News release: MAELC Announces Survey on Farm Business Management Educational Needs

ST. PAUL, Minn. (November 2, 2020) - The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC) is conducting a brief survey to better understand the business management educational needs of farmers, ranchers, and growers. This survey will inform future curriculum and access to Minnesota State Farm Business Management (FBM) programs. The goal is to develop programming that meets the needs of more farmers and beginning farmers, along with providing increased accessibility to FBM resources. MAELC is especially interested in hearing from individuals who have not participated in Minnesota State Farm Business Management programs in the past.

“Through this survey, we hope to gain an improved understanding of the real-life, critical decisions farmers are making for their businesses and how we can better support them through agricultural education,” said Sarah Dornink, Executive Director of MAELC. “We also hope to enhance programming to be more inclusive of the entire Minnesota agricultural industry and the diverse individuals that are a part of it.”

Producers in all sectors of agriculture, including beginning and emerging farmers, are encouraged to contribute to this anonymous survey, which will take about five minutes to complete. The survey can be accessed here or by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://umn.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9n0P0zbd1EZrpQN.

MAELC is a 16-member legislative council that provides leadership to promote and expand agricultural education in Minnesota. The state legislature, agricultural educators, and agriculture industry leaders are all represented on the council.