BFRDP Projects

FVC facilitates a national peer network that develops and provides access to training, education, internships, mentorships, jobs, financial and market opportunities for beginning farmer veterans. We combined new small scale livestock and vegetable production and business planning materials with existing core tools previously created through Risk Management Agency grants (One Page Business/Financial Plan, One Page Monthly Cash Flow Budget, and One Page Risk Management Plan). These tools have been adapted to explain small scale pork and pastured poultry production business, small scale honeybee, grass fed beef, lamb, goat, and vegetable business models. 

Over the grant period, FVC staff engaged with more than 6,000 new farmer veteran members through our headquarters in Davis, CA.

Farmer Veteran Coalition completed 27 workshops focusing on small scale livestock and vegetable production, risk management and financial education.  We have incorporated the new training materials into the workshops that target these farmer veterans and their specific crop and assist them in refining their own financial, production, risk management and business plans.  We held 13 webinars that focused on production and business planning.  Our most successful webinar focused on starting a farm from scratch: land assessment.  Over 140 veterans tuned-in live and the recording has 1,542 views. 

One of the workshops specifically focused on developing, supporting and educating women farmer veterans was held at the Stone Barns Center in March 2016. The women were educated on production, financial and risk management components of small scale livestock/vegetable operations. The 2017 Empowering Women Veterans Conference consisted of twelve hours of workshops in Santa Rosa, California.  This successful event saw many female farmer veterans bonding together to share their experiences and strength. In 2018, FVC partnered with NFU to bring women veterans together with other women farmers in San Diego, CA. Topics included financial literacy, marketing, collaborative farming and agritourism.  

Final

 Approximately 350 individuals participated in this program. The first objective was to provide farm business planning for participants.  Ten farm business workshops were conducted, and 500 attended.

After attending the business workshops, 40 % of participants developed annual business plans. Thirty or 22% of these participants submitted USDA Loan applications and received $2,153,000 in loan funds. Also, after learning about the liability associated with business structures, 45 participants, or 12% of participants, changed their business structure from sole proprietor to a Limited Liability Company LLC.

The second objective was designed to help BPs use the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) to obtain maximum yields and to use the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to improve their land. Approximately 20 educational sessions on CES and NRCS Programs were conducted, and 400 site visits were made.  Approximately 800 individuals participated in the sessions.

After learning about the NRCS Programs and the need for a USDA Farm Number to participate in the programs, 100 participants, or 30%, obtained Farm Numbers. Afterward, 70 participants submitted conservation applications and received $1,785,000 to install conservation practices. 

After learning about the importance of using CES recommendations for maximum yields, participants changed their behavior and started using CES production recommendations. This included 40% taking soil tests, 26% developing resistant weed control plans, and 30% using recommended varieties.

The third objective was to help BPs market fresh vegetables. This was accomplished by having vegetable vendors in the marketing workshops. As a result, 47 BPs sold their vegetables to workshop vendors. 

The fourth objective was to conduct a BFs Class. Approximately 105 individuals completed the class and received a certificate of completion and credit for one year of managerial experience, which is required for a USDA operating loan. Also, two class members purchased a farm.

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.” 

Our project was developed by and for small scale beginning farmers across Connecticut. Instead of duplicating the efforts of great organizations that are already offering beginner farmer training programs, this project enriched these programs by delivering core trainings, providing one-on-one technical assistance to participants, and implementing unique statewide events to foster networking and learning across the beginner farmer community. The core trainings offered were designed primarily for existing and aspiring sustainable vegetable producers.  All of trainings and resources have been branded as UConn Extension's 'Solid Ground Farmer Trainings'.

Core trainings included the following topics: business planning, soil health, farmland access, small scale production of vegetables and fruit, irrigation, post-harvest handling, tunnel production systems, cover crop systems, profitable meat enterprises, managing invasive species, pesticide safety, welding, business planning, eco-focused farming techniques, tractor and small engine safety & maintenance. Trainings were delivered in person in small group settings of 5 to 30 attendees. Training locations were in Bridgeport, Hartford, Killingly, New Haven, Simsbury, Stamford, and Windham. One-on-one technical assistance was available to producers who requested assistance in: 1) vegetable disease and pest management, 2) farmland evaluation and soil health, 3) farm financial record-keeping. and 4) engineering for post-harvest handling.  In year 1 there were 26 core trainings. In year 2 there were 34 core trainings. In year 3 there were 31 trainings. By the third year our project reached at least 275 unique attendees and drew a combined attendance of 800+ new and beginning farmers. 

Our project also used grant funds and leveraged key partnership to implement 3 statewide events: 1) The Build Your Network, Grow Our Future - brought together new farmers and service providers for a day of networking and training; 2) The Agriculture Re$ource Fair featured grant opportunities that are available to new farmers, co-presented by a producer that had received the grant and a grants program representative; 3) Farm Equipment Day was an opportunity to see vegetable equipment demonstrations.

Solid Ground Core Trainings were delivered at: Common Ground High School in New Haven, the Community Farm of Simsbury, the Green Village Initiative in Bridgeport, Killingly Agriculture Education Program, KNOX in Hartford, WRCC-GROW Windham, and UConn's Ready-to-Start urban agriculture program.  Other critical partners in the project are the New CT Farmer Alliance and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of CT.

Aquaculture Boot Camp (ABC) is an extremely successful program. The long-term goal of the program is to utilize “3-I” levels (Intensive, Intermediate, Introductory), 3 areas (aquaponics, aquaculture, and related business and marketing) and 3 types (hands-on, classroom/mentoring, and internet/webinar) of integrated training and multi-faceted approach, paired with mentoring of industry professionals and previous ABC graduates, to enhance the sustainability of limited-resource new and beginning aqua-farmers in the Midwest and Appalachian region. This has been accomplished through the development and delivery of a multi-phase ABC program in which new and limited-resource aquaculture/aquaponic farmers with different knowledge levels. The specific goals of the ABC program have been achieved through partnerships and collaborations of multiple nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and school-based agricultural educational organizations (SAEOs), as well as many aquaponics/aquaculture farms and several universities, led by The Ohio State University (OSU) and NGOs/CBOs/NGOs with expertise in new and beginning farmer training and outreach.  

