Monterey County Agricultural Education

What Monterey County Agricultural Education does

Monterey County Agricultural Education, Inc. (MCAE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1991 (with roots in mid-1980s 'Mobile Farm Story' school visits) and headquartered in Spreckels, California. MCAE's mission is to foster respect and appreciation of Monterey County's agricultural industry by educating urban and rural communities through hands-on experiences. Its sole core product is the Farm Day Experience, a sequence of three annual single-day events — Salinas Farm Day (California Rodeo Grounds, November), South County Farm Day (Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, King City, January), and Monterey Farm Day (Monterey Fairgrounds, March) — that together reach approximately 6,500 third-grade students and 1,300 adults from 250 classes and homeschool groups each year. The program is delivered at no cost to schools, with transportation reimbursed, and is staffed by over 700 annual volunteers serving as Guides and Presenters.

MCAE operates with no proprietary technology, digital products, or technology platform components. Its educational content is delivered entirely through in-person, sensory-based demonstrations of agricultural equipment, animals, commodities, and processes, supplemented by physical teacher resource packets (activity sheets, state maps, coloring pages, pre/post-Farm Day activities). The organization runs no paid staff; governance and operations are executed by a 100% volunteer Board of Directors whose membership is drawn directly from local agricultural companies (Radicle Seed Company, The Nunes Company, Costa Farms, Rijk Zwaan USA, Keithly-Williams Seeds, Blanco Farms, and others), plus two coordinators (Candi DePauw as Farm Day Coordinator, Tiffany Batistich as Assistant Farm Day Coordinator).

MCAE's revenue model is exclusively donation- and sponsorship-driven, with no fees charged to participants. The organization runs an annual fall fundraising drive and offers six sponsorship tiers (Germinator $1-$249, Irrigator $250-$499, Cultivator $500-$999, Harvester $1,000-$2,499, Steward $2,500-$4,999, Agriculturalist $5,000+). Its go-to-market is event-driven and community-anchored: school-district partnerships drive class registration, industry partnerships supply presenters and sponsors, and word-of-mouth plus Facebook/Instagram drive volunteer recruitment. Strategic partners include the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, the Monterey County Farm Bureau, Hartnell College, California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom, and UC Cooperative Extension.

Name

Monterey County Agricultural Education

Legal name

Monterey County Agricultural Education, Inc.

Website

https://montereycountyageducation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Monterey County Agricultural Education (MCAE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers three annual Farm Day events reaching 6,500 third-grade students and 1,300 adults across Monterey County, California, through a 100% volunteer-governed, donation-funded model supported by 700+ volunteers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Education Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Literacy & ELA Instruction (School-Delivered) (EDAJAFAF)

Keywords

• Agricultural education
• Farm day events
• Youth literacy programs
• Community agricultural outreach
• Ag industry advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Spreckels

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: MCAE is funded exclusively by generous donations from the community through annual fundraising drives and sponsorship levels. The organization has an annual fundraising drive each fall but accepts help year-round. All donations are tax-deductible as MCAE is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with Federal Tax ID #77-0281027.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Monterey County Agricultural Education (MCAE) delivers hands-on agricultural literacy programming to third-grade students across Monterey County through three annual Farm Day events held at fairgrounds and rodeo grounds in Salinas, King City, and Monterey. The organization also supplies teacher resource packets, classroom curriculum materials, volunteer Guide and Presenter training, and teacher scholarship awards. All services are provided free to participating schools, with transportation costs reimbursed by MCAE.

