Project Overview
The goal of Athens Land Trust's Beginning Farmer Development Program (BFDP) was to increase the number of successful farmers in northeast Georgia, strengthen their economic viability, and connect them with other farmers for marketing opportunities and mentoring. The project targeted limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and otherwise underserved new and beginning farmers in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia and the surrounding region. The BFDP provided education, hands-on sustainable agriculture training, and marketing education and opportunities that supported new and beginning farmers with enhanced skills and capacities in sustainable farming practices, increased business knowledge, and expanded markets. Athens Land Trust tailored individual outreach and technical assistance to farmers operating at different levels of production to guide participants toward economic viability and the capacity to access larger markets. Primary objectives included providing educational opportunities including business workshops, one-on-one guidance, on-the-farm experiential education, and mentorships that provided skills and knowledge to enable farmers to move toward greater farm business viability; and increasing local market opportunities for new and beginning farmers. Athens Land Trust leveraged our partnerships to connect growers to new and larger markets, collaborating with the Georgia Farmers Market Association and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension to provide marketing training and resources; and with St. Mary's Health Care System and the Clarke County East Athens WIC Clinic to develop new mobile markets for farmers and expanded access to local produce for vulnerable populations.
Number of Participants: 465
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