Project Overview
The overall project goal is to strengthen the viability of the organic farming sector in the Midwest through providing tailored levels of educational opportunities and building community among beginning and intermediate farmers, including the historically underserved. This is being accomplished by providing farmers the opportunity to engage in multi-generational education where beginning farmers can learn from a mixture of interactions with their peers, experienced mentors, and experts in various fields. Over the course of 3 years, the project is providing educational workshops, networking opportunities, and one-on-one mentorship from experienced farmers and experts.
The Farmer Advancement Program is offering a career pipeline to support beginning farmers and ranchers throughout their different levels of development. This program focuses on the development of peer-cohorts of new, intermediate, and more experienced beginning farmer units based on experience level. It also pairs beginning farmers across these experience cohorts to help them support and mentor each other in the challenging lifestyle and financial risks they will all face daily. We are offering environments and structures necessary to facilitate networking with their peers and experts, access resources appropriate to their experience, and learn to sustain a farm business for the long-term.
Objective 1 – Identify beginning farmers/ranchers in our project states (MN, IL, WI) and coordinate appropriate programming with project partners.
Objective 2 – Build sustainability of farming operations and careers of farmers by providing educational opportunities and matching experienced farmers and experts with beginning farmers to share knowledge, experiences, and skills.
Number of Participants: 822
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