‘Train Them to Leave’: AFA’s Lillian Chapman on Building the CEA Talent Pipeline
The CEA industry is growing fast — but a strong workforce won’t build itself. Lillian Chapman, Development Manager at Agriculture Future of America (AFA), has spent her career building connections between young talent and the agriculture industry, and she’s seen firsthand what happens when those pathways don’t exist. In this month’s Q&A, Lillian shares how AFA is working to close the workforce gap through experiential learning, intentional mentorship, and industry collaboration — and what CEA operators can do right now to get involved. Lillian will bring these conversations to CEA Summit East this September as a panelist in the Special Presentation: Strengthening the Workforce Ecosystem.
For readers who may not be familiar with Agriculture Future of America, can you give us an overview of the organization — who it serves, what it does, and why it exists?
Agriculture Future of America is a 501c3 non-profit that builds bridges for young leaders, fostering engagement and innovation in food and agriculture. We work with more than 200 different colleges and universities alongside over 100 industry partners to create experiential learning opportunities across the nation. We exist for students (like myself circa 2014) to be able to push themselves to explore career paths, roles and companies they would not traditionally interact with in their day-to-day lives. We do this through 6 Leader Institutes and our keystone AFA Leaders Conference. These events are held across the country in diverse industry segments to provide insight to students on what skills, experiences and competencies employers are actually looking for. More than 80% of our alumni work in agriculture and food after graduation, showing that if you invest in the right young leaders at the right time, the entire industry benefits
CEA is a relatively young industry, and the talent pipeline is still catching up. From AFA’s perspective, where are the biggest gaps right now — and what does a stronger workforce ecosystem actually look like?
Whether it be traditional agronomic practices, equipment operators or CEA growers – we have to invest in young people’s experiences. Agriculture was traditionally an industry that every household participated in, because our food systems were locally based. After the 1970s and 80s we started to see a sharp decline in the number of people directly related to production agriculture. Currently, today it’s around 1% of the population (all statistics I’m sure you’ve heard before). What that means for the talent pipeline is less experienced growers, operators and managers. The only way these students or potential employees can benefit your organization in the long term is if you have hands-on experiential learning programs built in your on-boarding strategy. In some places this could look like seeking talent coming out of programs like AFA or previous internships. In others it may be partnership with local technical or community college programs (Durham Tech, Reynolds, Alamance Community College, etc.) or it may be creating a rotational program that meets your organization where it is. A stronger workforce ecosystem needs three things:
Networking Opportunities – Everything in life is built through people’s connections to one another. Students no longer have a corner store or local grower in their life to make introductions. We have to be intentional about showing up in places students are and building connections with them.- EXPERIENCES – I can’t say this loud enough. You cannot expect young talent (whether students or lateral entry talent) to know it all on day one. Let them learn and let them fail in a strategic way, or they will be failing your business when it costs the bottom line instead.
- Conversation – Just like CEA Summit in September, we need to have everyone at the table having conversations about the talent pipeline. Where is it lacking? What are we seeing as a whole? Are there places to learn from other organization’s successes or failures?
At the end of the day, the future of CEA talent depends on how intentionally we create access, build experience and bring the right people together to prepare the next generation of growers, operators, and leaders.
AFA works across a wide range of agriculture sectors. How does controlled environment agriculture fit into that mix, and are you seeing more interest from CEA operators looking to connect with the next generation of talent?
CEA is the future of food systems. We have entire AFA programs built on sustainability and food systems of the future. We even reorganized our AFA Crop Science Institute to AFA Plant Science Institute, because there is such a demand for non-traditional plant science now. While, as a greenhouse and traditional grower I see there is still room for improvement, especially with how we approach markets/marketing our products as CEA growers – talent is going to continue to be the second limiting factor to the equation. CEA operators are already seeking how to find the right mix of seasonal, full-time, H2A/B and legacy employees. I think the next generation of talent check some of those boxes and ultimately help solve the labor equation as a whole.
