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.