Program Overview

Sustaining Future Farmers in Louisiana is a free six-month tech-based Ag program that includes enrollment in LSUE’s Intro into Agriculture course (AGRI-1001). There, participants will have an opportunity to choose from four specific ag pathways to gain training in: Cattle, Farming/Aquaculture, Commercial Drone Operator, and Certified Crop Adviser certifications. Those that are eligible include veterans, energy extraction workers (oil and gas), LSUE college students, dislocated workers (individuals who became unemployed through job loss, mass layoffs, global trade dynamics, or transitions in economic sectors), and incumbent workers (individuals who require education and/or a skill necessary to retain current employment or advance in a career). Dual enrollment is available for interested high school students. All participants will additionally earn their Lean Six Sigma White-Black Belt training and attend supportive services workshops. Paid apprenticeship and internships are available. At the end of the program, participants will be encouraged to continue their education through LSUE’s new Associates of Science in Agriculture degree. Those that transition to a degree at LSUE will be awarded a $1000.00 scholarship following the completion of this program. However, those that wish to continue into the workforce will be aided by this program and its Partners in finding employment.

LSUE was awarded $846,239.00 in the Spring 2022 through the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities Initiative grant by the U.S. Department of Labor. Our goals with this program are to invigorate an aging LA farming population, provide college education to youths in rural areas with an interest in agriculture, relieve the stress from unemployment caused by the workforce challenges in the oil and gas industry, and provide a boast in the economic economy for the rural areas of St. Landry, Acadia, and Evangeline parishes.