Though CEA isn’t considered a traditional agriculture practice, a lot of larger ag companies have been using it for research purposes for years. They have already built successful employees from students that wanted to be in agriculture in a different capacity. As we continue to see this segment grow, we will see an increased demand for those non-traditional ag/food students. They exist and are just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.
You’ve worked across a wide range of ag sectors yourself — from John Deere dealerships to land trusts — and now you’re building a greenhouse nursery business on your family’s farm in North Carolina. How does that breadth of experience shape the way you think about career development and what young people need to be prepared for in this industry?
I probably should write a book about the many adventures I have been on in my short lifetime, but honestly that is the story of most folks in agriculture now days. Individuals are no longer staying at organizations for 15-20 years or until retirement. They are being pushed to make more money by changing roles every 3-5 years or less. While that model of employment isn’t what most employers like to see, it’s the reality in this day and age. Career paths are no longer linear, so we need to pour into transferable skills. Good employees want to grow and have the opportunity. “Train them to leave” is one of the best principles I have ever learned (thanks to NCSU Agricultural Business program!). If you pour into your employees and develop young people in a way that keeps them passionate about what they are doing – your business will have less turnover. At the same time, not everyone is meant to be a manager, so how you allow for growth without pushing people into management can be a key piece to employee satisfaction overall.
In all those roles, I have worked with and managed young people from high school level to about 30 years old. The key theme I noticed when hiring successful employees was understanding their strengths and weaknesses at a deeper level as a person. No matter if I needed them to be able to take apart an 8R tractor and put it back together or go build a hiking trail or answer the phone or run a cash register at the farm stand – if I mismatched their passion and strengths to the tasks I had them doing, we were destined for failure. Back to my point above, give employees controlled onboarding experiences, so you can let them fail in a way that sets them up for success. Be available to answer questions, show 1-1 mentorship where you can or give them a buddy in the environment, so when you task them with hard projects, they have the tools to succeed. More than anything – don’t expect it to happen on day 1.
For CEA growers and operators reading this — what’s the most practical way for them to engage with AFA, and what do you hope they take away from your panel at CEA Summit East in September?
For CEA growers and operators, the most practical way to engage with AFA is to come see the talent pipeline for yourself. AFA offers a free VIP experience where industry leaders can meet the students we convene, experience the quality of programming firsthand and start a conversation about what involvement could look like for their organization. That engagement does not have to begin with a major investment. It can start in a very practical ways, such as reviewing student applications, volunteering your time or hosting students for an experiential learning opportunity in their area. As an AFA partner, your organization has the opportunity to shape future leaders. CEA is growing quickly, and the workforce needed to support that growth will require more than technical knowledge alone. It will require young professionals who understand food systems, technology, leadership and adaptability. Visit our website www.agfuture.org or follow us across social media to stay connected on everything happening at AFA.
At CEA Summit East in September, I hope growers and operators walk away with a stronger understanding of how many talented young people are interested in this space, and how much opportunity exists when industry leaders are willing to meet them, mentor them and invite them into the conversation. My hope is that the panel helps CEA leaders think beyond immediate hiring needs and consider the future culture we are building across the industry. If we want a strong, sustainable CEA workforce, we have to be intentional about creating access, offering hands-on experiences, and building relationships between students, educators, growers, operators and industry partners. There is tremendous knowledge in this room, and the more we share it with the next generation, the stronger our organizations and our industry will be.
Agricuture Future of Amerca (AFA) builds bridges for young leaders to foster engagement and innovation in food and agriculture. Learn more by visiting the website — http://www.agfuture.org
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Special thanks to Lori Culler for this post.
Driever went on to detail how TAC has operated a 3,000 square foot greenhouse and 1,000 square foot grow room raising leafy greens for the past 10 years.
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Currently more than 85% of individuals with developmental disabilities are unemployed due to lack of transitional support, job-site training, and employment opportunities geared for success. The Trellis Center aims to fill this gap for young adults with developmental disabilities who are approaching this transition time or adults who have graduated from high school but still need a structured environment designed to match programming to individual capabilities. With a focus on agriculture, the Trellis Center provides vocational skill development, stimulating activities, and a social community of peers. More information is available
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