MANRRS started as a small group of minority students from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. Their visit to The Pennsylvania State University in 1985 encouraged the Penn State students to form a campus organization for minority students studying agriculture. The Michigan State group had already established such an organization on their campus. Out of this network activity was born the First Leadership Conference of Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources Association at Michigan State in 1986. In 1987 the second annual conference of Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources Association was held at The Pennsylvania State University. The third Annual Conference was hosted by the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. At this conference the name Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) was chosen, and the first set of national officers elected. More than 20 universities now have chapters of MANRRS, and conferences are held annually at sites all around the United States. Approximately 900 students and professionals now attend this yearly event.