For the ABC-1 project, forty-four new aqua-farms were created by the 2013 and 2014 ABC participates. For the ABC-2 project, forty-two new businesses/farms have been created by the 2017 - 2019 ABC-2 participates. For example, one of the ABC-1 Intensive graduates are now in his seventh year producing over 35,000 lbs fish/year with revenues of more than $125,000; a ABC-2 graduate has built an aquaculture facility that is able to produce 80,000 lbs of tilapia; another ABC-2 graduate is launching a commercial version of indoor shrimp farm in 2019 with a side of aquaponics; one of our ABC students has played important rales in developing Superior Fresh, a multimillion dollar fish farm and aquaponic greenhouse capable of producing 160,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout and up to 2 million pounds of varietal and leaf lettuce per year in Wisconsin.

The success of ABC can be attributed to the “3-I” levels, 3 areas and 3 types of integrated training and multi-faceted approach. The unique Internship program that provides apprentice-type training opportunities for next generation aquaculture/aquaponic farmers also contributed the success. Because of the success of this arrangement, the ABC-3 model can be adapted to other regions and communities in the United States. This model could easily apply to other industries, for example, a Horticulture Boot Camp, where participants would choose a horticulture crop to learn about and conduct a pilot scale project in the future. 

We addressed the primary goal of BFRDP “enhance food security, community development and sustainability by providing beginning farmers and ranchers … with knowledge, skills and tools needed to make informed decisions for their operations, and enhance their sustainability”. This project provided training and mentoring that assisted 48 beginning beef cattle producers from 28 different operations in South Dakota to become economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable. It was a collaborative partnership of SDSU Extension, 4 South Dakota producer organizations, 3 rural banks, and 19 beefSD alumni that served as peer mentors. 
It was comprised of:

• Instructional workshops (topics included livestock production, natural resource stewardship, marketing, finance, legal, and leadership)
  
• Case studies of four alternative beef production systems and management practices
  
• Evaluation of post-weaning performance of participants’ calves 
  
• Mentoring from peers, established beef cattle producers and agriculture professionals 
  
• Web-based interaction using social networking and webinars
• Travel-study trips to study other segments of the beef cattle industry

The intensive 24 month program was highly successful.  It presented producers tools to make wise management decisions that contribute to ongoing agricultural production, land stewardship, and rural community viability. Impacts to the producers are numerous and will have long term implementations and outcomes to the beef industry in South Dakota. Satisfaction with the program was 4.68 out of 5. 

Quotes on the overall impact: 
“Absolutely loved this program and we are so honored that we were chosen to be apart of this program and we can't wait to be able to implement everything we have learned and strive to continue networking, advocating, and improving our operation daily.”

“… I never would have even thought about 75% of the things we've done from going through a packing plant, feedlots, legislative sessions, white table cloth suppers, and the networking aspect....Its broadened my horizons so much” 

This simplified standard grant was used to enhance the activities of the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Program to provide innovative farm business management education for beginning female farmers and ranchers (BFFR), and develop a Land Link service for Nebraska.

This project funded eight Annie’s Project courses and a two-day Women in Agriculture conference to for 289 participants, 21% of which were estimated to be BFFR. These activities will catered to women by encouraging them to ask questions, connect with participants and speakers, and share their experiences. These hands-on programs increased the knowledge and skills of attendees, ultimately leading to greater success of BFFR.

The project supported Nebraska’s Land Link program, which launched Feb. 1, 2021. At the end of the grant funding, the Land Link program had 173 participants, 167 Land Seekers (10 Female)  and 6 Landowners (1 Female).

The purpose of this Educational Enhancement Team project is to develop new resources to help beginning farmers and ranchers improve the financial and business management aspects of their operations, as well as better-equip educators to guide them through this process. This project will:

• Develop and improve delivery of farm financial and business management tools and programs to help beginning farmers and ranchers better understand and manage the financial aspects of their businesses
• Improve the ability of organizations to deliver farm financial and business management training to beginning farmers and ranchers
• Evaluate ways to improve the Farm Answers clearinghouse to make it even more valuable to beginning farmers and ranchers
  

This project will fulfill the two goals of EET projects. It will identify gaps in farm financial and business management tools and programs and address ways to make Farm Answers more valuable to beginning farmers. It will also develop curriculum and deliver train-the-trainer workshops to better equip BFRDP projects to help beginning farmers in farm financial and business management.

Our program creates a positive ecosystem promoting professional and financial growth for beginning farmers in the Atlanta
region through an agricultural incubator immersion program. The 20 beginner farmers per year includes veterans, socially
disadvantaged, limited resource, or farmworkers, including women, African-Americans, Latinx, Asian, and LGBTQ farmers, with
at least 60% of the budget going to serve these groups. Training includes the hands-on application of knowledge as they learn
and work on the farm weekly and all participants will receive training through the University of Georgia. The objectives of the project are to continue training of graduate students, complete the repairs of the training site 100%, and continue to
work toward agricultural sustainability. GIF has submitted request for no-cost extension from March 2022 to May 2023. During the extension period, GIF will continue classes through May 2023. For this, we will continue our advertisement, marketing, and community outreach efforts.

The project milestones are slightly revised based on the following learnings from the first year of implementation: the lesson learned from growing lavender is that it takes about three years to generate income and turn it into a profitable venture. Since three (3) years is a substantial period for the farmer to acquire the desired profitability, the cultivation of this crop cannot be considered sustainable for beginner farmers. In light of this, we adapted the project by designing a specialized program to train beginner farmers in handling, cultivating, and processing hemp. We are rationalizing this based on the development in the state regulation and market. As hemp farming is now legal and profitable, cultivating this crop usually takes farmers 3-6 months to realize. Thus, our activities are designed to expedite the revenue generation and profit-making process through hemp production to sustain farms and livelihoods for beginner farmers.

Hawaii imports 85-90% of its food, making it highly vulnerable to disruptions in food supply. The state’s transition over the last 200 years from a highly diversified indigenous agricultural system to plantation-scale industrial export crops, which have now ceased production, has created an urgent need for revitalization of the agricultural economy. Hawaii has 7,328 farms, but 78% earn less than $25,000 per year. Costs of land, labor, and agricultural inputs are high, and the average farmer age is 60 years old. Hawaii’s governor established a goal to double local food production by 2030, which requires a significant expansion of farms and production volumes. In addition, local farmers need support to meet the challenges presented by climate change. 

