BFRDP Projects

The Rend Lake College (RLC) Advancement of Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program allowed RLC to engage with beginning farmers and ranchers throughout the eight Southern Illinois counties we serve and the surrounding region. The goal of the project was to provide twenty participants yearly interested in becoming farmers and ranchers with resources that will help them succeed in becoming operators or owners of farms and ranches. A series of five days workshops and field trips were planned and conducted yearly for participants that will focus on basic livestock, forest management, crop farming practices and financial risk management planning (including the acquisition and management of agricultural credit). Farm safety and hands-on experience with farm equipment repairs and basic options were offered as part of the educational days planned.   The workshops and field days covered a range of topics, including mental health resources, new farming technologies, diversification and marketing strategies, as well as other areas requested by participants.  We were able to offer these workshops with the cooperation and matched in-kind resources of a variety of committed regional professionals. We proposed that 60 participants will take part in the program with 48 participants completing by the end of the three-year grant cycle. The goal was for 16% of the completers to start or take possession of a farm and 20% of new farmers will make positive changes to farm operations. Those goals were reached with 75 total participants completing the program events and field trips.  Of those 75 participants, 12.5% have already started or acquired a farm while 40% are in the planning phase. 30% agreed that they have made a positive change to the farm while in the program with 40% saying they foresee positive changes will be made.