University of Arizona Yuma expands program to grow agriculture workforce
Learning to Lead has grown from six or seven students to 27 as UA Yuma tries to keep more graduates in Yuma County agriculture.
The University of Arizona Yuma is using a growing student pipeline to try to keep more young people in local agriculture instead of watching them leave after graduation. The Learning to Lead program has expanded from six or seven students in 2024 to 27 participants, and its first class is now graduating, giving Yuma County a concrete test of whether classroom training can become a homegrown workforce.
The effort sits inside a five-year, $9.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture NextGen grant led by Hartnell College, with University of Arizona Yuma among the partners. The network also includes Imperial Valley College and California State University Monterey Bay, reflecting a regional approach that stretches across Arizona and California border communities. University of Arizona materials say the broader project is intended to reduce barriers for Hispanic students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in agricultural career areas.
For students, the draw is more than academic. The program can provide up to $30,000 in tuition scholarships over two years, along with a $5,200 stipend for summer internships. That combination makes the program a practical option for families weighing whether college can lead to a stable job in the same region where they grew up.
The hands-on training happens at the Yuma Agricultural Center, where students work alongside researchers and industry professionals on irrigation systems, crop evaluation, harvest operations and agricultural research. The center is built for that kind of work: it includes 470 irrigable acres, a 10,500-square-foot greenhouse, 8,800 square feet of shop space and two meeting rooms. Its Valley Farm grows crops including cotton, small grains, lettuce and broccoli, while Mesa Farm focuses on citrus.
The retention angle matters in Yuma County because agriculture is a major part of the economy, not just the landscape. A University of Arizona economic study found that Yuma County agriculture and agribusiness generated $3.9 billion in sales to the county economy and $4.4 billion to the Arizona state economy in 2022. For a region that depends on crop production, packing, research and related services, keeping trained students close to home is a workforce strategy as much as an educational one.
UA Yuma itself remains a small campus in a large agricultural system. Established in 2009, it enrolls about 130 students and serves as a regional node connected to Arizona Western College, Imperial Valley College and other community-college partners. One example of the program’s promise came in 2024, when UA Yuma student Alan Cruz was named one of 20 USDA Future Leaders in Agriculture nationwide and said he planned to keep working in Yuma after graduation.
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