The goal of the GoFarm Hawaii (GFH) project is to enhance Hawaii’s food system resilience by increasing the number of viable farm businesses in the state and the volume of food production. This project is working to develop new farmers through 1) a certificate-based farmer training program that integrates conceptual and experiential learning, 2) 1-on-1 business consulting and technical support, and 3) ongoing production, business, and networking support. The program components have been developed and customized based on the unique needs of the local beginning farmer population, who typically have limited experience and exposure to agriculture, and want preparation to operate their own farm businesses. 

This project is a collaboration of six Maryland organizations: University of Maryland, College Park (UMDCP); University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES); University of Maryland Baltimore, Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI); Farm Alliance of Baltimore (FAB); Black Yield Institute (BYI); Southern Maryland Agriculture Development Commission of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland (SMADC). 

Our goal is to alleviate what beginning farmers have told us are two of the biggest barriers to their success: land access and market access. 

Thanks to USDA-NIFA funding, we were able to expand our efforts to support urban, peri-urban, and historically underserved beginning farmers. Different organizations in our collaborative team taught about market research, legal issues related to leases and land access, and methods of growing and marketing African heritage crops. We provided one-on-one coaching to agricultural and food entrepreneurs. We built new online resources for realtors, landowners, and land seekers. We trained historically underserved farmers on how to grow and market African heritage crops. We held community convenings and listening sessions to build concensus on urban farmland access and tenure. 

The project applicants represent a regional coalition joined across the Tennessee and Virginia border in a region called the “Heart of Appalachia”. Our coalition represents a 20-year track record of building the local food economy from farm to fork, across all economic classes, across all ages. Through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program we improved start-up opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers to establish and sustain viable agricultural operations and communities. The coalition developed 4 main objectives in response to feedback from beginning farmers served by our organizations.

• Enhance Regional Coalition: The Coalition  increased networking and communication channels through quarterly meetings, an active working relationship between the Program Coordinators, and the development of a mentor learning infrastructure that continues to be successfully executed.
• Whole Farm and Local Market Education: In total 106 students participated in ARC&D's Winter Business Intensive and Field School. An additional 800 individuals particpated in the virtual Summer Field School held in 2020. A demonstration garden showcased the challenges and benefits of wholesale organic production.  Over the grant period,  12,500 lbs. of produce was harvested and approximately 966 individuals visited the sites.
• Internship-Mentorship Networking: Farmer and Rancher Mentoring (FARM) was created for adult and youth beginning farmers. Throughout the project period, 47 interns (200 hour and 70 hour) successfully completed the internship program. 31 farmer mentors participated in the educational experience. 
• Peer-to-Peer Circles: Peer learning circles are designed to create an educational and support network for farmers. A Women’s Farmer Roundtable was established in October 2018 in Tennessee and are still meeting regularly to date in 2020.The group plans to continue meeting after the project period. 

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.

Midwest GRIT is a peer-to-peer and professional education dissemination-based, year-long program to provide beginning grain farmers with the production, marketing, and business management resources they need to grow, market, and sell food-grade grains to their local communities in the Midwest region. Midwest GRIT delivers information through monthly webinars, bimonthly peer-to-peer networking and sharing sessions, at least 2 in-person events per year, professional grain grower conferences, direct technical assistance, and through the provision of a resource guidebook at the end of the program. The first cohort of 31 beginning farmers was convened in June 2022 and included 23 female, 7 male, and 1 nonbinary identifying participants. Twenty-six percent of the farmers in cohort 1 identified as an ethnicity or race other than white. The second cohort of 30 beginning farmers was convened in April 2023 and included 13 female, 13 male, and 4 nonbinary identifying participants. Twenty-seven percent of the farmers in cohort 2 identified as an ethnicity or race other than white. Cohort 2 is ongoing, but cohort 1 accomplishments include:

• Five participants from Cohort 1 grew and/or marketed food-grade grains for the first time following cohort participation
• Ninety percent of the Cohort 1 participants reported their access to peer/farmer community increased over the last year due to Midwest GRIT
• On a scale of 1 to 5, 39% of participants awarded their gains in knowledge of growing food-grade grains as a 5, indicating that GRIT programming significantly increased their knowledge of growing food-grade grains
• Participant also cited gains in knowledge in post-harvest handling of food-grade grains, marketing of food-grade grains, and business farming expertise
  
  
  
  
  

In Year 2, activities included 5 workshops and trainings that were conducted by First Nations and/or the three livestock associations. In Year 2, 117 producers attended and/or received technical assistance to advance their knowledge on conservation, ranching, marketing, processing, and much more.

In Year 1, the livestock associations were slow to report as a result in Year 1, 8 trainings were not reported they are summarized in the impact report.
In summary, the project proved to impact the advancement of the three livestock association and their capacity to manage their nonprofits. With technical assistance they increased their knowledge on grants management, nonprofit management, community outreach and engagement, and financial management.

The project also enabled the 3 livestock association to expand their outreach to Native American producers and explore potential new partnerships. As a result of their outreach, ND14R Ranch established a new market for cattle that did not meet the criteria to be deemed source-verified beef. Rather than taking the cattle to a sale barn they discovered a new market that has enabled them to receive higher sales that they would not otherwise receive at the sale barn. They also established a new partnership in the Navajo Agriculture Products Industry (NAPI) to finish off short sale calves to increase their weight and quality.

In addition, as a result of research conducted under the project, Point of Pines Cattle Association increased their cattle sales. In 2017, upon initiation of the grant project, the livestock associations were surveyed to identify the status of their organization, cattle herd, sales, and producers they serve. When surveyed in 2017, Point of Pines Cattle Association indicated that they were receiving $0.88/lb on their cattle sales. In 2019, at the conclusion of the project and through market research their cattle were selling for $1.25/lb.

Unlike private land owners, Native American producers manage their farms and ranches on trust lands. To do so, many are required to obtain a grazing and/or land use permit from the BIA if the permit was passed down to them by parents and/or grandparents. As such, livestock associations provide a means for Native American producers to continue ranching in some instances without a grazing permit because the land has been allocated for the association.  The associations serve in a quasi-cooperative capacity, managing all the producers’ cattle collectively, coordinating cattle sales, and maintaining herd health. While First Nations indicated that ranching startups was not applicable, five agribusinesses were initiated, with four of the businesses engaged in ND14R Ranch.

