By Starr Mckay | Staff Writer

              Courtesy: FAMU Outreach: Protected Agriculture

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — At Florida A&M University, the letter “A” has always stood for agriculture.

The university was established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890 as a historically Black land grant institution created to educate Black students who had been barred from predominantly white universities.

The law required states practicing segregation to establish land grant institutions for Black students if they would not admit them to existing colleges. For Florida A&M, that mandate meant teaching agriculture and mechanical arts while preparing Black farmers, scientists and community leaders for the world.

More than a century later, that agricultural mission remains embedded in the university’s foundation.

Yet, on a modern campus where thousands of students pursue careers in health care, journalism and business, some students say the meaning behind the “A” in FAMU is not always top  of mind.

“Sometimes I think people forget what the A stands for,” said Dillon Ford, a second-year master’s student in food science. “They see agriculture and think it only means farming. They do not realize it is food systems, sustainability, environmental science and economic empowerment. Agriculture touches everything.”

Behind academic buildings on campus, Ford works inside a greenhouse alongside fellow student Aaron Francis, tending rows of young plants that stretch toward filtered sunlight.

The two students helped expand a campus garden initiative designed to reconnect students with agriculture through hands on learning. The greenhouse has become a space where students from different majors volunteer, learn how crops grow and explore the science behind food production.

For Francis, the larger issue is about understanding the role agriculture has played in Black history and economic independence.

“When you look at the history of Black land ownership and farming in this country, agriculture was about survival and independence,” Francis said. “Losing that connection means losing knowledge and opportunity.”

Across the United States, historically Black land grant universities like Florida A&M University have long played a role in agricultural research and education.

Concerns about that mission surfaced earlier last year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the 1890 National Scholars Program, a scholarship initiative that supports students attending the nation’s historically Black land grant institutions. The program, which provides full four-year scholarships for students studying agriculture and related fields, was later reinstated after public criticism from education leaders and advocates.

For students at FAMU, the brief pause served as a reminder that the future of agricultural education is closely tied to federal commitment and continued student interest.

It renewed conversation about how many Black students are entering agricultural careers

At the start of the 20th century, Black farmers operated about 14% of U.S. farms, but by 2022, that number had fallen to less than 2%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and agricultural policy research groups.

For some students, realizing agriculture’s role at FAMU can begin in everyday moments.

At the dining hall on campus, sophomore biology major Jordan Bennett said a simple lunch sparked a deeper realization about agriculture’s role at the university.

“I was sitting there eating a salad and we started talking about where the lettuce and tomatoes actually come from,” Bennett said. “You realize that every ingredient on that plate started somewhere in agriculture. The food on our trays is connected to soil, research, farmers and science.”

For Bennett, the moment reframed how agriculture fits into the university’s broader mission.

“As a biology major, you think about medicine, genetics and health,” Bennett said. “But agriculture is connected to all of that. It is nutrition, plant science, environmental systems. Once you start thinking about it, you realize the ‘A’ in FAMU is not just history. It is still shaping what we study and how we live.”

Students like Bennett say those everyday realizations are helping spark new conversations across campus about the university’s identity as a land grant institution.

Ford said that awareness is exactly what he hopes students take away.

“If someone walks past and stops to ask what we are growing, that is the beginning of a conversation,” Ford said. “And once that conversation starts, people begin to understand that agriculture is part of everything around them.”

For many students, that realization is simple but powerful.

At a university where the letter “A” sits at the center of its name, the history behind it continues to shape the future.

“You cannot say agriculture does not matter here,” Ford said. “It is in the name.”

At a university founded to expand access to agricultural education for Black students, that mission continues to evolve through the next generation.

For Ford, the responsibility feels personal.

“The A in FAMU is not just a letter,” he said. “It is a legacy. And if our generation does not protect it, we risk forgetting the reason this university was built in the first place.”

As students move between classrooms, laboratories and campus walkways, Ford hopes more of them will stop and take a closer look at the small greenhouse tucked behind the buildings.

Because for him, that space represents the future as much as the past.

“If people start remembering what the A stands for,” Ford said, “that is when a new era begins.”