BFRDP Projects

“Growing Our Own: A New Sonoran Desert Farmers Incubator Program” is piloting a community-based multi-tiered collaborative approach to increasing the number and capacity of market growers, farmers and ranchers in a remote tri-national community of Ajo, Arizona and the surrounding region. The program will 1. Expand the capacity and skills of the existing beginning farmers through providing education, mentoring and technical support; 2. Incubate a minimum of 15 new growers through providing paid apprenticeships, and/or access to land, knowledge, materials and markets; 3. Raise a new generation of Sonoran Desert farmers and ranchers through a school campus-based “education intervention” (“Ag Club”) for high school students at the Ajo Unified School District.

After Year 1, the outputs include 90 hours (out of projected total 150 hours) of classroom style instructions for adults; 275 hours of individual mentoring and technical assistance (projected total hours for three years were 210); 13 field trips (projected total: 9); 5,440 hours of paid apprenticeship (projected total: 6,750); and 57 hours of high school level agricultural education (projected total: 60).

In Year 1, the project served unduplicated 35 local beginning farmers and ranchers (projected total: 30) and additional 85 regional beginning farmers (projected total: 70); or a total of 120 in Year 1 alone (projected total 100), out of which 95% improved their production practices and decision-making abilities, based on their surveys and reports. 15 local growers and ranchers completed a business plan in Year 1 (total projection: 15), and 30 (total project projection was 24) designed a farm (garden) operating procedures including a food safety handling plan. 20 local growers entered new markets (projected total: 10). In Year 1, no new / beginning farmers have used the services of NRCS or Farm Service Agency yet (projected total is 3), however, introductions were made and several farmers are looking into the programs, grants and loans offered. 20 new beginning farmers (projected total: 15) transitioned backyard growing into market growing or started a market growing or a farming operation over the first year, which represents a 66% increase in local number of growers (projected total number: 50%).

In Year 1, the project also installed an urban 1-acre Incubator Farm, added additional youth activities (agricultural club at the Tohono O'odham High School on the Tohono O'odham Reservation and summer ag internship), and started offering mini grants, matched savings accounts and loans to beginning farmers as a part of a community-based partnership program called Kickstart Ajo (funded by the Freeport McMoran Foundation).

As the numbers of beginning farm and ranch women has increased there has been a corresponding increase in programs providing education and technical assistance to them. While these programs have developed tools and curricula for addressing the learning needs of beginning farmers there remain many areas of the country where women farmers are still chronically underserved. In addition, while many tools, assessments and curricula are available there is no central repository for these materials. Nor is there a typology, or catalog, that can be used to determine which materials would be most useful given the needs of a specific target audience. 

The goal of this project is to assemble a national learning network to evaluate existing curricula and materials targeting beginning farm and ranch women of all ages, ethnicity, and agricultural production interests. Content teams will identify information gaps; develop corresponding learning modules, and train peers and colleagues in their delivery and evaluation. Our project focuses on subjects of special importance to beginning farm and ranch women: legal issues; business scale and profitability; farm safety, mechanization and ergonomics; land access, transfer and stewardship; and management. A virtual learning network will provide educators and agricultural technical assistance providers with evidence-based information regarding women’s learning preferences, peer-reviewed training materials, evaluation tools, and mentoring from colleagues experienced in working with women farmers and ranchers. 

We work closely with the BFRDP Clearinghouse and the eXtension Women in Ag Learning Network to determine the most effective way to house available materials and create functional search strategies to help users find support.  

Land access is a top challenge for beginning farmers (BFs); land transfer is a BFRDP statutory priority. The long-term goal of this standard project was for more New England
BFs to successfully access land to start or expand their farm businesses. Land For Good (LFG),
six partners and 13 collaborators in six states enabled over 200 BFs to access land or achieve
more secure tenure. Project goals were that: BFs are better prepared to access land to farm; more farms are effectively transferred to BFs; and stronger programs assist BFs to access land. Our objectives were to: educate, train and coach BFs on land access; help BFs find land and connect with landowners; educate and coach transitioning farmers on succession planning; improve succession planning providers and resources; and improve farm link programs. LFG recorded over 300 cases of intensive individual technical assistance to farm seekers. Collaborators planned, hosted, promoted, and delivered 60 land access educational workshops and seeker-landowner mixers, and Farm Succession Schools - including transitioning to new formats and online delivery in the last half of the project.  The New England Farm Link Collaborative made more farm properties available and visible to BFs, with 500 new properties posted to New England Farmland Finder alone, any more posted to 3 state farm link sites. We developed more structured coaching protocols around farm succession, continued a rigorous program of staff professional development, and developed new tools and resources. Over the 3 year project period, 86% of all BFs who responded to our annual impact survey found LFG services at least somewhat helpful. 75% of the 270 BF respondents to our annual impact survey during the project took some action, with 38% - or 103 BFs - gaining secure land tenure within the previous 12 months. Overall, over 205 farmers gained more secure land tenure and nearly 50 farmers complete succession plans. 

Finally, we improved the connectivity and performance of farm link programs in our region and nationally. We hosted the first ever national Farm Link Clinic in 2019 involving 27 programs, who then implemented program improvements. Wrote on participant, “LFG hosting the first ever national farm link clinic was a big first step in greater collaboration, networking and professional development for land access and transfer professionals. Ideally these clinics could be annual or every couple of years to continue this work.” 

We increased the number and enhanced the success of Native Hawaiian farmers to grow new agroforestry projects and improve resource management of existing projects. This project increased economic opportunity, food security and cultural connection to the forest in the Native Hawaiian community of Maui.