At time of final project reporting, First Nations learned that the executive director, Colleen Tessey of the Grasshopper Livestock Association was recognized with a Governor’s award for her contribution to Arizona agriculture and her work with the Grasshopper Livestock Association. She will be recognized at the 5th Annual Arizona Ag Roundtable on December 2, 2019 which will be attended by the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue.

The primary goal of this project was to lay the groundwork for the future Chemeketa Incubator Farm (CIF) Program. The long-term goal of this project was to increase agricultural opportunities and support economic growth by providing land-based education and business planning for new and beginning farmers. 

Planning work has provided direction on how we can best increase equitable agricultural opportunities and support diverse economic growth by providing farm and food systems training that considers future and current beginning farmers' individual needs. Activities completed have allowed us to identify the specific resources and services that are difficult for aspiring farmers to access. The impact of this planning work has allowed us to refine original ideas in the initial proposal and acknowledge the diverse needs of aspiring farmers in our region. It has helped identify the most important topics and skills needed for future farmers to be successful in establishing sustainable farm businesses in the Mid-Willamette Valley.

We have designed a training program which includes options for a non-credit training certificate and access to a variety of community incubator farms in Chemeketa’s Tri-County Service District. We’ve worked closely with stakeholders and partners to survey aspiring and beginning farmers. We’ve also consulted partners and organizations serving similar target audiences in other areas so we can minimize common barriers to new farmers. We’ve designed the proposed training program to include the most needed training and resources related to career exploration in agriculture, farming principles and practices, farm business development and management, and topics in food sovereignty.

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. 

During the 2nd reporting period the NB project team continued to provide opportunities for participants to become aware of the various programs offered by USDA and about ways to grow and improve their operation. 16 efforts were conducted educating participants on food safety, ways to become market ready, how to extend their growing periods, honey bee production and value added. The NB project team is on target in meeting it's project delivery goals. We have been providing demonstrations on how to implement best agricultural practices. The project will continue to conduct on going one-on-one assistance and follow ups to assist participants as they develop their various enterprises. 

During the 1st reporting period, the Native Brand Honey project team provided training, group and one-on-one training  workshops, demonstration to successful farming methods, and connected participants to resource. Overall the project team has been successful in its delivery effort.The Native American and Veteran Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (NAVBFR) being served have expressed they were very grateful for this type of support. Supplies have been purchase for training and support the needs of the participant in the development of their farm operation. During this reporting period, 8 production workshops were conducted educating 180 NAVBFR on seasonal planting, maximum use or land, about what crops to plant and when to plant. 1 estate planning workshop was conducted to introduce and educate participants on topics such as land acquisition and retention. 2 financial planning workshops educated participants on the importance of keeping good records. 2 Marketing workshops educated participants on the importance of finding a market early, and also connecting them to buyers. 3 high tunnel demonstration workshops were conducted to provide hands on training and experience. 2 farm tours to show participants what other successful farmers were doing, and practices they could implement on their operation. Participants also gained knowledge about farmers' market style of marketing. 

In the next reporting period, the project team will continue to educate participant and provide hands-on experience. The team plans on developing relationships with other agencies, extension programs and USDA programs so they could collaborate on trainings participant and enhance the project delivery efforts. 

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.

During this project, we focused our efforts on those individuals who do not have direct access to a farming operation in their immediate or extended family.  Most of our participants were from non-farming backgrounds.  Several of our students were mid-career professionals seeking an alternative work situation.  Numerous intake programs were held to develop interest in and awareness of the program.  Two Farm Skills 101 Sessions were held, each consisting of 3 on farm, hands on, skills based trainings.  Fifteen people participated in these events.  Subsequently, several networking sessions were held around various intermediate and advanced farming concepts.  These networking sessions helped beginning farmers to build confidence in their knowledge gained and skills learned, while simultaneously building their personal contact network of trusted professionals and honest critics.

A mobile Deep Roots Training Pod was developed and stocked with tools and equipment necessary for delivering current and future Farm Skills 101 training.

An online educational platform was developed via social media for fostering deep learning in classic agrarian literature, as well as connecting students with community members, leaders and mentors.

As a result, over 180 people received instruction in beginning farmer skills and concepts.  Specifically, 34 students participated in evaluated portions of the program and affirmed they have or will:

• demonstrate knowledge of resilient business management and marketing.
• understand the skills required for different types of farming.
• apply foundational natural and social science knowledge relevant to establishing and maintaining a farm business.

The results of this program have been published in our e-newsletter as well as our annual report.

The project goal includes implementing a program to arrest  the decline of Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (BFRs) and expand new producers in the lower twelve (12) Florida counties, through education, outreach, technical assistance, training, and access to Federal programs over three (3) years. This is achieved by building their capacities and strengthening their skillsets leading towards the development of viable farms and ranches.  The project targets forty (40) BFRs consisting of Socially Disadvantaged, Veteran, Women Tenant, Urban and Limited Resource farmers and ranchers engaged in Specialty Crops, Small Livestock, and Honeybee Enterprises.  To date working with forty five (45) BFRs the shocks from natural disasters and lack of access to capital have been minimized with initial steps taken to develop sustainable markets.  

The objectives and corresponding activities are (i) development and adoption of two Quick Response Tools for Rapid Farm Redevelopment and Expansion; (ii) training and (iii) technical assistance in farm business planning, leadership, management, climate-smart farm production (specialty crops, small livestock, and honey bee), food safety, recordkeeping, marketing, land leasing, microlending, cooperative development, postharvest and processing technologies.  The expected producer outcomes are (i) 12% [5] develop a pre-cooperative cluster; (ii) 30% [12] develop profitable farms as defined by stabilized annual incomes; (iii) 30% [12] are engaged in enterprises that show improvement in cash flow on an annual basis; (iv) at least 25% [10] develop Individual Small On-Farm Resilient Funds; and (v) 30% [12] utilize the Small Farm Update and Communication App (FarmTalk-Forum).

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.

Over the past year we held 12 fact sheets and 12 webinars. During the webinar series over 678 people attended the webinars series. 

Due to getting this BFRDP grant, we were able to leverage the work for additional funds to run a test pilot for the agritourism regional networking series that will happen in the BFRDP in 2025. We held four agritourism regional networking events bringing in 80 participants from agritourism operations, tourism, and extension. This program was very well received and we are excited to hold the 6 regional networking events in 2025. 

