Project Overview
Wolfe's Neck Farm is an educational farm in
Maine that runs a Dairy Farmer Apprenticeship Program (DFAP). DFAP is a
two-year residential training program launched in partnership with the
Wisconsin-based and nationally accredited Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA).
DFAP aims to increase the production of organic milk in the Northeast while
fostering the next generation of dairy farmers and improving their
profitability and sustainability. To achieve this goal, DFAP is integrating the
DGA program into the educational farm model at Wolfe's Neck Farm. The specific
objectives of the DFAP are to (1) Expand and scale Wolfe's Neck Farm Apprentice
program (2) Adapt DGA's training guidelines to an educational farm model (3)
Replicate and adapt the DGA classroom education in New England (4) Identify a
successful path to dairy farm operation and ownership in New England and (5)
Position Wolfe's Neck Farm as a regional hub for the Dairy Grazing
Apprenticeship. To achieve these objectives, Wolfe's Neck Farm has doubled its number of apprentices to 4, has brought on an Education Coordinator for WNF Apprentices and has expanded the DGA Master Training Farm
model to Maine and New England, with particularly strong growth in Vermont who now houses a statewide Education Coordinator in-state. These activities have given apprentices the
necessary skills and training to successfully transition to sustainable dairy
farm operation and ownership, an achievement that is strengthening the
regional dairy industry while also improve regional communities' economies. The WNC program is proud of its five graduates and expects three more apprentices to complete the program by the end of 2020.
Number of Participants: 13
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