Project Overview
Cultivating Community’s Increasing, Incubating, and Scaling-Up Businesses of New American and Veteran Farmers in Maine is providing unprecedented land access, new opportunities for product diversification and market access, and four levels of training to New American, military veteran, and other small-scale producers in order to create an increasingly robust, economically productive farm economy in Maine. First, we are expanding our gardener-to-farmer pipeline, teaching ag competencies and providing opportunities to sell to market to youth agricultural interns, interested advanced gardeners, and veteran and New American Farm Explorers. Second, we providing intensive, customized, land-based training to three cohorts of Incubator Farmers at varying levels of expertise. As part of our training of our most advanced farmer cohort, graduates of our training program, we are working with partners in the region to address critical issues such as land access and stable land tenure. Finally, are providing resources, conferences, and discrete training opportunities to other small-scale farmers in Maine and to refugee and immigrant farmers across the U.S. As the capacities and skills of all these beginning farmers develop, a continually increasing number of socially disadvantaged and other beginning producers will attain success in selling to market and operating independent farm businesses, while Maine will become more able to keep the 250,000 acres of farmland changing hands in agricultural production. This project builds on the success of existing training programs supported by a 2014 BFRDP and a 2009 BFRDP that have resulted in the creation of 52 new farm businesses to date. By project end, this BFRDP will result in the creation of another 30 new farm businesses, will provide intensive support to 12 new and beginning farmers, and will provide services to an additional 490 farmers and people exploring farming.
Number of Participants: 141
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