Our overall goal is to deliver high-quality training to underemployed, beginning farmers that prepares them to start farming businesses or enter careers as farmers. In Year 1, we provided provide agricultural, professional, financial, and business skills training to 16 beginning farmers in the KNOX Urban Farming Program through our newly-redesigned three-level program model. In Year 1, 4 participants have scaled up their existing farm businesses, 4 adopted a new marketing practice, 1 developed a business plan, and 7 adopted a new production practice. We also provided training to 10 non-program participants, focusing on low-space, high-yield growing. In Year 2, 1 participant created a new farm startup, 3 adapted a new marketing practice, 3 developed a business plan, and 5 adopted a new production practice. In Year 3, 1 participant created a new farm startup, 2 adapted a new marketing practice, 1 developed a business plan, and 8 adopted a new production practice. 

Additionally, we leveraged local partnerships to meet needs of participants not covered through the program and promote the importance and community value of urban farming in Hartford. Hands on Hartford provided access to their commercial kitchen, enabling participants to create value-added products. reSET provided basic business model and marketing trainings. Farm Credit East provided agribusiness and financial literacy trainings.

We also increased access to healthy, locally grown food in Hartford by leveraging KNOX’s partnership with local organizations and farmers markets to engage participants in growing produce to sell to the community. KNOX sold produce grown by participants to organizations such as Hartford Public Schools, Foodshare, My Local Chefs, and Hartford Healthcare’s Food FARMacy Program.

Our goals align well with USDA’s program goals to educate and mentor beginning farmers to improve their successes in farming and provide them with knowledge and skills to make informed decisions for their operations. 100% of total federal funds requested are allocated to nongovernmental organizations. 95% of the budget is allocated to serving socially disadvantaged farmers.

The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance continues to collaborate with Oregon State University staff and regional and state-wide partners to improve and ensure farm and ranch viability in Central Oregon through targeted educational activities, mentoring, improved market access, and diversification. This project is currently being implemented in the tri-county region, and serves primarily small family farmers and ranchers who grow and raise food for local markets.  The project is improving farming practices and market diversification through educational, networking, grant, and mentoring opportunities; has developed and implemented a regional agri-tourism project (the High Desert Food Trail); is providing assistance to the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch to develop and sustain a livestock program with a dual therapeutic and economic focus; and improving farmer and rancher understanding and engagement in public policies that affect their operations.

These objectives are being accomplished through a number of activities including: in person and virtual workshops and hands-on educational demonstrations at regional farms and ranches, butchering facilities and grocery stores; a farmer/rancher mentorship program; on-farm pasture and greenhouse management for veterans; and publishing of print and online materials for consumer education and engagement. These activities are designed to enhance participants’ success with sustainability augmented through peer-learning, support services, and learning opportunities. With the supplemental funding to the original award, HDFFA distributed On-Farm Efficiency Grant (OFEG) funds to 15 Central Oregon farms and ranches, 13 of which were supported by this grant. This financial support has enabled BFR to make substantial improvements to their operations, including season extenders and enhanced irrigation. HDFFA takes an iterative approach, evaluating each project to inform program improvement and overall success and impact. The target audience is 250 individuals with a direct impact on 60 beginning farmers and ranchers. The project is collectively impacting regional farmers, ranchers and consumers, while simultaneously informing regional and state-wide organizations.

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 Entrepreneurial Small Farmers of Southern Illinois (ESFSI) is to increase the number of beginning farmers from underrepresented and low-income groups who farm using sustainable farming practices in southern Illinois. ESFSI is modeled after the original Southern Illinois Farm Beginnings program with an expansion of objectives into skills development components for specialty crops, humane animal husbandry and a critical discussion about land access for farming and resources for conservation management. The newest component, Cottage Food Training and Certification, was developed and delivered, helping farmer trainees to generate cash flow through value-added foods using their own or locally sourced ingredients during early farm development. Mentorship and Farming Alliance field days assisted new farmers in skills development and regional farming practices for success.

In Year 1, we recruited 12 farmers with with less than 10 years experience, and provided holistic farm financial education for beginning farmers, sustainable farming skills development, and assistance navigating land and resource access. By reducing common barriers for entry into farming (ie, lack of knowledge and access to resources), ESFSI has supported Food Works in recruiting people of color, women, veterans, LGBTQ and low-income farmer trainees into agriculture. 92% of trainees began actively farming by the close of Year 1 (9/2024).

The long-range goal of this project was to develop a robust, comprehensive statewide Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) program that includes business planning, in-depth education on sustainable agriculture practices that increase biodiversity and resiliency and help mitigate climate change, information on accessing land and capital, and support and coping strategies for the physical, mental, and financial stresses.

Activities included

• Four regional BFR listening sessions
• One BFR networking and education conference
• Joining the Farm Beginnings Collaborative, gaining access to their network of beginning farmer educators, curriculum components, and best practices.
  
• Three advisory committee meetings used to refine a Kansas-informed curriculum based on financial and business planning and management. 
  

Primary objective 1 succeeded in developing a Beginning Farmer/Rancher curriculum that focuses on
business and financial preparedness.

Primary objective 2 was partially successful.  The Kansas Rural Center provided a virtual education conference for beginning farmers but was unable to gather input from the target number of 150 beginning farmers and farm training experts.

Due to design issues with evaluation tools and a poor response rate to post-event surveys poor quality data was gathered regarding what beginning farmers who participated in the education conference learned and their demographics. 

The long-term goal of this project is to increase the number of beginning Kansas farmer/ranchers and improve the success of their businesses.  This work is ongoing and efforts will continue after the grant to provide equitable education, mentoring, and technical assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers.

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.

In the "Expanding Integrated Solutions to Achieve Farmland Access for New Farmers" project, Jan Joannides, Executive Director of Renewing the Countryside with Co-PDs Lori Stern, Executive Director, Marbleseed, and Martha McFarland, Farmland Viability Coordinator, Practical Farmers of Iowa, along with Nathan Aaberg of The Land Connection in Illinois are expanding the services and network of the Farmland Access Hub to assist beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) in obtaining secure access to land in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.