Product overview

Monterey County Agricultural Education (MCAE) operates a single core product—the Farm Day Experience—consisting of three annual hands-on agricultural education events in Salinas, South County, and Monterey. This is supplemented by four support programs: Teacher Resources and Materials (activity sheets, curriculum materials, classroom packets); a Volunteer Guide Program (training community members to escort students through events); a Presenter Program (connecting agricultural professionals with students); and two award programs (Teacher Scholarship Award and Dorothy Giannini Apple Presenter Award). MCAE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with no digital products, APIs, or technology platform components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Farm Day Experience Hands-on agricultural education program delivered through three annual Farm Day events — Salinas Farm Day (California Rodeo Grounds), South County Farm Day (Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, King City), and Monterey Farm Day (Monterey Fairgrounds) — reaching approximately 6,500 third-grade students, 1,300 adults, and 250 classes each year. Designed for third-grade classes in Monterey County, the program is provided free of charge with transportation reimbursement.
• Teacher Resources & Materials Educational materials for third-grade teachers including teacher packets, activity sheets, state maps, coloring pages, and pre/post-Farm Day classroom activities. Designed to extend the Farm Day experience into the classroom before and after the event.
• Volunteer Guide Program Program that trains and deploys volunteer Guides to escort groups of students through Farm Day events, guiding them to timed presentations and static displays. Volunteer Guides commit from 7:00am to 1:00pm and receive morning training plus a complimentary BBQ lunch. No prior experience is required.
• Presenter Program Program that engages agricultural professionals to deliver hands-on, sensory-engagement presentations on local ag commodities, animals, equipment, production, processing, economics, nutrition, and safety to third-grade students at Farm Day events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 6,500 students and 1,300 adults reached annually from 250 classes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Monterey County Agricultural CommissionercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonterey County Agricultural Commissioner is a key supporter of MCAE's Farm Day programs. The partnership involves official recognition and support for agricultural education initiatives in Monterey County, helping to foster appreciation of the county's number one industry.
• Monterey County Farm BureaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonterey County Farm Bureau works with MCAE to advance agricultural literacy. The Farm Bureau's Executive Director participates as a volunteer presenter at Farm Day events.
• Ag Against HungerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal agricultural organization listed as an Ag Industry Resource on MCAE's website, sharing educational content about agriculture in Monterey County.
• California Women for Agriculture Salinas Valley ChapterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level agricultural women's organization listed as an Ag Industry Resource, supporting agricultural education and advocacy efforts.
• Grower-Shipper Association of Central CaliforniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor agricultural trade association listed as an Ag Industry Resource, representing growers and shippers in the Monterey County region.
• Hartnell CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal community college listed as an Educational Resource, providing agricultural education programs and potential pathway for students.
• California Foundation for Ag In the ClassroomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState foundation providing agricultural education resources and curriculum, listed as an Educational Resource partner.
• UC Cooperative Extension Monterey CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of California agricultural extension service listed as an Educational Resource, providing research-based agricultural information.
• California Rodeo GroundsminorOthersEvent venue for Salinas Farm Day, providing facilities for the annual agricultural education event.
• Salinas Valley FairgroundsminorOthersEvent venue for South County Farm Day, hosting the annual agricultural education event in King City.
• Monterey FairgroundsminorOthersEvent venue for Monterey Farm Day, hosting the annual agricultural education event.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• FoodCorps: Nonprofit that connects students to healthy food through hands-on learning in schools, with strong overlap in K-12 food-and-agriculture education and a service-member delivery model. Highly comparable in mission and target audience to MCAE's Farm Day.
• Nutrients for Life Foundation: Educational nonprofit providing science-based resources on plant nutrients and food production for K-12 classrooms. Comparable in delivering no-cost, teacher-aligned ag-literacy curriculum, though with a nutrient/fertilizer industry lens rather than general ag.
• California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC): State-level nonprofit that provides free, standards-based agricultural literacy curricula, resources, and training to K-12 teachers and students in California. Most directly comparable to MCAE given overlapping mission (ag literacy for K-12), teacher-resource focus, and California footprint.

Others

• AgCareers.com / Ag Education & Training Partners: Agricultural industry talent and workforce-development platform. Related to MCAE's downstream workforce-pipeline objective but focused on professional job placement rather than K-12 literacy; an ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• National 4-H Council: National youth development organization with a substantial agriculture and STEM programming track delivered through Cooperative Extension. Shares MCAE's youth agricultural education mission but at vastly larger scale and through a structured club model.
• National Agriculture in the Classroom (NAITCO): National coalition that supports state Agriculture in the Classroom organizations with K-12 curriculum, teacher training, and grants. Functions as the umbrella peer for organizations like MCAE, providing the national infrastructure beneath state- and county-level ag-literacy work.
• American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture: National nonprofit affiliated with the Farm Bureau that develops ag-literacy resources, programs like 'Ag in the Classroom,' and educator materials. Operates at national scale across all 50 states, making it a broader incumbent relative to MCAE's single-county focus.
• National FFA Organization: National youth organization focused on agricultural education, leadership, and career development for middle and high school students. Comparable mission (youth ag education) but serves an older student cohort and operates through school-based chapters nationally.

Emerging players

• Junior Master Gardener Program: Youth gardening and plant-science education program from the University of Florida Extension. Comparable in delivering hands-on, plant-and-food educational experiences to K-12 students, with overlapping curriculum and teacher-resource model.
• Agriculture Future of America (AFA): Nonprofit that builds bridges for college students and young professionals into ag careers through leadership development and internships. Comparable in workforce-pipeline intent, but serves a post-secondary audience rather than K-12.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/100063546165204/photos_albums

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monterey County Agricultural Education