Objectives completed:

1) Trained 150 new and beginning Native Hawaiian farmers in agroforestry

2) Engaged 30 new Native Hawaiian youth in agroforestry as a career path

3) Enhanced the success of 50 beginning agroforesters

Future objectives to be fulfilled:

1) Facilitate 20 new farmers in designing an agroforestry/native reforestation project

2) Establish a demonstration farm cultivated by 100 new Native Hawaiian farmers

3) Provide land to 2 Native Hawaiian farmers to cultivate native crops and enter markets

4) Develop 10 new markets for agroforestry cultural crops.

To accomplish the goal we will conduct monthly classroom and hands-on workshops for an additional two years which are culturally appropriate and targeted at Native Hawaiian adults and youth.
We have established a new training program aimed at recruiting new agroforestry farmers (forest management and crop farming practices) and natural resource managers.

Based in Fairfax County, Virginia, but pulling on expertise and farms across Northern and Central Virginia and the National Capital Region, Arcadia's Veteran Farmer Program brings together regional nonprofits, agricultural organizations, veterans, and experienced farmers - including veterans who have made a successful transition to farming - to create a multi-layered farmer training and development program to launch veterans into careers in agriculture. This thoughtful, practical program increases the number of veteran farmers and helps to ensure their success by providing them with farming skills; business development and management training; and ongoing technical support. This program also provide continued support through ongoing mentorships from the business, agricultural, and veteran communities.

Arcadia's Veteran Farmer Program was successful in its goal to increase the number of military veterans operating new, successful farm operations in the Washington, D.C. region. Within 3 months of the end of the first year of the program, six program participants have already started to farm, while another four have gained experience and or/employment in agriculture and agriculture related jobs. Interest in the 2017 program was high, and Arcadia is expanding the size of the class to accommodate the additional interest.

The project’s overall goals were to increase the number and enhance sustainability of veteran and other beginning farmers and ranchers, through an innovative, holistic model for education, training, technical assistance, and outreach, reducing self-employment barriers for veterans and other beginning farmer/ranchers (particularly those with disabilities). To accomplish the above referenced goals the project: 1. Provided a holistic and relevant educational experience to support farm enterprise education and sustainability through access to: a) face to face and online educational training in farm management and production specific agriculture practices; b) individualized educational planning and guidance to support diverse agriculture business interests; c) hands-on learning opportunities connected to online course content; and d) follow-up mentor support, 2. Established peer-to-peer learning through a Community of Practice, and 3. Offered an array of veteran transitional and disability support services. Outreach efforts were targeted toward military veterans and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers/ranchers with and without disabilities. The project provided participants with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions regarding entering, establishing, and managing successful agriculture enterprises. The activities were designed to enhance participants’ success in agribusiness startup, business expansion and sustainability augmented by peer-learning and support services and experiential learning opportunities. Formative and summative evaluation measures for program improvement and overall evaluation were included. Program sustainability was addressed through strategic partnership engagement beyond the life of the project. Ease of replicability of the program has been engineered into the design of the program. Even though the project grant period has ended, the program is still being delivered.

Through the program 572 individuals increased their awareness and understanding of business and strategic planning, value added enterprises, conservation, economics decision making, risk management, animal production, vegetable production, and soil and pasture management. The program has held 80 hands on learning/field days with 1034 attendees. The program has held 9 one day workshops across the state with 531 individuals in attendance. Hours of agriculture production course work attended in excess of 440 hours and 1300 hours of hands on hours completed. Webinar attendance for the 3-year period was 4926 participants. The website page was viewed/accessed          107, 751 times. One thousand six hundred and six unique individuals were directly served through the program. One hundred and twenty-six individuals started farming, 725 individuals were helped to prepare to start farming and 126 improved their farming success.

This project has developed a Clearinghouse that will help beginning farmers and ranchers be more successful. The Clearinghouse has assembled educational materials, online courses, software tools, stories, and the ability to connect online into a well-organized website where beginning producers can quickly obtain the information, training, and connections they need. 

FarmAnswers.org has had over 86,000 individual visitors since it was launched, with those visitors viewing documents on how to get started farming through improving their farming success. Other BFRDP projects have used the Clearinghouse to share educational materials both with beginning farmers and other projects. And finally, the Clearinghouse has established an outcome-based reporting system to enable BFRDP projects to share the results that they have achieved with their BFRDP funding.

Over the course of Building Farm Foundations and Planning for Success: Beginning Farmer Training for Military Veterans, we have complete 4 -40 hour Armed to Farm trainings with 90 participants from throughout the Intermountain and North Western US. In addition we did a follow up training for Armed to Farm Alumni titled Armed to Farm 2.0 a Lean Canvas Enterprise Planning model with 13 hours of training.  This training had 13 Armed to Farm graduates that wanted to dig into their business plan or try out planning for a new enterprise. Of the 90 veteran participants in the Armed to Farm training, 23 have started farms and our post training evaluations indicate that 60 made positive changes to their business planning and production practices as a result of the trainings. 

In an effort to increase the success of our Armed to Farm graduates, we provided one on one technical assistance at the trainings as well as follow up technical assistance as needed. This included 55 individual technical assistance sessions by NCAT staff and our project partners throughout the course of the project.

We have watched a network of veteran farmers grow and solidify through the efforts of NCAT,  the veteran participants, and our project partners. We have a Montana based email listserve to promote agriculture events of interest for Armed to Farm alumni to attend. 25% of the Armed to Farm alumni in Montana have joined the national Armed to Farm Facebook group and participate regularly.

Our partner Vilivus Training Institute's efforts to recruit a veteran apprentice on their organic grain farm, did not materialize. Vilicus Training Institute, instead, provided mentoring and guidance on organic certification, USDA program participation, and cover cropping strategies to 10 veteran farmers.

Montana's farmers are under significant climatic and market pressure to create success from limited resources and opportunities. However, with new partnerships developing across the state to assist beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs), support for start-ups is poised to be greater than ever before. This project has prepared BFRs to take advantage of this expanded support and enhance on-farm success by providing them with the variety of business, production, financial, and networking resources they need.