Through this project, we have: 1) Helped BFRs become prepared to seek land; 2) Assisted these BFRs in obtaining improved leases or purchasing land; 3) Worked with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) BFRs to reach these same goals; 4) Grew the network of Farmland Navigators and Support Service Providers (SSPs) to support the work; 5) Created a thriving network of dozens of organizational Hub Partners in the Upper Midwest to integrate our work and sustain longevity (https://www.renewingthecountryside.org/farmlandaccesshubPartners); 6) Engaged farmland owners to raise awareness about transitioning land to beginning farmers. Specifically, we helped 164 BFRs purchase farmland or obtain favorable lease or use agreements. An additional 300-plus BFRs made progress towards accessing farmland. We supported and provided training to a network of 17 Navigators, who are providing 1-on-1 assistance to BFRs, including referring them as needed, to specialized expertise from a network of more than 150 Specialized Service Providers. We educated 325 landowners about transitioning land ownership to beginning farmers. We held the 2023 Upper Midwest Farmland Access Summit, attended by 215 farmers, farmland access advocates, technical specialists, and policymakers, which strengthened partnerships, build strategies, and heighten awareness of BFR farmland access issues and opportunities. 100% of the funds requested are allocated to nongovernmental organizations.

The overall goal of the Farm Management Educational Program (FMEP) was to recruit, train and equip 300 new, beginning farmers and ranchers (BFRs) with the tools and resources necessary to generate and implement a feasible farm plan, becoming sustainable in vegetable and meat goat production. The objectives for year 1 were to provide educational training and hands-on demonstration in basic crop and livestock production; financial management and risks mitigation; market diversification and risks mitigation; food safety and biosecurity; and to bring awareness of programs and services of the current farm bill. 

In year one, we proposed that 300 participants would learn the fundamentals of farming. However, we exceeded our goal by 58% and serviced 513 participants who learned valuable farm fundamentals in the 5 risk management areas of production, financial, marketing, human resource and legal risks. As a result of these training modules in year 1, participants have utilized farm management tools to sustain their operations, which we did not expect to see until later in the program. Some of the farm management tools utilized by participants was how to organize and set up their farm record system, implementing strategies learned from the hands-on training (developing and implementing a vaccination schedule, checking animals for anemia using the goat famacha chart). Another outcome from year 1 (Cohort I) was the number of participants who were concerned about their land and property rights. They were given valuable information on how to clear up issues with heirs property with a direct contact to the Mississippi Center for Justice.

In year two, there was 154 NBFRs (Cohort II) signed up for the online course in the summer of 2020, and 100 participants successfully completed it.  The participants received their user names and passwords and proceeded with the course activities. The first set of modules were offered June 1 - July 3, 2020 and provided participants with insight on Farm Fundamentals of Livestock and Vegetable Production; Financial Management; Marketing; Food Safety, and available USDA programs and services.  The current modules on Farm Business Plan Development were offered during the period of July 23, 2020 - November 27, 2020 and provided individuals with educational resources to generate and implement a feasible farm plan.  The participants rated all virtual zoom trainings through a real time evaluation zoom poll that instantly tabulated results shared at the end of each session.

In year three, participants will have the opportunity to implement their Farm Business Plans, utilizing accessible resources. To date, participants have developed over 60 Farm Business Plans that are being reviewed and prepared for implementations.  The year three training schedule is complete and the virtual training dates are February 4, 2021 - July 29, 2021.  The outputs for this project include farm management tools necessary for viability. The outcomes will enhance the capacity of new farmers and ranchers to implement a realistic farm plan, market a quality product, explore the many beneficial opportunities in the farm bill, and have a more productive workforce.

During Farm School NYC’s three-year USDA BFRDP grant from 2016-2019, we achieved the following objectives:

• 257 students gained knowledge and skills through courses to produce food sustainably and develop and manage innovative marketing activities. We organized over 55 Citywide Certificate courses—1,197 hours of instruction—at more than 20 farms in New York City and the Hudson Valley that improved participants’ knowledge and skills to produce food sustainably and manage marketing activities. We also conducted 24 workshops and immersive trips.
  
  
• 29 students gained more intensive on-farm training through our Farm Intensive Certificate Program.
  
  
• 41 students gained in-depth, hands-on experience through 140+ -hour apprenticeships to produce food sustainably and develop and manage marketing activities at 17 different farms in urban and rural settings.
  
  
• 45 alumni gained additional information, skills, and networking opportunities to support their entry into farming. We developed a variety of networking and continuing education events for alumni, including two new advanced skills courses – Soilless Production and Mushroom Production, two sponsored conferences, Farm School NYC’s CRAFT programming, two Summer Solstice Food Justice gathering, and end-of-season gatherings and student graduations. Moreover, we engaged alumni as teachers for courses – more than 25% of our teachers by the last year of this grant.
  
  
• 99 Regional farm apprentices and junior farm staff participated in our urban-based Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) program. We launched the first urban CRAFT program in the Northeast, with 99 participants at 22 events.
  
  
• 21 low-resource students eligible for our two most subsidized tuition levels completed Farm School NYC’s certificate program. This low resource group is 76% female, 5% gender nonconforming, 43% African American, 24% Latinx, and 14% Asian. This comprises 75% of those graduating, reflecting Farm School NYC’s demonstrated commitment to serving limited resource and socially disadvantaged New York City communities, and our outreach, selection and tuition strategies.

The Tilth Alliance Farm Works (TAFW) Agricultural Training and Incubator Project expanded opportunities for farmers in the Puget Sound Region (Washington).  Beginning farmers, including socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers, veterans, and   immigrants have been recruited through strong partnerships with community groups, as well as other social service providers and young farmer networks. Project participants completed a 20 week farming and business operations course with hands-on and classroom components, tailored to meet the cultural background and language of the participants. At the end of the training, participants had access to land leased at heavily subsidized rates, as well as on-site technical assistance at the nearly 13-acre incubator site.  Beginning farmers benefit from the shared infrastructure and learning community that is maintained with farmers working alongside each other as well as from socializing and sharing at communal meals. Farmers also benefited from support in developing markets, including selling their product to Tilth Alliance Produce, a food hub operating a CSA and subsidized CSA for low-income participants.

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. 

