BFRDP Projects

On Solid Ground: Hands-on Training, Farm Viability, and Land Access Support for Ohio Beginning Farmers
[Final Report]

Award Amount: $570,327
Grant Program: 2019 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Awards
Project Director: Rachel Tayse
Email: rachel@oeffa.org
Organization: Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association

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  • Overview
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Project Overview

Project Summary


The goal of the proposed work is to increase the number of successful beginning farmers
who can access land and operate economically viable farms utilizing organic and sustainable production practices in Ohio.

In year one, this project began to (1) increase the readiness of aspiring farmers to begin farming independently through Farm Vision and conference workshops; (2) increase farm viability and profitability of established early career farmers to improve their success with workshops, mentorships, and individual technical assistance; (3) increase access to farmland for beginning farmers with development of Heartland FarmLink and Heartland Farm Beginnings course; and start to (4) evaluate, report, and disseminate results of our work.


In year two, the project deepened support for farmers starting and sustaining their farms in a pandemic. Largely this was accomplished through reworking existing content into virtual offerings such as Farm Vision and Farm Beginnings program. OEFFA increased farm viability and readiness to start farming through our online conference and ongoing phone and email technical assistance. Supporting farmers and land owners to create successful land transfer to ensure the continuity of sustainable farmland in Ohio was a major focus of year two. We developed and facilitated a three-part workshop series for land owners to write succession plans. Additionally, the Farmland Specialist worked closely with several farm seekers and land owners to clarify and enact transfer plans.


In year three we officially launched our Produce Farm Manager Apprenticeship program and enrolled out first apprentice, expanded the number of host farms enrolled in the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program, and settled into offering many of our courses (including Farm Vision and Heartland Farm Beginnings) in an online format.  We also resumed some in-person components of our work, including our annual conference, a beginning farmer meetup, and a farm tour focused on beginning farmers.


Year 4 concluded our grant term, and gave us the data needed to evaluate, report, and disseminate the results of our work. We concluded much of our programming and sought feedback from participants in the form of surveys, meetings and conversations with stakeholders, and data analysis. All programming that continued, such as Heartland Farmlink, was analyzed and refined by our Begin Farming and Land Access Educator. While we were able to get some very valuable feedback, we observed a low rate of participation in surveys and similar feedback opportunities from our participants. We suspect there is an over-saturation of this type of data collection in our participants’ lives and we are brainstorming ways to encourage higher participation in the future. However, the information we collected reflects an increase in knowledge, confidence, and readiness from our participants. The pandemic had a notable effect on our programming and outreach, and made it necessary for everyone to pivot, and adapt to an unpredictable situation. Although it affected the number of farmers we reached, compared with our original proposal, we are proud to say that at the end of this grant, were operating again at full capacity. We saw several new farm owners through their initial education, and their first years of business operation, involving them in training the next cohort of new business owners, most of whom use sustainable and organic practices. We observed a positive reputation among our graduates and in the wider community, as many new participants have expressed interest and excitement about our 2024 programming, specifically in Begin Farming. We’ve formed lasting relationships with new farmers and scores of professionals, all with the shared goal of supporting the next generation of farmers who will feed us while stewarding our invaluable farmland into the future.


Number of Participants: 551

Results

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