Over the past three years, our network has offered 96 workshops and field days for BFRs focusing on business and production topics, reaching 1,335 participants over 2,500 hours. Of these participants, approximately 64% had limited resources and 20% considered themselves socially disadvantaged. Our state-specific online clearinghouse, FarmLinkMontana.org has had almost 90,000 page views by over 14,500 users. The site includes more than 50 pages of business, legal, financial, marketing, and production planning resources, as well as tools to connect beginning farmers and ranchers with land, mentorship, and on-farm employment. We have connected five BFRs with community-based financing through Kiva loans with those farmers raising $33,600 altogether. Through these and other tools supported by this project, at least 52 new farms have been started in Montana.

These programs are tied together by a focus on developing collaborative partnerships with organizations from around the state. Together, our network has developed Montana-specific resources to increase use, by both producers and service providers, of the tools and strategies available to assist BFRs in making informed decisions for their operations. This project has created a sustainable platform to ensure a positive future for Montana's next generation of farmers. 

The long-term goal of this one year Development project was to build the agricultural capacity among beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers in Massachusetts to operate their own independent farming enterprises, to increase farmer ownership rates, and to build environmental stewardship. The Flats Mentor Farm (FMF) is a program of World Farmers (WF) which provides land and agriculture production infrastructure for beginning farmers while they evaluate the sustainability of farming as a way of life for themselves and their families. 

This one year development project proposal helped achieve the following objectives: 1) Provide technical assistance to beginning farmers according to their level of capacity in the three phases of the Flats Mentoring Program; 2) Provide tools and develop skills on financial and risk management; 3) Increase beginning farmer participation in USDA programs. In the area of training and technical assistance, this project addressed the immediate needs identified by the immigrant and refugee farmer participants at FMF to better understand the complexities of farming in New England: crop production practices, entrepreneurship and business training, financial and risk management, marketing strategies, food safety practices and outreach to USDA programs.

The FMF beginning farmer training model is built on 30 years of experience in working hands-on with refugees and immigrants. The FMF program is based on a model of assessing and defining farmers in the three identified levels of beginning farmers’ capacity and providing training and technical assistance that respects each culture, and the capacity of each farmer to participate on both physical and emotional level. 

This project, which built on previously successful BFRDP funded initiatives, provided targeted services
that measurably improved the sustainability of Maine’s beginning farmers. The Maine Organic Farmers
and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) goals were to: 1) Continue enhancing the effective Journeyperson
Program; 2) Develop and launch a program to address the unique needs of “advanced-beginners (5+
years of experience);” and 3) Implement innovative strategies to increase overall reach, accessibility,
and impact of our farmer training programs.

1) Success in training farmers, as well as providing the skills needed for a demanding marketplace,
has always been the hallmark of MOFGA’s Journeyperson Program (JP). During the past ten
years, 240 new farmers have graduated from the program. Equipped with innovative
production, management, and marketing skills, these farmers have created more than 140 farm
businesses.

2) In early 2019 we developed and launched the Maine Farm Resilience Program for advanced-
beginning farmers needing to work through a strategic pivot point in their business trajectory.
Among countless other resources, we provided mentors, technical service providers and an
educational stipend to 24 advanced-beginning farmers to appropriately scale their businesses
and help them get back on track.

3) We capitalized on the success of our peer-learning programs to create a broader network of
support for beginning farmers; what began as in-person “Regional Gatherings” morphed into
online “Producer Meetings” at the advent of COVID. We fostered closer relationships with
military veteran and immigrant farmers by working with related organizations. These efforts
culminated in 431 beginning farmers participating in these programs.

Overall, and as a direct result of BFRDP’s support in the past three years, we trained 80 Journeypersons
on 59 farms. Our Agricultural Services Specialists provided on farm technical assistance to 145 farms.
We conducted workshops, trainings and educational events for a total of 2,232 educational
engagements with farmers.

In the second project year, Delta Farming Start delivered technical assistance, mentoring, and intensive, targeted training in farming start-up, farming practice and management, AG related business, and other critical areas to 45 selected participants. Participants are 100% African American, limited resource, socially-disadvantaged, small farm and ranch or are currently farmworkers. Participants are also 100% focused on specialty crop production. Participants completed quarterly 2-day training, received and will continue to receive ongoing one on one coaching and visits to their farms, soil testing with financial resources for soil preparation, tilling, row creation, and precision seeding equipment through the Delta Farming Start program for the life of the project. Participants were either prepared to start small independent farm operations or other agriculture-related self-employment, or to grow and diversify their existing limited resource farming operations.

In addition to 1,698 hours of training, coaching and mentoring, the MDC Delta Farm Start, BFRDP project year 2, Delta Farm Start has provided 1) 45 micro grants of $500 to participants for start-up or expansion expenses covering 102 acres of participant land, 2) access to 44 acres of donated land, 3) access to tractors, tilling and precision seeding equipment, at low or no cost to participating farmers, 4) connection to irrigation and hoop house resources, 5) connection to processing plant, 6) MDC cold transportation and cold storage for product, and 7) secured aggregate buyers for participants. (*Note: Please See Steps section below for additional detail on services provided to participants.)

Individual participant earnings project year 2 ROI:
Delta Farm Start project year 2 return on micro grant investment to farmers (ROI) = 812%
Of 45 funded micro-grants of $500, a $22,000 investment, grant recipients as well as an additional 10 participants who were not grant recipients but existing farmers have jointly increased their total annual earnings by $178,636.

