Farm Credit Mid-America has partnered with the University of Tennessee at Martin to support students in the university’s Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources. The recent collaboration will support the recruitment of minority students in agricultural business fields and the creation of an agricultural business futures and options course.
“Roughly one in 10 American jobs are filled by people working in production agriculture or in businesses adjacent to or dependent on agriculture,” said Tim Williams, senior vice president for Farm Credit Mid-America. “Drawing a diverse group of students into the agriculture industry and exposing them to the many career options available – from farming to food science to ag education – is the goal of the program and why we supported it.”
The new course in agricultural business futures and options will give undergraduate students the opportunity to gain real-world experience by using funds to make futures and options trades and gain a better understanding of how agricultural markets function and how agricultural producers handle uncertainty in the food and fiber supply chain.
“Farmers are all too familiar with the uncertainty of markets and crops,” said Williams. “One of the best ways we can invest in agriculture is to invest in the youth who will one day be at the forefront of this industry. Supporting programs that teach the methodologies of hedging analysis – and ways to mitigate risk and help ease the stress associated with it – is one of the ways we can help secure the future of rural communities and agriculture.”
The new programs will launch in fall 2020.
For more information, contact the UT Martin Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources at 731-881-7260.
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