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CLC Farm Business Management program awarded $250,000 grant

Central Lakes College was one of eight Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) to receive grant funding for its Farm Business Management program.

The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council (MAELC) recently awarded $3,315,000 to the eight schools. CLC received $250,000 in grant funding, to be split over the next two years.

These grants are part of a brand new program designed to maintain and increase the number of Farm Business Management instructors and students in local programs.

“Farm Business Management education has been a part of Minnesota education for over 50 years. The action taken by the 2015 Legislature demonstrates the value of the program to our local, region, and state rural economies by providing premium education opportunities for our agriculture producers,” said Keith Olander, CLC Dean of Agricultural Studies and director of the CLC Ag & Energy Center.

The MnSCU Farm Business Management (FBM) program is extremely important to the state’s farm economy. As the agricultural economy fluctuates, there is an increased demand for FBM education. At the same time, the number of FBM instructors has decreased over the past ten years, leading to a shortage of instructors available to students. To address these challenges, the Minnesota Legislature and MAELC created the FBM Challenge Grants program. These funds were made available through the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension, and Technology Transfer grant provided by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

“The nationally recognized Farm Business Management programs offered by eight MnSCU colleges have provided educational opportunities to Minnesota’s farming community for over 60 years. The Challenge Grants offered through MAELC will allow these vital programs to flourish and to strengthen a vital sector of our state’s economy,” said Dr. Larry Lundblad, president of CLC and MAELC board member.

Institutions awarded a Challenge Grant include Alexandria Technical and Community College, Central Lakes College, Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Northland Community and Technical College, Ridgewater College, Riverland Community College, South Central College, and St. Cloud Technical and Community College.

Beyond the Challenge Grants, MAELC will be awarding $425,000 for Additional Instructor grants. These grants are designed to assist FBM programs by covering the costs associated with employing a brand-new instructor.  Grants will be awarded in January, 2016.

 

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