Model USDA
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Model USDA is a multi-day simulation for college students in the USDA NextGen program. Launched in 2025 by the ASU Swette Center, this conference gives students a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of federal food policy decision-makers and stakeholders.
Inspired by Model United Nations and Model Congress, Model USDA is designed to engage, educate, and empower the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture policy.
Model USDA 2026
The Swette Center welcomed nearly 200 students from 31 colleges and universities to the second annual Model USDA. The conference was held at the ASU Tempe Campus from Friday, January 30 to Sunday, February 1, 2026.
Leading up to the conference, students were given a role and divided into six groups. Each group was assigned a policy scenario, which was their focus throughout the three days of Model USDA. The scenarios were based on real-world food and agriculture challenges, and roles ranged from USDA officials and nonprofit advocates to scientists, educators, and industry leaders. In their roles, students debated, negotiated, and co-created policy solutions.
Scenarios for Model USDA 2026
Scenario A: Healthy and sustainable Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Should the Dietary Guidelines for Americans consider environmental sustainability for the first time ever?
Scenario B: Expanding nutrition education to schools nationwide
How can a new grant program best help schools bring nutrition education into the classroom?
Scenario C: Growing urban agriculture
What should USDA do to build a more diverse urban agriculture landscape?
Scenario D: Investing in rural America
How can USDA most effectively invest millions in funding to support rural development?
Scenario E: FSIS food label guidance for voluntary claims
Should the Food Safety and Inspection Service proceed with their new meat and poultry labeling guidance?
Scenario F: Fighting fire with fire
How can the Forest Service teach the general public about prescribed burns and secure stakeholder support?
This country needs programs like Model USDA to teach the next generation of scientists and agriculture professionals how to hone their skills for the benefit of the world.
Chavonda Jacobs-YoungFormer USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, and former USDA Chief Scientist
Looking back at Model USDA 2025
Student reflections
Hear from the ASU Swette Center’s executive director and various students in this video as they reflect on how the inaugural Model USDA deepened their understanding of complex policy decision-making, sharpened their leadership skills, and inspired their career goals.
For us to be able to be a part of [Model USDA] and use the knowledge that we have been learning for the last year and a half, to understand the process, to understand what ways we can collaborate together…it was really enriching. I can’t recommend it enough.
Carla ManuelASU graduate student studying sustainable food systems
Impact report
The inaugural Model USDA was held virtually from January 31 to February 2, 2025. It brought together more than 140 students from Arizona State University, Hawai‘i Pacific University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the University of Guam for a first-of-its-kind simulation of federal food and agriculture policymaking.
The event exceeded expectations, with over 95% of participants calling it a valuable learning experience and 100% successfully achieving the objective of their scenario. This report gives an overview of how and why Model USDA was created, the outcomes and impact of the inaugural event, and our future plans.
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This work is supported by the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals program, project award no. 2023-70440-40222, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the ASU Model USDA conference are those of the participants and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.