NGFA’s Partnership With MANRRS Fosters Diverse and Growing Ag Workforce

When the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) launched its partnership with MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) in March 2021, it had two goals.

According to Rebecca Grubbs, vice president of marketing at NGFA and foundation outreach at the National Grain and Feed Foundation, the goals were to help the ag industry's labor shortage and offer opportunity support for individuals who face barriers entering the ag industry.

"MANRRS has been opening the door for more people to enter the ag industry," says Grubbs. "Many MANNRS scholarship recipients are at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) where ag companies don't typically recruit. Inclusion is better than exclusion, and ultimately, MANRRS is helping more people be involved in the ag industry."

The trends Grubbs has seen over the past 10 years, championed by organizations like MANRRS, have been encouraging. "It's been great to see the demographic makeup change in the ag industry to include more female and younger workers, and being part of MANRRS will allow NGFA to continue to be part of positive inclusion," she says.

While NGFA's involvement with MANRRS is new, Grubbs already has seen the positive impact of the partnership. "It's been rewarding to see so many qualified applicants applying for the scholarship and also how engaged our trustees have been in this process."

First Scholarship Winners

NGFA chose its first scholarship recipients in December 2021, and Grubbs notes that recipients receive more than a financial award. Along with the $5,000 scholarship, each award recipient receives an all-expenses paid trip to our NGFA Annual Convention, which this year was in March in Charleston, SC.

The 2021-22 winners included:

• Catherine Fremaux, North Carolina State University.
• Ernest Dixon, Alcorn State University.
• Kayla Braggs, Florida State A&M University.

Grubbs describes the importance of this event as a time when the recipients receive professional networking opportunities. "Two recipients were able to attend this year, and we were so happy with the impressive networking connections they made," says Grubbs. "They learned about how trade associations work, and I believe opportunities like these help instill the value in this kind of membership for younger generations."

Grubbs is excited by the future possibilities of NGFA's partnership with MANRRS. "We're considering ways to give our scholarship students internship and mentorship opportunities by connecting them with companies in our network.

"NGFA is honored by our partnership with MANRRS. We're thankful to all the applicants, and we look forward to the future," she adds.