Brittany Carter
Auburn University agricultural communications senior Brittany Carter is one of 30 students from land-grant universities, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture and Hispanic-serving institutions across the nation who will participate in USDA’s 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum Student Diversity Program in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19-23.
The actual forum, set for Feb. 22-23, will bring producers, policymakers and business, industry and government leaders together to share ideas on U.S. agriculture’s timeliest issues. As a student delegate at the forum, Carter plans to do more than simply observe.
“Higher education is all about application, and I hope to take knowledge from my animal sciences courses and simultaneously mesh it with my communication courses to build strong arguments,” she said. “When you get that many minds together, it is impossible to not find solutions.”
In pre-forum activities, Carter and her fellow program participants also will tour the U.S. Capitol and attend a USDA-hosted briefing and discussion about career opportunities it offers, and that’s information Carter is eager to obtain.
“By being part of this delegation, I am broadening my horizon and conversing about pressing issues in the agribusiness sector with students from 20-plus different institutions,” said Carter, who was selected based on faculty recommendations and her submitted essay on “Agriculture as a Career.”
“I hope to network with the others who attend because we could soon be co-workers and are the future of the agribusiness sector,” she said.
Open to undergraduate and graduate students who are studying agriculture, agribusiness, ag communications, food science, nutrition and preveterinary medicine at the aforementioned institutions, the Student Diversity Program is designed to expose tomorrow’s leaders to current situations, future trends, scientific research and agricultural policy in today’s real-world environment.
The annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in the nation’s capital provides producers, policymakers and business, government, and industry leaders a unique opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discuss timely issues at the forefront of U.S. agriculture. The forum’s 2018 theme is “The roots of prosperity.”