An Intern’s Journey into Meals and Agricultural Coverage with OFRF
By Julia Nelson
After spending a piece of my first yr of graduate college studying about meals and agricultural coverage within the U.S., I started my internship at OFRF with the objective of understanding how these coverage mechanisms play out in the actual world for the completely different events concerned within the course of. Over the previous 12 weeks, I’ve welcomed the chance to contribute to OFRF’s advocacy work centered on growing funding for natural analysis in a very powerful U.S. agricultural insurance policies – the agricultural appropriations and the Farm Invoice. Via this expertise, I’ve had the possibility to observe a spread of coverage expertise resembling: writing catchy and persuasive electronic mail campaigns, synthesizing sophisticated federal information right into a leave-behind doc that tells a compelling story, and fascinating in conversations with coalitions and members of Congress.
One main objective of this work is to unfold consciousness to Senators and Representatives on the varied agricultural committees that funding natural agricultural analysis doesn’t simply help the scientific group, but in addition contributes to the native economic system and helps the nation transfer nearer to local weather targets. Via this course of, I’ve additionally been in a position to expertise firsthand the nuts and bolts of the federal policymaking course of and higher perceive how main political occasions (resembling a looming presidential election) have an effect on the tempo of advocacy work.
One other hope of mine for this internship was to develop my skilled expertise in a means that may put together me for future roles at nonprofit organizations or in public service. Due to its significance within the nonprofit world, I used to be enthusiastic about studying extra about growth and funding throughout my time at OFRF. I had the chance to assist the Growth crew with prospect analysis, which meant I hung out researching and figuring out foundations that have been and weren’t an excellent match for our wants. I loved getting a way of the funding panorama for organizations who work on natural agriculture and hope to proceed working with grants in some capability in my future profession.
Moreover, I had the chance to place the information administration and evaluation expertise that I’ve acquired by means of varied statistics and economics lessons to work. I helped with a number of completely different information tasks for the Coverage crew and the Analysis & Schooling (R&E) crew, cleansing and categorizing giant quantities of information on natural analysis from USDA and universities. The objective of my venture for the Coverage crew was to have the ability to present an trustworthy estimate of the quantity of federal funding that has gone in direction of natural agricultural analysis. The aim of my work for R&E was to assist populate OFRF’s soon-to-be natural analysis hub, which aggregates academic sources on natural agriculture to supply farmers with a one-stop store of high quality data. These tasks jogged my memory of the significance of information in storytelling, illuminated the exhausting work that goes into any helpful web site that aggregates completely different sources, and jogged my memory that I must sustain with my Excel expertise.
Lastly, on a distinct word, I appreciated with the ability to acquire perception into how a distant, nationwide group operates and builds group. As I gear up for getting into a workforce that’s turning into more and more digital, it’s been useful to see optimistic examples of how one can join and develop relationships with coworkers with out being face-to-face. I’ve actually loved the catch-ups that occur throughout workers conferences and our casual community-building Zoom calls.
Trying into the long run, this expertise has cemented my curiosity in pursuing the ‘coverage’ a part of my MS diploma in Meals and Vitamin Science & Coverage after I graduate. My time with OFRF has strengthened my ardour for working on the intersection of local weather and meals techniques. As I start the ultimate yr of my graduate program, I shall be focusing my time on gaining the coverage & organizational management expertise I must pursue a profession at a authorities company or nonprofit group based mostly in my house space of New England. I couldn’t be extra grateful to OFRF for offering me with an enriching internship expertise, and likewise for the help and inclusivity of the entire crew members I collaborated with all through the summer time.
