Catherine Lara Joins GenNext Growers Advisory Board
December 31, 2013 
Catherine Lara, Specialty Crops Program Manager with Penn State Extension in Pennsylvania has been named a Founding Member of the Advisory Council of the GenNext Growers™ initiative.
Lara works in three areas of the Agricultural Innovations Initiative. Under Farm Transitions, and also coordinates the Young Grower Alliance, a program to bring in a new generation of specialty crop growers with a focus on leadership development, education and service opportunities.
Lara also coordinates programming for horticulturists of diverse backgrounds which includes horticulture and pesticide education training in Spanish at statewide and regional meetings and assists with a collaborative extension and applied research program on innovations for specialty crops. Lastly, she is involved with specialty crop demonstration trials on increasing production efficiency, socioeconomic sustainability, on-farm energy efficiency, and environmental stewardship.
Lara attended Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and earned a B.S. in Biology (concentration in Ecology and Environmental Biology) and a minor in Spanish.
“This sounds like an exciting initiative and a great opportunity for young grower organizations and therefore young growers to network across a wider region,” says Lara.
About the GenNext Growers Initiative
The GenNext Growers Initiative was founded in 2013 by American Fruit Grower, American Vegetable Grower, and Florida Grower magazines as a cross-produce-industry “umbrella” initiative to help identify, inform and inspire the next generation of growers who:
- Were born after 1970
- Are preparing to assume, or already have assumed, leadership in a farming enterprise
- Have a passion to produce high-quality specialty crops: fruits, vegetables, and citrus
- Seek to be advocates for their industry
The aim of this Initiative is to identify, develop and promote across the industry the best practices of the nation’s most promising up-and-coming specialty crop growers; to help pull together and bring a national voice to the many national, state, and regional young growers programs currently underway; and to ensure a smooth generational transition and the long-term viability of America’s fruit, vegetable and citrus industries.
For more information about the GenNext Growers Initiative, visit www.GenNextGrowers.com, follow the Initiative on Twitter at @GenNextGrowers, visit the GenNext Growers LinkedIn group and at facebook.com/GenNextGrowers.
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