By Pam Black

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected local University of Arizona-Yuma student Taylor Benedict to attend the 91st Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum: Smart Agriculture in the 21st Century.

Benedict competed for the honor by writing an essay on the subject "Ag as a Career." The UofA selected two winning essays and submitted them to the USDA, which then invited Benedict to attend the all-expenses-paid conference. There were 20 undergraduate and 10 graduate students selected nationwide for this honor.

The conference was held in Arlington, Va., in February. Lecture sessions and an Exhibit Hall brought together experts from various aspects of the field of agriculture in order to share expertise, ideas and innovations that are relevant to today's rapidly changing profession.

Benedict stated that the focus of the conference was on implementing new technology and management techniques in the field of agriculture. A forum like this enables people from different aspects of the field to get together, find common ground and share their ideas. This exchange of ideas will ideally lead to growth and advancements in agricultural practices.

While there were many interesting lectures, Benedict found the information on Water Conservation (an important issue in Yuma) and Nutrition (getting quality fresh food from farm to consumer) to be the most interesting. He also appreciated the opportunity to experience first hand the importance of agriculture, politics and research working together.

Benedict would like to see more students have the opportunity to attend such a conference.

"In todays world things are constantly changing," he said. "It's our duty as a generation, to not only keep up with change but to be a catalyst as well. We can set ourselves up for a much better future, not only in technology but also in agriculture."

Benedict advises that students explore the possibility of an exciting career in Agriculture, and to do so they should contact Tanya Hodges, UofA Academic Programs Coordinator, who has been instrumental in helping him set his academic goals. Hodges can be reached at thodges@cals.arizona.edu or (928) 271-9560.

Photo by Pam Black