LEAD identifies and develops leaders to serve agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities by providing educational, training, and personal growth opportunities for program participants, called Fellows. The curriculum is delivered primarily through a series of seminars, online sessions, and an international study tour. Fellows gain diverse knowledge through field trips, trainers, and presentations from the farm community, university educators and researchers, and from business, non-profit, and government sectors.
Due to COVID-19, some curriculum in 2020 has been postponed and LEAD's top priority is to provide this valuable curriculum to the current cohort of LEAD fellows. For 2021, LEAD strives to identify and recruit applicants to form the next leadership class for 2022 and 2023 participation while providing education to program alumni and agriculture and rural leaders.