The Latinx Agricultural Network (LAN) is a Penn State College of Agriculture Community of Practice comprised of community members, graduate students, extension educators, faculty, and administrators who seek to enhance Penn State’s engagement with its Latinx stakeholders. Priority initiatives are guided by input from Latinx community leaders. The LAN mission is to implement avenues of access and support and promote active participation and inclusion of the Latinx community in Extension programming and research and teaching activity.
University and Commonwealth representatives interested in joining LAN are invited to send an email to: LATINXAGRICULTURALNETWORK-L-SUBSCRIBE-REQUEST@LISTS.PSU.EDU.
To view the recording of LAN's 12th General Meeting click on the following link:
https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/LAN+12th+General+Meeting/1_r4v3pt5u
About the LAN Community of Practice
The group was the recipient of the 2022 National Extension Award for Diversity, co-sponsored by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The award was presented during the association’s annual meeting November 6, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.
A strategic planning group at Penn State seeks to enhance engagement and continue to provide support to Pennsylvania’s Latinx agricultural community.
The Latinx Agricultural Network was created at Penn State to further improve the already ongoing efforts to reach out to the Pennsylvania Latinx agricultural community. Latinx is a gender-neutral term to refer to people with a Latin American heritage.
2021 Northeast Integrated Pest Management Center IPM Toolbox Presentation by Maria Gorgo-Gourovitch, Horticulture Extension Educator at Penn State.
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LAN Strategic Planning Meeting - Summary Report
Engaging Latinx Communities
May 16, 2023
Latinx/Hispanic farmers are an underrepresented group with the largest number of farm operators in the US. However, agricultural educators have encountered challenges in identifying Latinx farmers in Pennsylvania and consequently, in meeting their needs. This study contributed to improved agricultural programming by offering an exploratory overview of the experiences of Latinx farmers and Extension educators in the Commonwealth. Qualitative research interviews were conducted with Latinxs at different stages of their farming journey, and with educators with experience in agriculture programming and outreach to Latinxs. Both groups discussed challenges they believe Latinx farmers face due to their ethnicity and provided recommendations to better serve the Latinx farming population. Based on the findings, agricultural educators could support Latinx farmers by developing statewide programming, including programming in Spanish, having employers allocate a percentage of educators’ responsibilities to connecting with this audience, creating a Latinx farmers’ network, partnering with organizations connected with Latinx farmers, participating in cultural competency training, and promoting stories of success.
October 29, 2021
Hispanic farmers and farmworkers face access barriers to agricultural programming that need to be addressed to more effectively “reach and teach.” Over a 1-year period, 22 to 25 agricultural educators attended a three-workshop training series focused on increasing knowledge and skills for planning, designing, advertising, and delivering agricultural programs inviting to Hispanic farmers and farmworkers. The workshop series included an expert on the science of inclusion, a specialist in Latino community studies, and several representatives from organizations with long histories of connecting with Hispanic farming audiences. Through guided activities and facilitated discussion, participants developed strategies for creating programming welcoming to the Hispanic farming community.
October 15, 2021
Despite accounting for 18% of the total US population, Latinos hold just 5.3% of executive positions (Swerzenski et al., 2020). This article will outline the potential reasons for this underrepresentation as well as discuss ways that organizations can address this issue through the creation of a more inclusive and welcoming environment for Latinos to take on leadership roles.
Agricultural Resources in Spanish
August 13, 2021
Penn State Extension Master Gardeners expected there would be a renewed interest in home gardening in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they developed the 10-part “Victory Garden Reinvented!” webinar series to support gardeners across the country. In 2021, the Master Gardener program and the Penn State Extension horticulture team expanded this effort — aiming to reach the Latino community — and the webinars now are available in Spanish.
August 19, 2021
Los Master Gardeners (Jardineros Maestros) de Penn State Extension esperaban que hubiera un renovado interés en los huertos familiares en el año 2020. Save For Later Print Available in English El programa Jardín de la Victoria (Victory Garden) de Penn State Extension apoya a la comunidad latina - News UPDATED: AUGUST 10, 2021 El programa Jardín de la Victoria (Victory Garden) de Penn State Extension apoya a la comunidad latina Por ese motivo, para apoyar a los jardineros de todo el país, desarrollaron una serie de seminarios web de diez partes titulado "¡Jardín de la victoria reinventado!". En el año 2021, los Jardineros Maestros de Penn State y el equipo de Extensión de Horticultura expandieron sus esfuerzos para llegar a la comunidad latina y ahora los seminarios web están disponibles en español. "El equipo de liderazgo de Master Gardener se dio cuenta rápidamente que debido a la pandemia, las personas estarían más en sus casas y estarían más entusiasmadas de aprender a cultivar sus propios alimentos, no solo para ahorrar dinero, sino también para tener algo significativo que hacer con su tiempo. ", dijo Valerie Sesler, coordinadora de Jardineros Maestros del área. "La serie de seminarios web "¡Jardín de la victoria reinventado! fue la manera perfecta de cumplir con nuestra misión de educar al público con información de calidad basada en investigaciones, útiles para jardineros principiantes y también para jardineros más avanzados".
