Progress 08/15/23 to 02/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension and rural advisory services practitioners, those involved in building the next generation of leaders in agriculture, researchers, and students and young professionals involved in agriculture from around the world were the target audience for the GFRAS Annual Meeting. Additionally, members of the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) member networks were specifically targeted and invited to attend. With the North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN) hosting the event in Denver, Colorado, specific attention was also paid towards inviting extension and rural advisory services practitioners and experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to Denver. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Several opportunities for training and professional development were offered throughout the GFRAS Annual Meeting. In addition to lectures, panels, and sessions by subject matter experts on a variety of topics ranging from perspectives on the place of youth in agriculture to stress management and suicide prevention, attendees were able to engage with one another in structured debriefs and discussions. In addition to an expectation setting session the morning of the first day which encouraged meeting participants to develop a "yes and" mentality when connecting and collaborating with one another, attendees participated in formal debrief discussions on the final day regarding the farm field trip visits and their experience at the GFRAS Annual Meeting overall. Lastly, attendees at the GFRAS Annual Meeting had ample opportunity for informal networking including a partnership gallery, cultural evening, and other shared meals and breaks. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Following the meeting, attendees had a two-week period to provide input on the GFRAS Annual Meeting via a feedback survey. In November 2023, the final survey results, a meeting overview video, event photographs, keynote session recordings, as well as an event blog post and news story were shared with the meeting attendees and broader NAAAN community. These resources are also available under the post-meeting resources section of the GFRAS Annual Meeting webpage. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Close to 200 agricultural leaders and global experts in extension and rural advisory services gathered for the three days in October for the 14th Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) Annual Meeting, sharing ideas and exploring strategies for producing the next generation of agricultural leaders. Attendees representing more than 40 countries across North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe participated in the three-day event with more than 25 distinct presentations, panels, and sessions. Nine of the 17 current GFRAS networks were represented at the meeting. Additionally, more than half of meeting attendees represented Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and many young professionals and students attended. NIFA funding was used to help support the travel and hotel costs for many students, speakers, and extension experts locally and globally to attend and participate in the meeting. Government, industry, and nonprofit leaders from across Canada, Mexico, the United States, and around the world stepped in to serve as moderators and panelists across a variety of themes. The program officer for the grant, Keith Harris, was also able to join the GFRAS Annual Meeting and lead a panel on early-career leaders which helped identify and address next steps for engagement following the meeting. The GFRAS Annual Meeting also addressed two "Innovation for Rural Entrepreneurs and Communities" program area priorities. Attendees visited the CSU Spur campus on the second day of the meeting and discussed the role that the urban Denver campus plays in, connecting rural and urban parts of the state as well as the role that art plays in helping tell the story of all of Colorado. This connects to the "exploring place-making assets, including cultural amenities, performing arts and the aesthetic character of rural communities, and their importance and impacts on rural livability, new resident attraction and retention, and economic development and prosperity" priority area. Additionally, during the farm visits, meeting attendees explored themes of economic growth and resiliency, particularly during the pandemic, and how farms and farming families demonstrated resilience and adaptability. These are all important when considering building the next generation of leaders in agriculture. Attendees discussed how to encourage young people to join careers in agriculture despite economic challenges. This connects to the priority area of, "Identify[ing] strategies for economic growth in regions of persistent extreme poverty that can directly or indirectly impact public-health crises including COVID-19, opioid abuse and suicide." In the coming months and as a next step coming out of the meeting, the NAAAN is launching Country Hubs across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These hubs will serve to support extension and rural advisory services experts across the three countries and will help to connect them across the NAAAN's three thematic areas of interest: (1) biodefense and biosecurity; (2) soil health and water management; and (3) building the next generation of leaders in agriculture.

Publications