PFC's Growing Tomorrow's Farmers project addressed intractable issues of fresh food access, farmland access, and access to agricultural and small business education for low resource individuals in the Western New York region. With farming and business mentorship and hands-on training and technical assistance, beginning and aspiring farmers acquired skills and competencies essential for sustainable crop production and small farm business management to ensure their success. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected throughout the 3-years of this project through surveys and interviews (presented in each participant's native language) assessing participants' skills acquisition; quality of life improvements such as improved access to culturally relevant foods and improved mental health and well-being; farmer's vegetable yields from years 1 through 3; farmer's sales and earnings records from years 1 through 3. Through the provision of free farmland and farming education to low-resource populations, PFC is building a more inclusive and equitable food system in Western New York. This project is helped otherwise land-less farmers gain a foothold in the local food system, develop farm businesses for supplemental income, increase culturally relevant fresh food access for their communities and ultimately, experience an improved quality of life for themselves and their families.

The goal of this grant was to address food sovereignty (and security) for three South Dakota Reservations, through increased producer capacity in production and marketing, enhanced access to/utilization of local produced foods by individuals and organizations on the 3 targeted reservations. Initially written as 60 individuals trained in consumer horticulture 30 individuals trained in ranch management/livestock systems and 180 individuals trained as "new beginners." Although the original project director and program manager primarily focused on beef cattle livestock in year one, the current project director and his team adjusted the program to include smaller acreage systems (both livestock and horticulture) to reflect the fractionated land access realities on the ground for 98% plus of tribal populations on these reservations. The end result is as follows:

2015: just 18 participants looking to become producers or start farming or improve their success were involved in the program (11 in livestock and 8 in commercial horticulture) across all three reservations.
2016: increased to 49 (through the transition towards a small acreage agricultural systems to replace "commercial horticulture."
2017: increased to 503. (218 in BFR small acreages and/or Introduction to Bison; 151 in home growing (gardening); another 63 in BFR stakeholder meetings and public events, and 47 youth participated. Additionally 24 non-native adults participated in our small acreages program. The math alone tells the story. The corrections we made to the program in 2016 set the stage for a fully functioning BFR program in 2017.

Helped to Prepare to Start Farming: 863 tribal individuals (home growing/gardening)

Started Farming: 403 (small acreages ag system participants plus commercial horticulture and large livestock/ranching participants who had never farmed or were just getting started).

Improved Farming Succcess: 16 (participants who had been a producer for more than 3 years before the program began).

Total: 1,282

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 Land for Farmers project is assisting aspiring and beginning farmers in New England, and across the country, to gain knowledge and skills to make farmland access a reality for their farming endeavors. This project revised the New England Farmland Finder website, the region’s largest farm link website, with added features and improved functionality. Additional guidebooks and resources were developed and distributed freely on the newly improved Land For Good website and Resource library. Acquiring Your Farm - a new six-week course - was offered annually to provide in-depth support to cohorts of farmers ready to make next steps. Webinar series for farmland owners was offered annually on Making Your Land Available for Farming to increase availability of properties and ensure their suitability for farming. Land For Good staff and partnering organizations provided educational workshops and individualized technical assistance on farmland access, tenure and transfer across the six New England states.

With gratitude to our project partners: American Farmland Trust, Connecticut Farmland Trust, Vermont Land Link/Intervale Centr, Maine Farmland Trust, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, Southern New England Farmers of Color Collective and World Farmers.

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.

In the New Organic Stewards: Expanding Community, Resources and Financial Knowledge project the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), Renewing the Countryside (RTC) and local collaborators brought 1,130 new and beginning sustainable farmers in Wis., Minn., Iowa and Ill. together for learning opportunities. New and beginning farmers in communities throughout the Midwest met, networked, learned from each other, viewed successful organic operations, gained access to additional programs and resources, and learned basic sustainable farming and financial management practices.

The emphasis of our offerings was creating a safe, comfortable, accessible, engaging environment of exploration to those just beginning their path to farming. Although according to the 2012 Ag Census the number of people entering farming continues to drop, we continue to see new entry into small, diversified farming systems by people with no farming background, or a gap in their farm history. With support, we feel that there is opportunity for these people to succeed in creating sustainable farming systems.

We held four regional 2-day New Farmer U events, and numerous conference workshops and activities for new and beginning sustainable farmers. The book, Fearless Farm Finances, was updated and expanded and used as a training reference. One-day financial workshops, supported by the book, optional add-ons at the New Farmer U events, provided in-depth financial basics to strengthen the financial literacy and sustainability of beginning farmer attendees. A 15-lesson online course was developed, based on the book and using video and presentations from the one-day trainings, and offered as both a free access and fee-based teacher supported course.

As a result of the project attendees chose to participate in additional educational programs, implemented new production methods, initiated financial recordkeeping and analysis to make their farms more profitable and sustainable and felt a greater sense of community and support on their path to farming. 678 of those involved made progress in their dreams of beginning to farm or further improved their existing farm operations.

Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas (CCNEK) in partnership with Cultivate Kansas City (CKC), used BFRDP funds for a successful incubator training farm called New Roots, and for new activities that supported 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 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. 

We achieved removal of barriers to marketing by placing farmers' at markets across the city and increasing the amount of customers who purchase farmers' aggregated produce. Additionally, we provided education about sales and sales support to remove barriers. We supported farmers to achieve adapted and increased agricultural skills through workshops, field trips, and in-field support. Financial management and farm capitalization were achieved through education, record keeping support, and planning. Our graduates worked towards whole farm planning with the support of our Graduate Specialist through workshops, conferences, grant application support, and site visits. 

North Texas Farm Success: A Series for Beginning Farmers provided a series of educational opportunities for new and beginning farmers and ranchers in North Texas and East Texas who direct market their products. The project also surveyed area farmers and ranchers about their needs and barriers for building or growing successful agricultural operations in order to develop a continuing education program through El Centro College’s Agriculture department.

The project targeted a section of Texas in an approximate 100-120 mile radius from the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area. Through 18 virtual and in-person educational events, the project served 149 unique farmers and ranchers, as well as some gardeners eager to learn more. The project leveraged local expertise as well as resources at FarmAnswer.org and other sources.  Farm Success grew the base of known new and beginning farmers and provided feedback from participants that will inform future education and training event and started building a community of practice within the target area. Collaborators included Shine’s Farmstand, Texas Worm Ranch, Good Local Markets, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, and GP Ranch.