The goal of this project was to enhance the viability of new and beginning farmers (NBFs) in WNC by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to start and/or grow successful farm operations focused on direct market opportunities. In achieving this goal, project activities provided NBFs with training, technical assistance, and resources to develop and implement direct marketing strategies in four key areas:

• Marketing - we helped NBFs build and establish their farm brand (farm identity, values, story), and develop and implement a marketing plan (through communications and direct market channels). 150 NBFs learned and implemented new direct marketing strategies, project goal was 160.
• Farm business planning - we helped NBFs use farm business financials and recordkeeping to manage and develop direct market business plan. 112 NBFs learned business planning/recordkeeping strategies, project goal was 100.
• Production for direct markets - we helped NBFs develop applicable production planning and management strategies including crops/varieties to grow, food safety, post harvest handling, and pest/disease control options. 77 NBFs developed and/or implemented crop plans for direct market channels, project goal was 90.
• Development of market opportunities - we helped drive consumer demand for, and connection to, direct market channels (CSA, agritourism, farmers markets). 231 NBFs participated in (and benefited from) print and radio direct market promotions featuring CSAs, farmers markets, farm tours, upick, and other direct markets, project goal was 160.
  

Despite the challenges introduced by the advent and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to adapt workshop and resource content and format to meet the demands of an unprecedented time, it is apparent this approach to assisting New and Beginning Farmers (NBFS) in western North Carolina was ultimately successful as the majority of project deliverables were met or exceeded.

ISED Solutions started its EET award collaboration with 20 refugee farming incubator projects (RFIPs) nationwide, to review beginning farmer curricula and programs for refugees, identify the gaps and develop, pilot test, and distribute specialized curricula, course workshop modules, and multiple instructional tools and manuals for instructors and technical assistance providers.  We also focused increasingly on specialized methods – skills development that also lacking among RFIPs personnel, and that lacking these can put refugee projects and farmers at a large developmental disadvantage.

Achievements related to the major objectives were:
*Established three EET project teams: Developers, Evaluators (Testers) and Advisory team.
*Collected over 100 existing curricula, identified gaps, and establish development priorities.  Posted onto a Google drive for partner and staff access and use.  Converted / upgraded more than 30 to post to website for brand access.
*Planned and initiated development of 26 new modules incorporating audience content with instructional methods targeting farmers, and/or instructor training or guidance tools targeting trainers.
*Planned and began developing comprehensive skills and capacity development for RFIP trainers / instructors, via written guidance, webinars, conference calls, readings, and meeting presentations.   
*Organized six multi-day meetings to bring together all partners, and also connect with other incubators, in sync with the New Entry/NIFTI annual conference in the fall.
*Supported a Community of Practice development approach via national meetings, webinars, conference calls, emails, resource sharing, and joint planning and development of resources designed for use by any or all interested refugee farming incubators.
*Began dissemination via Farm Answers, New Entry / NIFTI, IRC, and other partners. 
*Attended USDA/BFRDP grantee meetings every year.

As of Years 3&4, we posted over 60 new and expanded resources.  These are available here: https://nesfp.org/new-american-resources. Also, a comprehensive teaching  handbook was developed for staff who are providing (T&TA) in immigrant and refugee farmer-training programs. There have been over 4500 downloads.

According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, of Maryland's 12,400 farms, 20 percent are owned by people 65 years or older - a percentage that rises with the addition of farms owned by 55-65 year olds. With agriculture the largest industry in Maryland, contributing 350,000 jobs, the mass loss of farmers and their expertise in the upcoming 5-10 years, coupled with land-access obstacles for new farmers, could create a labor and farming vacuum with grave effects on the state's economy. What's more, agriculture remains the single largest source of sediment and nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, contributing 40% of nitrogen and 50% of phosphorus, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program. Much of this can be reduced by farmers well trained in cover cropping, drip irrigation, buffers, rotational grazing, and other conservation innovations that also allow them to remain profitable.

The Ensuring New Farmers' Long-Term Commercial Success: A Comprehensive Beginner Farmer Training Program for Maryland project collaborative developed and implemented a comprehensive program for first-year and intermediate-level farmers that included: 1) a supportive mentor community and resources for farmer success over the long haul; 2) specialized training in grazing, urban farming, and restaurant marketing for those interested; 3) a market outlet for new Baltimore area farmers, Chesapeake Farm to Table, which is set up to work with and train new farmers; and 4) needs-based mini-grants and flexible apprenticeship scheduling to meet needs of socially disadvantaged and low-income farmers. The project played a critical role in growing a new farmer workforce well-trained in practices that ensure long-term economic success, reduce agricultural pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, and build soil health. 

The long-term goal of this project is to support the development of strong, effective, and long-lasting farmer and rancher training programs to ensure that beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) can enter the field and establish successful farming businesses. This educational enhancement team project aimed to meet this goal by equipping BFR training organizations nationally with tools and skills to effectively conduct evaluations that clearly document program impact, improve programming, and enable program staff to identify and respond to farmer needs. Such documentation and program improvements was intended to increase participants' success and provide the accountability needed for the long-term viability of BFR programs.  Over the entire project term, from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2022, the project served over 222 unduplicated individuals (not all sessions could be assessed) who attended 7 webinars and 18 learning community sessions (there were 577 including duplicates). Additionally, many more have accessed our online materials.  From post session surveys, 95% at least somewhat agreed that the knowledge gained was useful, and 88% reported they at least somewhat agreed they were inspired to make changes or improvements to their program’s evaluation efforts. There were 49% that reported that they used something they learned from engaging with the GREW project sessions or resources.

