Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (MARL)

The Mission                                                  

To develop the skills of Minnesota agricultural and rural leaders so they may maximize their impact and effectiveness in local, state, national, and international arenas.

The Program

A dynamic two-year educational experience designed to accomplish the mission.

The Participants

The class is a diverse group of 28-30 participants. When assembling a cohort group for a class, MARL seeks diversity of all types, including race, ethnic background, geography, gender, agricultural sectors (including forestry) and others. It is an objective to have two-thirds of the participants be active agricultural producers and the other third a mix of agribusiness professionals or others in rural leadership positions.

The Format

Designed to accommodate the busy schedules of active leaders, the program schedule features nine in-state seminars that are two to four days in length, a six-day national seminar and a 10 to 12-day international seminar.

In-state Seminars: Held once per month in November, December, January and March each year and in late     June at the mid-program point.

National Seminar: Held in late February to conclude in early March of the first year of the program.

International Seminar: Held in February of the second year of the program.

The Session Topics at Seminars

Each session features a mix of leadership study, personal skill-building and location-related subject matter. For a sampling, please refer to the next page.

The Seminar & Study Tour Sites

In-state seminars: 

Each in-state seminar is held in a different regions; sites during recent classes have included Willmar, Marshall, Saint Paul, Crookston, Duluth, Bemidji, Austin, Perham and Mankato.

National Seminar: 

Centered around Washington, D.C.

International Seminar:

Foreign countries to be determined. MARL Class I traveled to Argentina/Chile, Class II to Mexico and Costa Rica, Class III to China, Class IV to South Africa, Class V to Cuba, Class VI to Morocco, Class VII to Ecuador, Class VIII to Vietnam, Class IX to Croatia, and Class X to Cambodia and Taiwan.

The Cost

Participant tuition is $6,000 (twenty-five percent of the true participant cost), which is paid in a series of four installments. MARL has the flexibility to work with participants to set up payment plans if the standard installment plan causes hardship. The MARL executive director will assist participants with the pursuit of sponsorship and scholarship opportunities, per participants’ individual requests. The true participant cost of MARL is $23,000 p.p.. MARL is able to subsidize the difference through generous donations and grants from individuals, businesses, organizations, and foundations.

Organizational Structure

MARL was established in 2000 by Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in partnership with University of Minnesota (U of M) Extension and SMSU Foundation. The MARL Board of Directors is recognized as an affiliated board under the auspices of the SMSU Foundation.  SMSU serves as the physical home of MARL, employing its Executive Director, providing IT support, marketing, communications and graphic design support. SMSU contracts with the U of M Extension for delivery and development of program curriculum. U of M Extension manages seminar facilitation and conducts cohort evaluations. The SMSU Foundation, a private 501(c)(3) organization, serves as the fiscal agent, oversees the fundraising activities of the program and provides all business operations, management of accounting and financials, serving as the financial safety net for MARL.