at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo.
The grant also helped fund the State Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Collaborative, which helps state FFA associations create and implement EDI plans. The 2022-23 cohort involved nine states, and 14 states are part of the 2023-24 cohort.
National FFA and Cargill look forward to continued partnership to ensure an even greater impact in the remaining two years of the grant.
“We are honored to receive this grant from Cargill,” said Molly Ball, president of the National FFA Foundation and chief marketing officer of the National FFA Organization. “Throughout our partnership, Cargill has been unwavering in its support and continues to see the potential leaders in our members and advisors. This grant allows us to reach more members and continue providing new opportunities that help feed the talent pipeline.”
“Cargill is grateful for the opportunity to continue our partnership with the FFA, which spans more than 60 years,” said Rob Stewart, director of Growth Ventures and Emerging Markets for Cargill’s North American Protein business. “Together, we‘re able to convene the best and brightest young minds to create awareness and enthusiasm for diversity, equity and inclusion as well as sustainability programming to ensure a stronger future for the agriculture industry and our world.”