Membership Information
First‐time membership is available to those who have not been a member before at a discounted rate of $50 for the first year.
Regular membership is available to any person in the University of Minnesota Extension on a county, regional, or state level who has an interest in strengthening the organization's mission. Membership dues are $50 per year to MAEAP and $50 per year to NACAA. Both must be paid for full membership.
Benefits of Membership to MAEAP
MAEAP allows you the opportunity to develop your leadership and communication skills by participating on committees and providing leadership to the organization.
Being a member of MAEAP provides professional development through a Summer Meeting Tour and membership to the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), which also provides professional development and scholarship opportunities.
Plus, you get to network with colleagues from a wide range of Extension program teams.
MAEAP Mission/Purpose: For Extension Educators, with primary responsibility in Agriculture, Community, and Natural Resources, to focus on concerns and issues that can lead to improved efforts and the advancement of Extension programs for the betterment of the state.
Watch this online seminar about MAEAP membership Benefits with 2024 President Nathan Hulinsky and Director at Large Shane Bugeja.
GMT20240612-150421_Recording_1920x1080.mp4Benefits of Membership to NACAA
We provide you with many opportunities to enhance your career both daily and in the long term. With the NACAA, you'll have a chance to grow with:
Professional improvement and development opportunities
Attend professional development sessions that will make a difference in your education programs.
Leadership development
Gain valuable experience by volunteering for special assignments, joining committees, or serving as a national officer.
Scholarships
Attend in-service training, go back to school, and travel to annual conferences and meetings - on us!
Networking with peers nationally
Collaborate with your fellow agents and exchange ideas.
Awards
Be recognized for your outstanding work and enhance your promotional package with our many programs, communications, and service awards.
Industry connections
Meet industry leaders at our annual meeting and professional improvement conferences.
News & updates
Stay abreast of the latest developments in your field with our quarterly journal, County Agent, and its online supplement, e-County Agent. Peruse our regional newsletters and annual and committee reports, or participate in our NACAA wiki.
Professional Development Opportunities
Each year MAEAP holds a summer meeting where professional development tours are held as well. Places we have visited include U of MN Research and Outreach Centers across the state, Bachman’s, Cargill, Cenex Harvest States, Duluth Port Authority, equipment manufacturers, livestock/crop farms, fruit/vegetable growers, and more.
The NACAA Annual Meeting/Professional Improvement Conference (AM/PIC) offers many professional improvement opportunities during the meeting and typically includes the chance to go on one of many daylong tours held in the host state/region.
PILD (Public Issues Leadership Development) and JCEP (Joint Council of Extension Professionals) Leadership conference: MAEAP sends the President‐Elect and President to PILD and JCEP respectively. Scholarships are available for active members of MAEAP to attend as well.
Scholarship Opportunities
Publish in the Journal of NACAA
Present at the NACAA AM/PIC meeting, with an oral presentation or a poster. Posters are competitively judged in a contest, and National and Regional winners are selected. Monetary awards are typically given to National winners.
Awards & Recognition: Opportunities are available at the State, Regional, and National level. This is a great opportunity to be recognized for the excellent work you are doing. Financial awards have typically been available for National Award winners.
Communication Awards:
Audio Recordings
Newsletter, Individual
Publication
Bound Book
Newsletter, Team
Published Photo
Fact Sheet
Personal Column
Video Recording
Feature Story
Learning Module
Web Site
Program Promotional Package
Computer Generated Presentation
Search for Excellence Awards:
Crop Production
Farm & Ranch Financial Management
Young, Beginning or Small Farmers/Ranchers
Environmental Quality, Forestry & Natural Resources
Livestock Production
4‐H Youth Programming
Consumer and Commercial Horticulture
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
Leadership: You can be as involved as you want. You can be a member of a committee, chair a committee, be an officer, or look to further involvement on a regional and/or national level.
Other opportunities: The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)/NACAA Fellows program is one example.
NACAA Code of Ethics
My professional standards shall note an understanding for our common humanity. My work, ambitions and relations shall always cause me to take into consideration my highest duties as a member of society.
In every position of business life, in every responsibility that comes before me, my chief thought shall be to fill that position and discharge that responsibility to lift the level of human ideals and achievements a little higher than I found it.
I shall:
FIRST: Consider my vocation worthy and as affording me distinct opportunity to serve society.
SECOND: Improve myself, increase my efficiency, and enlarge my service.
THIRD: Remember that I am a professional and want to succeed, but that I am first an ethical person and wish no success that is not founded on the highest justice and morality.
FOURTH: Respect and hold in high esteem science in all its phases and to recognize that Experiment Station and U.S.D.A. findings constitute professional authority in agriculture and to respect the opinion of those who have established themselves as authorities in this branch of science.
FIFTH: Be loyal to our State Universities, the U.S.D.A., our local, state, and national government.
SIXTH: Hold in high esteem the callings of both rural and urban activities.
SEVENTH: Recognize that the development of leadership and the building of communities is the highest service I can render as a County Extension Agent.
EIGHTH: Maintain an open mind, seeking always to understand the viewpoints of others.
NINTH: Not engage in any activity which will interfere with the proper fulfillment of my professional duties and bring discredit to my office.
TENTH: Support and contribute to strengthening my State or Regional and National Association of County Agricultural Agents in their efforts to improve and advance the Extension Service Program for the betterment of our nation.