Partnering to Empower Minorities in Agriculture

Sep 16, 2022

By Kelsea Forward

Started at Michigan State University in 1982, Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources Related Sciences (MANRRS) is a youth development organization that connects minority students to opportunities in agriculture.

Dr. Marcus Bernard, associate professor of agriculture and community sciences at Kentucky State University and president of MANRRS, recently sat down with American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall to discuss the work MANRRS is doing to empower young people and minorities to pursue leadership roles and careers in agriculture.

AFBF has partnered with youth organizations such as 4-H and FFA for many years to encourage the involvement of youth in agriculture. AFBF partnered with MANRRS last year with the goal of increasing minority involvement in agriculture and bringing even more people into the industry to help meet the growing demand for food.

President Duvall and AFBF are excited about the continued partnership with MANRRS and the opportunity to empower students from diverse backgrounds.

“For us to be a strong organization we need to get everybody at the table and have everybody’s voice be heard, especially in policy development,” President Duvall said.

MANRRS empowers young people by connecting them with internships, mentorships, professional development, networking and job opportunities. President Duvall invited members of MANRRS to apply for internships offered at AFBF.

During their discussion, Dr. Bernard explained that many students who are a part of MANRRS come from urban neighborhoods without a background in agriculture. The organization is dedicated to showing students there is a place for everyone to contribute and succeed in the industry, no matter what their background is.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.