World Farmers' project centered on increasing farmers’ agricultural capacity as they take their operation to the next level, and seek to transition beginning immigrant and refugee farmers onto independent land. The target audience for this project was the  354 immigrant and refugee farmers in our Flats Mentor Farm program. Throughout this project, World Farmers and collaborating organizations achieved the following objectives: 1) Provided farm transition planning assistance for immigrant and refugee farmers; 2) Transitioned small-scale or subsistence farmers to the next phase of their operations; 3) Conducted training and technical assistance in the areas of crop management and pest identification; 4) Assisted in farmer land acquisition efforts. This project and all its partners were dedicated to providing customized support to each farmer as they establish their individual farming enterprise, and to strengthen and enhance a new social fabric that welcomes new and diverse community members.

1. Project Title: Farmer Education and Enterprise Development (FEED) Project

2. Project Director(s): Chris Brown and Nathan Harkleroad of ALBA

3. Project Description: The FEED goal was to educate and train 150 beginning and socially disadvantaged (BSD) farmers to plan, launch, and/or sustainably establish independent organic farm businesses. ALBA exceeded its goal by training 250+ participants through workshops and technical assistance, and incubating 86 farm businesses. Of these 86 farm businesses, 57 continue to farm in 2019. FEED primarily served low-income Latinos in the Salinas Valley – many of whom are immigrant farm workers -- helping them achieve the dream of farm ownership and economic independence.

ALBA was able to achieve this goal with its 100 acres of organic land; a well-qualified team; an intensive, multi-year farmer development program; and, most importantly, the determination of its participants.  Furthermore, ALBA coordinated with four longstanding partner organizations to expand services to farmers, including during the transition off ALBA’s land. FEED’s objectives focused on all stages of BSD farmer development from start-up through farm incubation and transition from ALBA land and finally to maturation.

Obj. 1: Farmers receive intensive education and TA to prepare for and launch farm businesses.

Obj. 2: Farms strengthened through intensive production and business development services.

Obj. 3: Farms receive transition and business consulting services to firmly establish independent farm businesses off of ALBA ground.

The FEED consortium provided a comprehensive farmer development program leveraging the agricultural skills of BSD farmers to capitalize on growing markets for locally-produced, organic food. FEED combined affordable access to resources, intensive production and business assistance and linkages to loans and key business services needed to establish a farm business.

4. Collaborating Organizations:

a. California FarmLink
b. Carlson Food Safety Consulting
c. Community Alliance with Family Farmers
d. Kitchen Table Advisors

This project is a collaboration between Kentucky State University (KSU) and multiple community-based organizations (CBOs) in Kentucky who provide agricultural training to serve veterans and the socially disadvantaged.   We just completed the first year of this project and trained 175 BFs.  We trained them in how to start farms, production, and business planning.  Most BFs started farming operations: 35 refugee BFs started a market garden at Louisville Grows CBO's 5-acre farm and sold their crops to a nearby grocery store (called Save-A-Lot Store).  Another CBO, the International Center at Bowling Green, Kentucky, received a multi-year lease for a 5-acre farm from the city government.  This farm will be used next year to teach refugee BFs about commercial-scale produce farming by Mr. Tehran Jewell, Kentucky State University 1890 Land Grant Extension Area Agent and veteran commercial produce farmer.

During 2017, we experienced much success in refugee BFs starting vegetable production, sales, and, in essence, making money.  Several refugees were surprised at the income potential of small-scale and urban farming, in conjunction with direct-to-consumer sales.  Some realized
that they could earn more through this type of farming than from their minimum-wage jobs.

This year, refugee BFs at the International Center started an intensive hydroponic salad greens project: they learned how to construct a high tunnel, start seeds in Rockwool cubes, mix the correct amount of hydroponic fertilizer, etc.  These BFs have developed marketing plans and found two local outlets for their products. 

Another CBO, serving minority and impoverished BFs in the Appalachian Kentucky, started a catfish enterprise.  Local catfish farmers were struggling with marketing because they did not have wholesale outlets and did not have the resources to make retail sales.   This created an opportunity for this BFRDP project to collaborate with another NIFA 1890 Capacity Building project which was investigating fish transportation and holding systems.  BFs at this CBO were provided with a fish tank, and they started holding and marketing catfish locally.  This provided a means of risk management via enterprise diversification for BFs who were only selling produce.

According to USDA’s 2012 Census of Agriculture, the number of beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) reached a 30-year low in 2012 – down 20 percent in just five years. One key reason for the decline is finding, affording and securing appropriate land to purchase or rent. More than 40 percent of U.S. agricultural land is owned by principal operators and principal landlords over age 65 years . While this land is likely to change hands in the next 20 years, according to the 2014 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land Survey (TOTAL), agricultural landowners only plan to transfer about 10% of their land in the next five, mostly through gifts or trusts. Only about 2 percent is projected to be sold on the open market.

The future of American agriculture hinges on the successful transfer of farm and ranch land to the next generation. While many resources are available to support BFRs in production, marketing, and business planning, relatively few exist to help BFRs gain access to land. Farmland for the Next Generation is filling this gap. Its goal is to help BFRs secure land tenure from retiring producers as well as institutional and non-operating landowners. So far, we have evaluated existing curricula and resources, drafted a curriculum map, course outcome summary and comprehensive curriculum to meet the needs of diverse populations, regions, and agricultural systems. We selected 25 Land Access Trainers (LATs) through an open and competitive application process who will work with us to pilot the curriculum with 500 BFRs, help evaluate, validate and ultimately extend to other trainers.  We delivered a first training on the curriculum to the LATs. Based on their feedback and input from our Educational Enhancement, we revised and refined the draft curriculum for the LATs to pilot with 500 BFRs in Year 3. 

Feed Rhode Island: Growing Sustainable Farms seeks to increase the number and success of limited resource and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers in the state. Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) accomplishes this goal by leading an experienced team to undertake four objectives: provide training and technical assistance, manage multiple incubator sites, offer on-farm apprentice training, and facilitate a land transfer working group. Partners include RI Department of Environmental Management, Brown University, RI Land Trust Council, Nature Conservancy RI Chapter, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Northern Rhode Island Conservation District, Young Farmers Network, and University of Rhode Island. 

