UMN Agricultural Education, Communication and Marketing

09/17/2026

Come visit us! 🎉 CFANS is offering personalized tours! Visit z.umn.edu/DiscoverCFANS2026 to learn more.

Are you a high school or transfer student curious about all things agriculture, food science and natural resources? Sign up now for a tour of CFANS designed around ✨your✨interests. You can tour a facility like the greenhouses, chat with a faculty member and more! Visit z.umn.edu/DiscoverCFANS2026 to learn more and sign up.

09/15/2026

Congratulations to Amber Kongsjord on her MS program completion! Amber currently teaches middle school agriculture at Robert J Elkington Middle School in Grand Rapids, and she recently completed her Masters of Science Initial Licensure through our AECM program. In August, she presented her final capstone project, showcasing an 18-week curriculum for 8th grade agricultural education programming to complete her program requirements. Congratulations on this huge accomplishment, Amber!

09/10/2026

There was a lot happening inside the Miracle of Birth Center during the Minnesota State Fair, but we wanted to highlight some of the important work that was done by the FFA members working as "Barnies." These student-leaders spent their days welcoming fairgoers, answering questions, sharing what they know, and helping thousands of people better understand animal agriculture. In other words, they were educating, communicating, and telling agriculture’s story!

This year, our program wanted to recognize that work with a little something to help them through some very full State Fair days: AECM State Fair Survival Kits! 💛〽️ We’re proud of these young people for representing Minnesota agriculture and agricultural education so well!

09/09/2026

AECM Club meets tonight! Meet new friends, catch up with old ones, and learn what the club has planned for this year.

📣 We’re back!

The first AECM Club meeting of the year is just around the corner! Come reconnect with friends, meet new members, and kick off another great year of agriculture, communications, and community. 🌾📸

Whether you’re a returning member or brand new to AECM Club, we’d love to see you there!

📅 September 9th, 2026
⏰ 7:00PM
📍 Ruttan B35

Come ready to catch up, get involved, and see what we have planned for the year! 🤝

09/08/2026

Happy first day of Fall semester! We're so glad to have students back on campus. It's going to be a great academic year, Gophers!

09/03/2026

AECM students are doing so many cool things at the Minnesota State Fair this year! Check out the Gopher Dairy Bar Takeover (hi, Kaitlin!), and earlier this week, the All-You-Can-Drink Milk Stand Takeover on CFANS channels. See you on campus next week, Gophers, and have fun at the fair!

🍦Gopher Dairy Bar Takeover🍦

My name is Kaitlin from the Gopher Dairy Club, and I am currently one of the managers of our dairy bar during the Minnesota State Fair.

I am a junior studying Animal Science and Agricultural Education, and a fun fact about me is my favorite dairy product is cheese!!

09/01/2026

Fall semester is almost here! If you are a current AECM student, be sure to stop by the Welcome Back Breakfast on the first day of classes next week.

You can RSVP via the link in your email - and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus!

08/27/2026

Dr. Troy McKay and Greta Tank partnered with Minnesota 4-H to host 18 youth from across the state for a Video Production Camp in mid-August! Youth attended virtual workshops before coming together for a three-day, in-person camp at the 4-H Building and St. Paul Campus. Teams brainstormed, storyboarded, wrote, filmed and edited their own short films, which will premiere on stage at the 4-H Building during the Minnesota State Fair on August 29.

08/25/2026

Twelve new and beginning Minnesota Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resource (AFNR) teachers spent August 10–11 learning, collaborating, and adding new tools to their teaching toolbox through CASE AgX BriefCASE training at the University of Minnesota!

A big thank you to veteran AFNR teachers Jamie Gray (Owatonna) and Lisa Hoefs (Tri-City United) for facilitating two full days of hands-on professional learning. Through the Minnesota AFNR Teacher Induction Program (TIP), participants received CASE AgXplore, a ready-to-teach middle school/introductory agriculture curriculum valued at more than $800, along with training to help them put it to use right away.

Thanks to funding provided through the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC), TIP could offer the curriculum and training at no cost to beginning teachers. This helps remove barriers to high-quality professional development, fosters collaboration among AFNR educators, and puts practical resources directly into the hands of teachers as they begin their careers.

We’re grateful for the investment in Minnesota’s newest AFNR educators, and excited to see how they bring AgXplore to life for their students this year!

08/19/2026

On July 28-29, Dr. Amy Smith, Associate Professor and Program Leader in Agricultural Education, participated in the College of Education and Human Development's LEAD: A Conference for Education Leaders. Alongside Lavyne Rada (Lakes Country Service Cooperative), Dr. Smith co-presented a session highlighting Minnesota's innovative approaches to strengthening the Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher pipeline.

The session explored Grow Your Own initiatives, flexible licensure pathways, and teacher induction programs that support educator recruitment, preparation, and retention. Attendees also learned how the Minnesota Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Teacher Induction Program has served as a model for broader CTE and Special Education teacher induction efforts across the state.

We're proud to see our faculty engaged in work that supports the future of education across Minnesota!