By Aliza McHugh, ASU sustainable food systems graduate student
The first-ever in-person Model USDA was recently hosted at ASU’s Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems in early 2026. The event featured close to 200 undergraduate and graduate students from across the country all aspiring to increase their education and career opportunities in the food and agriculture sector. Each student was asked to play a role in one of six distinct scenarios that covered topics the USDA might handle, from the U.S. Forest Service grappling with prescribed burning to the HHS and USDA collaborating over the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. As a second year Master’s student in the ASU Sustainable Food Systems program, I was tasked with being a journalist in "Scenario D: Investing in Rural America." My role was fairly simple: interview students, gather insights, and create cohesive media updates and synthesis for the goings on of the day.
The scenario, however, was not simple. Students were tasked with developing a funding plan for rural America from a pot of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds. CCC funds (sometimes referred to as ‘magic dust’ colloquially) can be used to provide financing for commodity income (perhaps due to tariffs) or disaster assistance, conservation, or innovative programs that support rural America. The plan needed to encompass a three-year timeline and “account [for] farm-based community needs, economic and social issues, and competing stakeholder interests,” of which there were many, with representatives from relevant housing, water, utility and agriculture groups both within and outside of the USDA.
This scenario was exciting to me as a citizen of rural America and one who recently had accessed USDA Rural Development funds to start an artist cooperative in my community (Yes, the USDA funds things outside of agriculture!). My awareness has deeply broadened since entering into this program of the vast array of opportunities and resources the USDA provides the country – both farmers, rural, and urban communities alike. This opportunity to role-play as a young person assuming very important duties that will impact national and sometimes international policies and programs instills a certain sense of confidence. Not to mention working together in intense collaboration with a room full of strangers.
At the start of day one, our scenario was lucky to hear from former Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), Gloria Montaño Greene. Montaño Greene briefed students acting as negotiators and stakeholders on strategic communication tactics, emphasizing the need for consistent and persistent messaging during high-stakes discussions. She advised participants to maintain a focused strategy while combining storytelling with statistical evidence to underscore key priorities. This advice held valuable for the students as they began to craft their policy strategies.
In addition to our scenarios, we had fantastic plenary sessions at night, witnessing two former USDA Secretaries Dan Glickman and Ann Veneman in conversation with former USDA Deputy Secretary, Kathleen Merrigan, who now heads the Swette Center. It was incredibly inspiring to hear Veneman speak about not only being the first female Secretary of Agriculture but all the other positions she was also the ‘first’ in. Veneman gave the sage advice as a leader of making sure to open the door wide enough for those who come after you.
As a journalist, I realized the key role I could play in sharing information, whether that information sowed discontent or pleasure was not necessarily my responsibility. We asked probing questions, informed stakeholders of their opposition's opinions, and wrote think pieces on the state of affairs. We were given information “on background," “off the record,” explicitly brought letters or proposals from stakeholders to publish and even had the door shut in our face when trying to eavesdrop on deliberations. Playing the role of the fourth estate in a room full of decision makers had a certain sense of exhilaration to it. There was so much to simultaneously capture, communicate, and write — I had a newfound appreciation for our nation's journalists who do their best to articulate to the public what is going on in D.C. and beyond.
At the end of day two, the students in Scenario D had written, listened, and deliberated and presented their plan to the student role-playing as Secretary of Agriculture for approval. The work group's suggestions to sustain and grow rural America featured funding opportunities such as climate smart conservation of grasslands, water management fund, grant writing support, mobile and walk-in health clinics, fresh food access and rural farmers markets, an innovation fund for broadband acceleration, and tribal housing developments. They encompassed a variety of stakeholder needs and I believe would all succeed in rural communities.
Ultimately, this inaugural Model USDA was a hit, with students asking if there would be a chance to congregate next year and maybe even extending the scenarios a couple more days. Friendships were made and students left with a renewed sense of purpose and understanding of their potential place in these complex sustainability challenges. We relished the opportunity to connect in person around shared passions for improving our food system.
This blog is part of a series written by Arizona State University (ASU) graduate students who role-played as journalists in Model USDA 2026, a multi-day simulation hosted by the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at ASU.