The Cornell Small Farm’s Northeast Beginning
Farmer Project (NBFP) has aimed to ensure access to resources, education and
supportive networks to all who are interested in farming in the Northeast. The
project, Strategic Investments to Ensure Long-term Success of Veteran-owned
and Advanced Beginning Farms, has built on the vibrant NFBP network to
create focused, community based training programs and farmer-to-farmer networks
for addressing the needs of two underserved groups: military/veteran farmers
and individuals who have been farming for 4-7 years (aka “advanced beginners”
or “re-strategizers”).
We designed two main project
objectives to increase and sustain the number of farmers in these groups by
delivering training and infrastructure to target their specialized needs.
Through a Farm OPS program for veterans, partnerships were developed across the
state, enabling training and networking opportunities - including three Armed
to Farm intensive trainings, workshops, and a New York State Veterans in
Agriculture Conference. Additionally the project established On the Job
Training opportunities for farming and a statewide Veterans in Agriculture listerv.
A Profit Team Project offered advanced beginning farmers funding to work with consultants and focus
on improving profitability for long term operational sustainability. Additionally,
through the development of new online courses, wholesale readiness training,
and tractor safety courses, re-strategizers were offered an opportunity to enhance
skills for success.
These new resources have been developed
within New York State to leverage our experienced network of agricultural
professionals and expanding new farmer community. However, the model and best practices for
implementing it can be distributed widely through the NBFP infrastructure and customized
for other target populations (e.g. farm workers, under-served minority groups
interested in farming, women, new Americans). This project represents a broad
strategy to build upon the strong, established platform of the NBFP, while growing
and adapting to the changing needs of all beginning farmers.