Through this program, the organization leverages the experience and relationships of program partners into meaningful outcomes that would otherwise take years to achieve. Technical assistance and training for urban and rural farmers launches them onto their own farms. It moves urban farmers onto larger plots of land. It leads to new behaviors that increase production and strengthen co-operative marketing while improving sales and boosting Rhode Island's economy. Support for an expanded apprentice program increases the number of people who are prepared to begin their own farm businesses. Effective management of incubator space, combined with execution of a broadly supported land transfer strategy creates new independent farms in a state where land values are astronomically high. Feed Rhode Island: Growing Sustainable Farms helps SCLT create significant change quickly in Rhode Island. 

Final Project Summary:
Our three-year training project amplified, deepened and extended the knowledge and experience ECO City Farms acquired over the previous six years of offering intensive on-farm internships and apprenticeships, urban agriculture continuing education certification courses, gardening and master composting courses, nutrition education workshops, herbalism trainings and summer-long youth education programs. We test-drove a replicable curriculum and methodology and over three years trained 54 new and aspiring farmers, 88% of whom fit the USDA classification of "socially or economically disadvantaged," and we worked to transform these novices into confident and competent urban farmers. ECO's educational approach included extensive practical hands-on experiences, one-on-one mentoring/training, farm visits, and a comprehensive culturally-appropriate curriculum incorporating the crop production, farm management, business, and marketing knowledge needed for graduates to roll up their sleeves and farm.

ECO's project consisted of all the elements required to become a successful sustainable urban farmer:
Intensive beginning and more advanced classroom training on a wide range of relevant farming and business topics; Certification of successful completion of the intensive classroom training by Prince George’s Community College and ECO City Farms; Extensive hands-on experiential training in actual farm work; Witnessing farming in all seasons and at a variety of scales; Training in the use of a variety of farm implements and construction tools; Experience of processing and marketing of crops grown; Supportive cohort and a network of local farmers and mentors; and Opportunity for employment at ECO City Farms with an experienced farmer close at hand and salary.

Free-range and pastured poultry operations are gaining increasing popularity and are particularly attractive to beginning farmers because of the relatively low start-up costs. However, there are significant challenges associated with economic viability, animal welfare, food safety, environmental management and training. The UC Davis Pastured Poultry Farm has created the Pastured Poultry Producers Training and Outreach Innovation Hub (3P I-Hub), which focuses on multiple training opportunities for beginning farmers including interested military veterans with respect to five areas: 1) husbandry, 2) housing, equipment and predator management 3) food safety,  4) environmental management and 5) business management and marketing. The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA/NCAT) helped facilitate recruitment of beginning farmers in California and Oregon.  Further recruitment of military veterans who are new or beginning farmers was done via collaborations with the UC Davis Veterans Affairs Office and the Farmer Veteran Coalition. ATTRA/NCAT was involved in course development and teaching in addition to UC Davis faculty. The efficacy of the training program was evaluated via surveys, and Social Network Analysis was used to identify successes and gaps in recruitment. Based on our Social Network Analysis (SNA) surveys, our 2017-2018 workshops resulted in 40% of the attendees increasing their knowledge sharing network following our workshops. One of the primary challenges of beginning farming is developing a knowledge sharing network, so this result is encouraging.

Global Garden Refugee Training Farm (GGRTF) developed and delivered 2 six-week courses to
prepare displaced refugee farmers for farming and farm business management in the Midwestern U.S. Fifteen farmers participated in the training, which was a first stage toward preparing them to develop farm business plans in preparation for establishing successful vegetable farms. Lesson plans were developed for another two topics: Season Extension and Soil Management.  Teaching materials were designed to be appropriate for displaced refugee farmers with limited or no English and potentially low literacy in any language. In-class interpretation was provided for all sessions. Course content addressed both the prior experience and knowledge gaps unique to newly arrived displaced refugee farmers.

During the 2015 growing season which followed this project's conclusion, participating farmers increased their income from produce sales at market by 214% over the previous year.  Other factors besides this project contributed to this increase, especially participants' improved English language skills, but the farmers also grew a wider variety of cool season crops, and improved both their produce displays and customer service.

Since the conclusion of this project, lesson plans developed for this project have been improved, expanded, and contributed to ISED Solution's 'Educational Tools and Methods for Beginning Refugee & Immigrant Farmers' which is developing and testing curricula and instructional methods for assisting displaced refugee farmers with continuing their careers in farming here in the United States.

Our Project Goal is to increase the number, diversity, profitability, and environmental sustainability of beginning farmers (BFs) in the central New York region. Prior BFRDP support established Groundswell as an outstanding regional center for new farmer training, technical assistance, and business incubation.  Having substantially exceeded all our target numbers of trainees and new businesses launched in that Project, we are expanding our programs and audiences to:
1. Increase the technical, business management skills of BFs.
2. Provide intensive business incubation support to selected BFs and increase regional incubation capacity. 
3. Connect BFs to existing wholesale markets, and develop new marketing opportunities.
4. Support cooperation among farm businesses, and develop cooperative models for farm business ownership, management, and business transfer.
5. Increase the impact of farmer-to-farmer mentoring by increasing farmers' skills as educators and mentors.
6. Provide entry-level, on-farm learning experiences for diverse “Explorers,” with priority on immigrants, refugees, people of color, veterans, and limited resource trainees.

