USDA Appoints Members to Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the appointment of 20 members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (ACBFR). The newly appointed members serve terms of up to two years through 2021.

 

Newly appointed members are:

 

The Committee is made up of 20 members, including representatives for: state beginning farming programs; commercial lenders; private nonprofit organizations with active beginning farmer or rancher programs, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; the Farm Service Agency; community colleges or other educational institutions with demonstrated experience in training beginning farmers and ranchers, and other entities or persons providing lending or technical assistance for qualified beginning farmers and ranchers. Congress authorized the Committee in 1992 and since its inception, the ACBFR has been an important part of the USDA strategy to engage, support and service new and beginning farmers. The Committee is funded by the Farm Service Agency. USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) provides oversight which ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity.

 

About the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement

 

USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement develops and maintains partnerships focused on solutions to challenges facing rural and underserved communities in the United States, and connects those communities to the education, tools, and resources available to them through U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and initiatives.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.