YQCA Offers $20K in 2025 Youth Ag Program Grant

Youth for the Quality Care of Animals has launched its 2025 Youth Ag Program Grant, designed to support agricultural education and development opportunities for young people. With a total of $20,000 in funding available, the program will provide individual awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 for projects and events that align with YQCA’s mission of fostering youth engagement, education, and quality assurance in agriculture.

Applications are being accepted now through September 15, 2025, with recipients to be notified in late October or early November. Eligible applicants include junior breed associations, state species organizations, and local, county, state, or national show organizations.

To qualify, proposals must support YQCA’s mission and demonstrate alignment with at least one of the program’s three key pillars: food safety, animal well-being, or character development. These pillars emphasize the importance of preparing youth to be responsible producers, consumers, and employees within the agricultural industry.

Grant proposals may focus on developing or expanding peer-reviewed curricula for youth quality assurance training and certification, supporting animal well-being in youth-led projects, promoting consumer food safety, or maximizing resources for effective education at the state and national level. YQCA noted that projects chosen for funding will be expected to meet reporting requirements to ensure accountability and measure program impact.

“Providing educational opportunities around quality assurance is central to our mission,” the organization stated in its announcement. “This grant program will help equip youth with the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to agriculture in meaningful ways, while supporting the organizations that guide their development.”

Applicants must complete the official PDF application and submit all required materials by email to programmanager@yqcaprogram.org with the subject line “YQCA Youth Ag Program Grant Application.” Final submissions should be sent in one email as a PDF.

For full details, including qualifications and eligible reimbursable expenses, YQCA encourages interested organizations to download the application packet.