Our 2015 Programs included:

• Farm Business Incubator Program (year-round)
• Farm Business Planning Course (10-weeks)
• Finger Lakes CRAFT (6 months)
• "Year-Round High Tunnels" technical course (10 months)
• Draft Animals Practicum (2 days)
• Single-session workshops (Farmer Educator Training, Explore Your Farm Business Idea, Get Ready for Market, Landseekers Meeting)
• Finger Lakes LandLink (ongoing)
• Farmer Networks (Cooperative Farming Network, Finger Lakes Orchards Exchange, Homestead Farmers & Gardeners Network, Farmer-2-Farmer Network)
• Individual mentoring in production, marketing and business management (year-round)
• Press Bay Holiday Market Days (new market serving mostly BFs)

In 2015 we served a total of 176 unique individuals who participated in our programs and/or received individual consultations and mentoring. 39 of those individuals participated in more than one program. At least 15 of our trainees began farming commercially in 2015, and at least 8 new farm businesses were launched.

Stone Barns Center's beginning farmer training program, the Growing Farmers Initiative, focuses on preparing new farmers to pursue economically and ecologically resilient farm enterprises in a rapidly changing world. We have sought to strengthen the rigor of our ecologically based farming curriculum so that we develop perceptive, adaptable farmers who will also champion sustainable agriculture and help others succeed. Our programs include apprentice training, workshops, conferences, and online learning.

We delivered high-quality, experiential-based technical training in the science and business of agriculture for our group of nine to twelve apprentices during their nine-month training here. Apprentice workshops met weekly and covered essential topic including soil science and management, plant botany, landscape design and ecology, engine mechanics, animal husbandry, and farm business planning. These sessions, open to young farmers from throughout the region, were taught by Stone Barns staff and other experts.

Our conferences and online learning platforms exposed farmers from across the U.S. to the principles of resilient farming. In total, the 2015 and 2016 and 2017 Young Farmers Conferences welcomed 850 young farmers from 38 states, 22% on scholarship, and covered topics on crop production, business management, animal husbandry, land access, and more. Each workshop was approximately 90 minutes and the majority of participants requested that the workshops be offered again the following year. We also hosted Poultry School in these years for 350 farmers.

Last, our E-Learning tools have reached a wide audience, with 105,286 unique views in the past three years (average 25 minutes viewing time).

Building on the successes of two prior BFR projects, the Growing Roots project provided in-depth, culturally- and regionally-appropriate training to support the economic and ecological viability of the next generation of diverse California farmers and ranchers. Our focus was on five Northern California regions comprising ten counties.

There are five core partners: UC Berkeley, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE), Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE), and Alameda County Resource Conservation District (ACRCD), who collaborate with ten “learning hubs” (farmer training sites) and Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs and NRCDs) to offer workshops, field days, farmer tours, networking events and one-on-one technical assistance.

Our key outcomes were (see Progress Notes for some context on statistics):

• Improved ecological production practices, business planning and marketing strategies, food safety programs and sales among our target farmers and ranchers.
• Increased BFR networking and access to resources, assistance and farmland itself.
• Increased knowledge among at least 521 BFRs, with 75% planning to adopt one or more new practices after attending our workshops, and 44% having done so within 6 months.
• Increased knowledge of at least 87% of all participants in our education programs, where 70% intended to implement what they learned.
• Increased knowledge and access to culturally-appropriate resources for Latino, Mien and Hmong farmers.
• Increased the farm success of at least 921 unique farmers and ranchers. 
• Increased capacity of 4 new agricultural learning hubs.
  

This project emphasizes the priority topic areas of basic crop farming practices, entrepreneurship and business training, financial and risk management training, diversification and marketing strategies, curriculum development, resources, vocational training for veterans, farm safety and awareness, and in the other subject areas advanced training for soils and irrigation, hoop house operation, and food safety. Our target audience includes Native American tribes in Arizona and New Mexico, limited resource producers, youth, veterans, and other beginning farmer participants. This grant is based on successful partnerships with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and tribal agents, and NGO/CBO partners who were identified during the previous BFRD project. About 40 percent of the budget is allocated to support our NGOs/CBO partners.

Lessons learned and feedback from participants of our previous grant indicated a need for more in-depth science-based curriculum to address plant production topics including soil and fertility management, salinity, irrigation, crop selection for different seasons, and integrated pest management. On the business and marketing side participants wanted information on farming as a business first, conducting market surveys, economics of equipment selection, working towards organic certification, tax information and strategies, zoning and regulations for farmers, and farm workers and food safety. This Standard BFRDP empowers beginning and limited resource producers to learn these skills through ongoing hands-on demonstration, instruction, and curriculum. The third year of our project emphasizes individual mentoring to better enable participants to adopt production processes learned to their own operations and implement their proposed business plans. We have engaged over 250 participants to date in our current project and are building on our previous experience to assist participants in adopting the skills and knowledge gained through the program. Our project goal is to have participants complete a production and/or business plan for a specialty crop small farm enterprise. 

With this project, Renewing the Countryside is completing a comprehensive, multi-year
project that addresses farmland access challenges facing beginning farmers in Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Iowa. We and our partners have developed an integrated process that assists new, resource-limited farmers in accessing farmland that is a good match for their operation and offers secure terms.

Throughout the project our collaboration has:
• Conducted eight farmland access literacy trainings (including 1 webinar) reaching 299 farmers. An abridged version was also presented to 360 college and university students.
• Convened 44 farmers to attend in-depth farmland access bootcamps to become better prepared for pursuing their land access goals. (Three more bootcamps are scheduled.)
• Connected 710 beginning farmers and 582 people who work with farmers to farmland access resources and information.
• Launched the Farmland Access Hub, with eight Farmland Access Navigators that have provided in-depth support to 188 beginning farmers, 65 of which have achieved farmland tenure with support of a Navigator.
• Initiated a media campaign reaching 40,000 people. This media campaign has helped to build awareness around the systemic farmland access barriers for beginning farmers and rally supporters together to help identify and implement regional initiatives to overcome such barriers.
• Held a successful Farmland Access Summit, where 87 stakeholders including, policy makers, service providers and farmers discussed farmland access models, issues and solutions. 
• With support from Partners and our Steering Committee, we have participated in discussions leading to government financial and legislative support for beginning farmer land access support in both Iowa and Minnesota. 

