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Who Is Eligible?
- active animal producers (as the owner, manager, co-owner or co-manager)
- young or beginning producers (generally someone who is under 35-40 years of age OR has 10 or less years of experience)
You can be large or small, "organic" or "conventional", specialized or diverse. We hope to recognize a cross-section of modern animal agriculture.
What Do I Receive As An Environmental Leader?
Recognition at the annual National Young Farmers Educational Association event "Agriculture's Promise" held in Washington, D.C. Sponsorships are being sought to provide award winners with a travel scholarship to attend this event.
The project team will also develop a news release and provide it to local media and local organizations in which you are involved. Other state or national ag publications will also be contacted.
Lastly, we believe the knowledge gained and leadership skills developed in this award program will be invaluable for the rest of your farm/ranch career. You will meet other proactive farmers and ranchers and interact with lawmakers during your visit to our nation's capitol. Through your outreach, you will help more people understand the real-world decisions made by those producing food, fuel and fiber.
What Is Required to Become an Environmental Leader?
See the award checklist. The program has three basic components:
- Education--choose from online modules, self-study, or other educational opportunities
- Implement--develop an environmental policy statement for your farm/ranch, and implement one or more positive stewardship practices. This could be a physical practice (install a manure storage pad, on-farm research, etc.) or a management practice (develop a plan, conduct an environmental assessment, improve your record keeping system, etc.).
- Outreach--tell someone about what you have done.
This is not a competition with other applicants. Everyone who completes their plan of work will receive the "Environmental Leader Award".
How Do I Apply?
The 2012 Environmental Leader award winner, Todd Inglee, Arvada, Colorado, talks about his ranch and their environmental management.
Is There a Deadline for Applications?
The environmental leaders award is an "open enrollment" process. You are welcome to apply at any time. As much as possible we will help you complete activities in time to receive the award at the next Agriculture's Promise event (February). If it is not possible to complete everything before then, you will be eligible for the award the following year. For example, if you apply in January, 2013 you are likely to receive your award in February, 2014.
For More Information
For more information about this program, please contact the National Young Farmers Educational Association (NYFEA) natloffice@nyfea.org
Acknowledgements
This award program was initiated with support from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under award #2009-49400-05871.The Environmental Leaders Award program is a part of the Building Environmental Leaders in Animal Agriculture project.
