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to the idea in the beginning. In my mind, I was there for
the scholarship money. If I had not joined my collegiate
chapter of Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources
and Related Sciences (MANRRS) and met some amazing
people of color in agriculture, natural resources and
related STEM disciplines, I would have thought I did
not belong in the agricultural field. This led to learning
about other fantastic organizations like FFA and 4H that
I had missed out on. Companies and agencies who have
bought in to the ideas and practice of diversity AND
inclusion should be applauded for their efforts. Please
continue to partner with organizations like MANRRS,
Thurgood Marshall College Fund and INROADS, but we
still have work to do!
The majority of students I work with identify as
minorities. Add the millennial generation component and
you often have students who are very far removed from
where their food comes from. There are so many negative
historical perceptions, half-truths and outright wrong
factoids about agriculture flying around we need to make
sure education and exposure happen everywhere and not
just in certain parts of the country. I would also challenge
us to stop asking students what they want to be when
they grow up. Some of us employed people are still trying
to figure that out. Let’s ask them what problems they see
that they would like to fix in the world. Inevitably, this will
lead them to understand that access to safe food and
fiber and our natural resources should be available to
all people.
As someone who is
considered a minority and
does not have a classical
agricultural background,
I am able to take the view
of someone on the outside
looking in. From the outside
looking in, the agriculture
industry still looks old,
CHANGING
THE CONVERSATION
white and male. There is nothing wrong with any of these
three things individually. However, when an industry gets
stigmatized, it can be hard to recruit top talent from
certain segments of the population which can lead to jobs
going unfilled and stagnant growth. Those of us currently
working in the industry know about the amazing research,
technology and talent in agriculture. Is that message
reaching everyone?
I stumbled into agriculture via a research fellowship
program and I am thankful to have graduated college
debt- free and have traveled the country thanks to
agriculture. In many of our high schools, students who
tend to perform well in math, science and English testing,
seem to be steered far away from CTE programming which
generally houses anything close to agriculture in public
schools. When I decided to major in agribusiness, I was
routinely mocked for going to college to be a “farmer.”
My friends in college had no clue what I was doing and
my parents, who were happy about the scholarship, really
didn’t have a grasp of the broad scope of opportunities I
would eventually be afforded. Even I was rather indifferent
By Karl Binns, Jr., MANRRS
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