The purpose of the renewal Legal Aid of Nebraska (LAN) Beginning Farmer and Ranchers Development Program (BFRDP) Standard Grant was to increase the number and enhance the sustainability of farm and ranch enterprises in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and the eastern Colorado StrikeForce area. The project provided education and skills to beginning farmers and ranchers with focused outreach to returning veterans; deliver business succession planning to beginning farmers and ranchers engaged in transition with established landowners; and provided information for beginning farmers interested in small-scale, direct marketing operations. The project addressed the following Priority Topics for Standard Grants: 1) financial and risk management training (including the acquisition and management of agricultural credit); 2)  diversification and marketing strategies; 3) assisting beginning farmers and ranchers in acquiring land from retiring farmers and ranchers; and 4) agricultural rehabilitation and vocational training for veterans.

Program Need: The target audience included all Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and eastern Colorado transitioning landowners, beginning farmers and ranchers and prospective beginning farmers and ranchers, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. LAN will provide additional outreach to veteran farmers and ranchers in this region. For over 45 years, LAN has worked with a diverse range of farmers and ranchers including disadvantaged, underserved, and veteran groups and has the experience and expertise to address their concerns.
Since the early 1980’s, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado have experienced a dramatic decline in the numbers of beginning farmers and ranchers and an increase in the number of landowners over the age of 65. According to the 2012 US Census on Agriculture, in these states, the number of operators age 65+ is at least triple the number of operators age 35 or under.

The overall project goal was to create a vibrant network of beginning farmer training across
Michigan catering to a range of perspectives and needs while moving everyone who desires to farm
along the path of business viability. We especially targeted farmers with several years of experience, seeking to address key elements that often derail farming business success: land access, capital access, market access, business planning, and a strategy for scaling up. Intensive on-farm workshops facilitated and led by teams of farmers and other experts were the primary means of assisting farmers. In addition, we provided stipends to a cohort of beginning farmers and we created tools and other learning resources. 

Our initial strategy focused on two sites. The Michigan State University Student Organic Farm in East Lansing, MI build on nine years of training beginning farmers and the Genesee County Women in Agriculture Network established a training/demonstration farm site in Grand Blanc, near Flint, MI. We developed, conducted and evaluated training programs appropriate for both the sites and the participants. We also worked to engage Spanish-speaking farmers and identified many more of them than indicated by the most recent Census of Agriculture. 

ORIS’s long-term goal for this project is to improve beginning farmer success and food security among refugee and immigrant communities in New Hampshire. We do this by supporting beginning farmers with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to make good farm business decisions and enhance sustainability. The target audience is 100% immigrant farmers who have operated a farm or ranch for fewer than 10 years. This funding addresses the needs of limited resource beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged beginning farmers and immigrant farm workers planning to become beginning farmers or ranchers.

Year 1 progress:
Hosted thousands of hours of orientations, informational meetings, and technical workshops.
Expanded farm stands and CSA pickup sites; developed two new contract wholesale customers
4 farmers attended the 2017 Community Food Systems Conference
6 farmers from attended NASAP workshops
Purchased 56.8 acres in Dunbarton; 7 acres actively cultivated
Secured access to 4 acres in Concord for incubator farmers. Installed washing station and 12 gravity fed drip irrigation kits for beginning farmers.

Year 2 progress:
Through 2,072 hours of training and technical assistance on 3 incubator farms, ORIS facilitated culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business planning, peer-to-peer mentoring, and access to 9 farmer’s markets, 5 farm stands, 6 Mobile Market sites.

Year 3 progress:
Through 2,054 hours of training and technical assistance on 2 incubator farms, ORIS facilitated culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, business planning, and access to 11 farmer’s markets, 1 farm stand, 20 Mobile Market sites, and CSA program that grew exponentially.

COVID-19 challenged ORIS’s training, recruitment, and ability to connect refugee farmers other food systems players. Still, farmers embraced COVID-19 safety, while significantly increasing their sales. Farmer independence grew significantly. All farmers are eager to leverage the successes of this year, invest in their plots, and continue building their businesses.

Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas (CCNEK) in partnership with Cultivate Kansas City (CKC), is using BFRDP funds for a successful incubator training farm called New Roots for Refugees, and for new activities that support the scaling up of refugee farmers to meet wholesale demand in the Kansas City area. The long term goal is that refugees farm in Kansas City independently on land that they own or lease at a scale that they desire and manage. To reach this goal, we have identified the following objectives: Removal of Barriers to Marketing, Adapted and Increased Agricultural Skills, Financial Management and Farm Capitalization, and Whole Farm Planning.

The incubator farm program provides non-traditional lease agreements to gain access to land that require refugees to complete trainings and establish a path toward managing their own farm business. For each year of the program, refugee farmers take on additional responsibilities, taking the refugee farmer from dependency to independent farm business operator in 4 years. Specific emphasis is put on using equipment to maximize efficiency and profit, as well as teaching farmers how to plan infrastructure for their future farm sites. 

In our first grant year, we graduated 2 farmers onto their own land and helped them establish infrastructure at their new farm sites. We are on track to graduate another 7 farmers by helping them acquire land and develop infrastructure as well. From August 2016 to July 2017, New Roots farmers sold over $124,000 in produce to Kansas City metro area residents.

CCNEK and CKC have been working together since 2005 to help refugees start farm businesses, providing infrastructure, training, technical assistance, and marketing support. CCNEK has a long history of working with refugees, while CKC brings agricultural expertise, making an effective partnership for serving refugee farmers.