Skip to main content
Appalachian Today
News and events at Appalachian State University
  • For the media
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Diversity
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • The university remains open, with emergency management protocols activated and operational modifications and precautions in place. Read the latest updates

Laura Brookshire ’16 helps keep farmers in business

View larger image

Laura Brookshire ’16 sports a 2016 Farm Aid shirt during a visit to a small farm in Forsyth County, North Carolina.

By Elisabeth Wall
Posted March 10, 2017 at 2:58 p.m.

Laura Brookshire ’16 would like to “make sure not one more farmer lost his or her farm because of systemic circumstances beyond the farmer’s control.” And she’s making some headway.

At Appalachian State University, Brookshire earned a Master of Arts degree in Appalachian Studies with a concentration in sustainability and a Master of Public Administration (MPA). As the program manager at Farm Aid, she administers the non-profit’s grant program, farmer services and resource network from her office in Boston.

Music icons Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on the land. Since then, Farm Aid has raised more than $50 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.

View larger image

Brookshire worked Farm Aid’s 2016 concert in Bristow, Virginia, last September, just four weeks into her new job.

Part of Brookshire’s job is to allocate funds to organizations that support farmers. But, she added, “We also have a farmer hotline. One day a week I answer that hotline. That’s my biggest opportunity to work with farmers directly and I love that.” The calls cover a huge range of topics and inquiries, she said. Recently a farmer “wanted to install solar panels to power her equipment,” she recounted. “Sometimes they are dealing with a flood or a drought and are looking for disaster relief. Often they are third- or fourth-generation farmers in risk of losing their farms.”

Brookshire said she was currently reviewing the 2015 reports from Farm Aid grantees and “it’s amazing to see what they’ve accomplished, in part due to our funding.” Farm Aid grants to qualifying non-profit organizations that serve family farmers run between $500,000 and $600,000 each year. The grants are not awarded directly to individual farmers for the commercial operation of their farms.

Brookshire mentioned one resource Farm Aid regularly funds, Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) located in Pittsboro, North Carolina. RAFI-USA provides a number of resources for farmers, including information services, direct assistance and consulting. One example of support, she explained, is helping poultry farmers navigate complicated contracts that “often are abusive to the farmer or assisting farmers who are struggling with mortgage problems.”

Brookshire, a Transylvania County, North Carolina, native, said she always has been interested in Southern Appalachia. “My roots here have been important in my life. They brought me where I am and guided me. I am proud to be from Appalachia. Moving to Boston was a very big step for me. But one I’d encourage other students to take.”

Brookshire completed her undergraduate work in environmental studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. “But,” she said, “sustainable [agriculture] has always been a passion of mine. The Appalachian studies program at App is unique – it was the first to offer a master’s program and I think it’s the best.”

Brookshire said her classes with Dr. Kathryn Webb-Farley in the MPA program – two nonprofit classes, specifically – “have been vital to my knowledge and gave me a leg up during the application process for the Farm Aid job. The MPA gave me the practical everyday skills; the App studies courses gave me the broader outlook for community organization and sustainable development.”

Brookshire credits internships and work with AmeriCorps for helping her stand out when it came time to interview for a career position. During her AmeriCorps service, she worked in Polk County, North Carolina, for the agricultural economic development program. Her Appalachian Studies internship was in Knox County, Kentucky, at a host site for Grow Appalachia, administered through Berea College. “I spent the summer establishing community gardens and starting a county farmer’s market with another App alumna. I also helped home gardeners learn to use organic methods.”

For her MPA internship she worked for the Transylvania County school system in the child nutrition office. Learning about school lunch programs has been helpful for her job at Farm Aid because, “some of our grantees work on farm-to-school and school garden programs and policies.”

Brookshire found her job at Farm Aid through a listserv, a resource she said everyone should use when searching for jobs. Dr. Mark Bradbury, director of the MPA program at Appalachian, “is the No. 1 resource for public administration jobs,” she said. “Hands down, he’s the person.”

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Appalachian Studies: Master of Arts (MA)
Appalachian Studies: Master of Arts (MA)

The Master of Arts program in Appalachian Studies is an interdisciplinary program offering cross-cultural learning and applied career training through engaged research, internships, outreach and classroom-based programming. It is housed in the Center for Appalachian Studies.

Learn more
Public Administration (MPA)
Public Administration (MPA)

The Master of Public Administration is a terminal degree program that trains individuals to manage public agencies and programs and to evaluate their effectiveness.

Learn more
Where can an Appalachian degree take you?
Where can an Appalachian degree take you?

Anywhere you want to go! Appalachian State University generates passionate and engaged alumni, who become leaders in their communities and chosen professions. They exemplify how an Appalachian education can and does make the world a better place.

Learn more

Share

Topics

  • Community Engagement
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Students
  • Sustainability

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

Share

Topics

  • Community Engagement
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Students
  • Sustainability

Other Recent Posts

  • App State coronavirus information
    App State coronavirus information
  • App State’s Paul Meggett named among NC’s top 100 African American attorneys for 2nd consecutive year
    App State’s Paul Meggett named among NC’s top 100 African American attorneys for 2nd consecutive year
  • Recent App State grad offers 4 tips for forming a pandemic pod for work and home life
    Recent App State grad offers 4 tips for forming a pandemic pod for work and home life
  • A look at generations of Black Mountaineers who inspire the Appalachian Community
    A look at generations of Black Mountaineers who inspire the Appalachian Community
  • US Department of Education continues funding for App State’s Student Support Services
    US Department of Education continues funding for App State’s Student Support Services
  • WCC, App State announce Aspire Appalachian Co-Admission Program agreement
    WCC, App State announce Aspire Appalachian Co-Admission Program agreement
  • Giving back to the community: One App State student’s idea to brighten older adults’ lives through art
    Giving back to the community: One App State student’s idea to brighten older adults’ lives through art
  • Get outside to improve health during COVID, experts say [faculty quoted]
    Get outside to improve health during COVID, experts say [faculty quoted]
    Tuscon.com
  • App State students, faculty create rock kits for students across NC
    App State students, faculty create rock kits for students across NC
    Watauga Democrat
  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted March 3
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted March 3
  • Raising awareness and meeting demand for increased digital accessibility at App State
    Raising awareness and meeting demand for increased digital accessibility at App State
  • Renowned drummer Shirazette Tinnin ’02 shares the rhythm of her life
    Renowned drummer Shirazette Tinnin ’02 shares the rhythm of her life

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • Archives
  • Contact

Appalachian State University

Copyright 2021 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
ucomm@appstate.edu

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Website manager: montaldi | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat