Record Number of Ag Internships Funded Across Colorado in 2026

Since 2019, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Ag Workforce Development Program (AWDP) has helped Colorado farms, ranches, and other ag businesses provide paid, hands-on training to interns to help them start a career in agriculture. Since then, the program has invested nearly $1.25M into supporting on-farm internships at more than 250 ag businesses across the state and sponsoring over 300 interns.

"Labor is a top concern for producers. At the same time, aspiring farmers and ranchers are looking for mentorship and on-the-job learning," said Sam Hahn, CDA's AWDP Program Manager. "The Ag Workforce Development Program solves both problems by providing an extra set of helping hands while also partially covering the cost of educational internships. This is a win-win program: businesses get paid, and interns get trained."

In 2026, the program set a new record, awarding more than $333,000 in grants to support 71 internships at 63 businesses across 25 counties. Here is the full list of awarded businesses.

In Huerfano County, Redwing Ranch is hiring an intern to help with running a regenerative cattle operation that integrates adaptive livestock management and ecological stewardship.

"The Ag Workforce Development Program program provides critical financial support allowing us to invest directly in the next generation of regenerative practitioners, ensuring we have skilled, passionate people ready to manage our landscape while supporting our business goals for ecological and economic resilience in Colorado," said Christy Wyckoff, owner and operator of Redwing Ranch.

At Boulder Valley Honey, owner and operator Chris Borke believes every employee should be able to manage all aspects of beekeeping. From woodworking, to inspecting beehives, to extracting honey, and even rearing queens, each intern gets in-depth, hands-on training in every aspect of their operation. The interns learn by doing, and they also help educate the public by sharing what they learn with customers at local farmers markets.

"The Ag Workforce Development Program helps us teach and train the next generation of beekeepers and has allowed us multiple opportunities to hire new apprentice beekeepers through the mentorship program," said Chris. "Due to cost sharing benefits afforded by the program, we can offer higher employment rates to our beekeepers and develop long-term skill specialization in the field. This program has been wildly successful for us as a growing beekeeping operation, and all of our AWDP interns have remained with the team after their initial internship period."

Applications for the AWDP open annually in October. You can sign up to receive email notifications when the application reopens on the program website.

The AWDP helps CDA advance our strategic actions from the agency's Strategic Plan, under the "People and Community" direction. Specifically, CDA's objective is to broaden internship and educational opportunities for aspiring farmers and ranchers, along with other emerging leaders in the agricultural sector. By offering financial incentives to agricultural businesses that hire interns, the AWDP provides practical training and professional advancement for future ag professionals.