How will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impact my farm? What global consumer trends will evolve in the next decade? And how do I not just compete, but grow in an increasingly complex marketplace?
If you’ve ever thought about any of these questions, consider applying for the Nuffield International Farming Scholars program.
The Nuffield International Farming Scholars program, which started in 1947, selects a group of 60 to 70 farmers and agri-professionals from 13 countries annually to travel as Nuffield Scholars and embark on an international journey to study key agricultural issues and develop a worldwide network.
The application period for U.S. scholars is open until Oct. 21. The $25,000 scholarships support international travel and study in 2023 related to global agriculture. U.S. applicants must be between 25- and 45-years old and U.S. citizens. Scholarships are open to farmers, ranchers and agricultural professionals.
Nuffield International Farming Scholars is a unique global network of farmers, ranchers and agri-professionals that focuses on: personal capacity building; excellence in agricultural production, distribution and management; and local, national and global thought leadership. More than 1,700 Nuffield alumni hail from the 13 Nuffield countries.
The scholarship supports travel and participation in:
- The Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC), an annual week-long meeting held in March. In 2023, the CSC will be held in British Columbia, Canada.
- The Global Focus Program, a five-week program in which scholars travel in small groups to four or five countries. Each group consists of scholars from different countries.
- The Independent Research Topic, a self-directed five-week travel program to explore a selected research topic. A 10,000-word report is required at the completion of the program, which is posted on the Nuffield International website.
Three scholarships, sponsored by TIAA, Bayer Crop Sciences and the Canadian PSP are open to applicants from the U.S., Chile and Brazil. Four state-based scholarships are open to residents of California, Iowa, North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and certain counties of Virginia and West Virginia.
In 2018, Archie Griffin was selected as the second American ever to be a Nuffield Scholar. With his scholarship, Griffin visited farmers in more than 16 countries, looking for common threads of success and new ideas.
“It’s not until you step outside your comfort zone that you truly begin to grow and do things differently,” he says.
Read how Griffin has applied his world travels to his North Carolina farm.
You can download the application form and find more information at: Nuffieldinternational.org.
For specific information regarding the U.S. program, email Ed Kee, President of Nuffield USA at kee@udel.edu.
Have questions for previous U.S. Nuffield scholars? Contact any of the following:
- Archie Griffin (2018) at archieg190@gmail.com (North Carolina)
- Brian Dougherty (2018) at brian1@iastate.edu (Iowa)
- Rose Danaher (2019) at okmagic@gmail.com (Iowa)
- Ruth McCabe (2022) at mccabe@heartlandcoop.com (Iowa)
- Georgie Cartanza (2017) at cartanzachick@comcast.net (Mid-Atlantic region)
- Susan Truehart Garey at truehart@udel.edu (Mid-Atlantic region)
