BFRDP Projects

Ranchers, Diversification and Rural Communities: Ensuring Beginning Producer Success
[Final Report]

Award Amount: $600,000
Grant Program: 2020 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Awards
Project Director: Ken Olson
Email: kenneth.olson@sdstate.edu
Organization: South Dakota State University

Return to Project Search

 

  • Overview
  • Results
  • Materials
  • Delivery Area
  • Comments

Project Overview

Beginning farmers and ranchers - and the rural communities that depend on them - are at a precipice due to an aging producer population, limited diversity, and lack of economic diversification. Thus, our overall goal is to provide beginning producers in South Dakota with information, tools, and networks they need to adjust traditional production methods to accommodate new enterprises, which directly aligns with the primary goal of BFRDP. We targeted two socially disadvantaged groups, women and Native Americans. We are providing education, mentoring, and technical assistance through partnerships with several community based organizations ("Hubs of AgriTourism" or "HATs"). The HAT team includes two NGOs, a state agency, and our team of experts. Our objectives are to educate 60 beginning producers through an intensive, 2-year program using interactive sessions, distance learning, and travel study. Through these efforts we are teaching livestock and natural resource management and planning, diversification and marketing strategies, and entrepreneurship and business skills. The HATs serve as networks to draw from as producers add agritourism enterprises and in turn strengthen rural communities, including an area central to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. A partner, World Wildlife Fund, is helping highlight how resource management is paramount to a producer's ability and need for financial diversification. Beginning producers and local communities are central to this program and the resulting learning communities will provide enhanced education, social, and financial opportunities beyond the life of the grant.

Number of Participants: 44

Results

Promotional Materials

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

Educational Materials

There are no educational materials available for this project.

Reports & Evaluations

There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.

Delivery Area

Describe any unexpected results of the project:

How would you improve the project if you were to do it again?

What were the keys to success for your participants?

Individual Stories / Examples of Success