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FARMS Leadership

Why FARMS is Needed

Where does our food come from?
What happens when we pave over farmland?
Can I really make a living as a farmer?
Why are wetlands important?

Very few high school students can answer these questions, yet, within a few short years, they will be voting citizens in communities where the answers to these questions make a huge impact on the entire economy.

The FARMS Leadership Program was created to teach the next generation about the cause and effect relationship between agricultural practices and the environment, and to create connections with the land that our youth so desperately need. FARMS also introduces high school students to the resources and networks that can lead to careers in sustainable agriculture or related environmental sciences.

The FARMS Leadership Program contributes to adolescent development by meeting the four competencies youth need to develop intellectually, emotionally and socially. (Identified by the report from the National Research Council titled "Community Programs to Promote Youth Development.")

  1. Building skills and mastery
  2. Contributing to their community and developing a sense that they matter
  3. Learning to form close, durable relationships with contemporaries from different backgrounds that will support healthy relationship with adults
  4. Making decisions, participating in governance and rule-making and taking on leadership