August 30, 2021
Si Usted está buscando información sobre agricultura, Penn State Extension es el puente entre la ciencia que se investiga en Pennsylvania State University y Usted como parte de la comunidad agrícola. Por lo tanto, Penn State Extension proporciona información imparcial en la que se puede confiar. Usted encontrará información sobre diferentes temas agrícolas, incluyendo de hortalizas, frutas de árboles, bayas, uvas, lácteos, seguridad alimentaria de granjas, nutrición y salud y más en el sitio web de Penn State Extension. Usted puede encontrar la información de contacto de todos los educadores en el Penn State Extension directorio.
August 30, 2021
When you are looking for agriculture information, Penn State Extension is the bridge between the science conducted at the Pennsylvania State University and you, as part of the agriculture community. Two ways to connect to Penn State Extension are through the internet at our website and through our network of Extension Educators. At the Penn State Extension website, you will find information on different agriculture topics including vegetables, tree fruit, berries, grapes, dairy, farm food safety, health and nutrition, and more. Contact information for all of us is on the Penn State Extension website directory.
November 4, 2021
Student Involvement
October 29, 2021
Emma Rosenthal and Ilsa Huerta, both graduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences, began working together in 2017 because of a shared realization. Across the state, Penn State has a community of people "engaged with the Latinx community," according to Rosenthal. “What we wanted to do was bring all of these people who were working in all of these different areas together so that we could have some sort of unified goal and make sure that everyone is addressing the Latinx community to the best of their ability," Rosenthal said. After two years, Rosenthal and Huerta have done just that.
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The mission of the Penn State Latinx Outreach Club is to 1) connect outreach-minded students to the Latinx Agricultural Network for supporting existing projects, 2) develop and implement outreach projects in support of the Latinx communities around Pennsylvania, and 3) provide a forum for the discussion of needs unique to Latinx communities. Contact Emma Rosenthal or Stephania Sandoval Arango to become involved.
Extension Programs
October 29, 2021
With funding from USDA NIFA award number 2017-70020-27236, Penn State Extension educators from the Food Safety and Horticulture teams developed bilingual Produce Safety educational materials and delivered trainings to Latino Fresh Produce Growers and Farmworkers in Pennsylvania.
April 14, 2023
Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE) is an initiative funded through an Interagency Agreement with the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to address health disparities by reducing vaccination hesitancy. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Latinx community was over-represented in coronavirus cases and more likely to suffer severe health outcomes and harder economic impact. Despite Extension’s long history as a trusted source of information, effective messaging requires more than providing materials in Spanish to reach Latinx communities. Science-based, unbiased education credentials do not guarantee trust and acceptance from hard-to-reach audiences. Recognizing this, Penn State Extension developed strategic partnerships within the community to conduct education to reduce vaccine hesitancy among Latinx. A bilingual post-project survey indicated the target audience was reached, with 71% reporting the campaign increased their trust in the vaccine, 93% feeling the vaccine is safe (somewhat to very), and 93% feeling it is important for others to get vaccinated for health.
November 3, 2021
Jorge Manzo of McCleaf’s Orchard in Adams County inspects buds on a kiwi vine. He is one of many Spanish-speaking growers who take part in bilingual agricultural education provided by Penn State Extension.
January 11, 2022
Penn State Extension's 4-H program in Lehigh County recently partnered with the Pennsylvania Migrant Education Program to deliver lessons about diversity to school-age children.
Research and Teaching Contributions
October 29, 2021
Much of Dr. Kathleen Sexsmith’s research analyzes employment relations and working conditions facing Latino/a immigrant farmworkers in the U.S. She has found that when farmworkers are deeply involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of a project, the quality of the research is dramatically improved – in other words, the participatory action approach to research.
October 29, 2021
Students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences can fulfill their language requirements with a series of introductory and intermediate-level Spanish for Agriculture language and culture courses designed to benefit both students and industry. Tailoring the courses to agriculture is more than just vocabulary words. García Prudencio, who is trained as a forester and agroecologist, teaches with the goal of giving students the ability to convey clear and simple ideas and commands at the farm or job site.
April 27, 2022
An innovative community service-learning course, "Community Engaged Learning with Pennsylvania Farmworkers," offered by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, brings students of all disciplines together to teach and engage with immigrant farmworkers living in Centre County. Kathleen Sexsmith, assistant professor of rural sociology, and Adrian Barragan, assistant clinical professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, are co-teaching the course. The three-credit course exposes students to immigration and local agricultural and labor issues through a language partnership with Spanish-speaking immigrants on local dairy farms.
People Highlights
Dr. Adrian A. Barragan is an Extension Veterinarian and Assistant Clinical Professor within the Veterinary and Biomedical Science Department in the College of Agricultural Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. He is a Latinx Agricultural Network Team Leader.
Maria is an extension educator for the Horticulture team based out of Chester County, PA. She is a Latinx Agricultural Network Team Leader.
Jaime is an Assistant Teaching Professor for the Spanish for Agriculture Program in the College of Ag Sciences at Penn State. He is a Latinx Agricultural Network Team Leader.
LAN Contact
- Extension Communication Specialist | LatinX Agricultural Network
Areas of Expertise
- Science outreach and communication
- Translation of extension materials (English to Spanish)
- Research collections curation
- Bumble bee research