The Open Books: Open Farmland project is led by Angelic Organics Learning Center, Liberty Prairie Foundation and Upper Midwest CRAFT farmer alliance. The project will bring farmer-led services to 217 beginning sustainable agriculture farmers and trainees. As requested by farmers, the project addresses two major barriers for beginning farmers: financial management training and land tenure. The long-term goal of Open Books: Open Farmland is to help beginning farmers in their first ten years of startup develop viable, financially robust farm businesses in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The objectives of the project are to:

• Create and launch farm finance working groups and a mentoring program that enhance farm financial management and improve the economic viability of at least 40 farms.
• Increase access to capital and related financing training for 24-48 farmers.
• Increase land access for beginning farmers using innovative farmland transfer strategies and create a link program to match retiring farmers with beginning farmers in need of land, resulting in at least 6 successful matches over the project period.
• Build the collective knowledge of best practices in improving farm economic viability; disseminate results with others.

Our primary approach to achieve these objectives is to design and integrate farm economic viability programs into established farmer-led farmer training programs. The collaborating farmer alliance and nonprofits are the leaders of innovative farmer training in the region and provide the only training that is farmer-led, focused on sustainable agriculture, and aimed at expanding the local food economy.

The Organic Farming Program is a collaboration between Rodale Institute and Delaware Valley University to train and support the next generation of organic farmers, with an emphasis on military veterans. Over the past three years, we have had success and received additional funding to continue our work in training the organic farmers of tomorrow.

The one-year certificate program mixes practical, experiential on-farm training and classroom-based curriculum to achieve three goals: (1) Equip new farmers, including military veterans, with the knowledge, skills and experience to operate a successful organic farm enterprise by developing, delivering and refining practical and classroom-based organic farming curricula. (2) Increase the number of successful organic farm enterprises in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond by providing business training for new organic farmers, introducing students to existing farmer-to-farmer networks and supporting farmers post-graduation through social and web-based media platforms. (3) Support military veterans in their transition to the civilian workforce by providing a dedicated program coordinator who is a military veteran, coordinating an informal mentoring network between established military veteran organic farmers and students, and ensuring all program costs for military veterans are covered.

The Organic Farming Program has graduated 13 students, 7 who were military veterans, in the past 3 years. Over all 22 students applied and attended at least one semester of the program. Most did not continue due to having their own farm and being to busy, or not being able to afford the program, financial aid was established for civilians in year two. Nine of the graduates have gone on to start their own organic farms in local region. The past 3 years we listened to the students and changed some aspects of the program, one significant change is having implemented an accredited organic livestock class to the Fall Semester. 

Through a partnership between the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust (PPLT), Nichols College, Global Village Farms (GVF), and the Massachusetts Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/MA), this project supports beginning farmers and ranchers (BFR's) with training in financial literacy, business planning, soil health assessment, and climate smart management practices. Over the last year, we focused our outreach efforts on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) BFR's in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (with small expansions into Vermont and Connecticut). Per the 2017 Agricultural Census, there are approximately 3,500 BFR's in Massachusetts and 500 BFR's in Rhode Island. In addition, there are approximately 550 BIPOC farmers in these two states. As our our capacity grows over the next two years, we work to reach BIPOC BFR's in all or part of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut, where there are hundreds, if not thousands of potential candidates for this program.

Given the high regional population density and land development, many of our farmers have small-scale operations. As a new organization providing outreach and programming for BIPOC beginning farmers and ranchers, our first year was focused on conducting intentional outreach (with a clearly defined process) that would benefit and amplify all our future offerings and the organization as whole. As such, PPLT planned, developed, and continues to expand our regional farmer network database via Salesforce. Our second year of this BFRDP project, we have had time and capacity to develop our 2024 strategic plan, which include expanding our indigenous food sovereignty programming, BIPOC producer support, and improving our outreach processes for both. We have successfully supported 74 Beginning Farmers and Ranchers expand their business, develop their production skills, and expand their network. 

During each 1:1 meetings with producers, PPLT provided funding access navigation, production TA, grant writing assistance, USDA resources, and community building facilitation. Over the past two years, our team (NOFA/Mass, Nichols College, Global Village) has provided a 1 six-day intensive business planning, nine soil health training workshops, nine soil health webinars, a community building and USDA resources workshop, a "Financial Literacy 101" course, an "Excel for Farm Business" course, 84 1:1 TA sessions, and many more individualized experiences for farmers and ranchers. 

We deeply appreciate the support of NIFA and look forward to our third year of our BFRDP project. 

This proposal targets beginning farmer refugees and people of color in the urban areas of Tucson (IRC & University of AZ Cooperative Extension, UACE) and Phoenix (Spaces of Opportunity & UACE) plus Indigenous Peoples and other limited resource beginning producers in rural areas of northern (Flagstaff Foodlink & UACE), central (San Carlos) and southeast (UACE) Arizona. We were able to conduct trainings in 4 of the 6 areas proposed this year.  Difficulties in delivering education were incurred due to the health of one of the agents and other scheduling conflicts. Six BF refugees started growing on the UA Campus Ag Center this fall (October 2024) and we are arranging for them to utilize some high tunnel space this winter.

Making small-scale agricultural production more economically viable is addressed by providing education and assistance on BFRDP priority areas of business and entrepreneurship training, innovative land acquisition strategies, basic production practices, diversification and marketing strategies, climate smart agriculture, acquiring ag. credit and risk management, recordkeeping and food safety, and mentoring. We have currently reached about 100 of the expected 270 unique beginning producers proposed.

In the third year of the project, HOPE engaged over 869 BFR individuals in person and virtually, providing farming and
ranching training. Adding our digital imprint, including our website and socials, expanded our reach up to 73,969 (869
engagements + 73,100 digital engagements). These numbers were obtained through various channels including social media, workshops, conferences, and our cohorts. An example of the positive impact we have had on our participants is Sandy Woods. Sandy Woods, a new permaculture micro farmer in Harlingen, Texas, passed by the HOPE farm while running
errands. Her curiosity led her inside, where she consulted with HOPE's founder, Diana Garcia-Padilla. With the
encouragement and instruction on farming techniques in the LRGV provided during her consultations, Woods learned valuable techniques about growing in the Rio Grande Valley that have allowed her to now sell her organically grown dragonfruit, bananas, berry jams, and many other value-added products at HOPE's indoor farmers market.

In the second year, our program has engaged over 1,150 BFR individuals in person, providing farming and ranching training. Factoring in our digital outreach, including social media and online lessons, our reach expands to over 79,000 individuals. These numbers were obtained through various channels including social media, workshops, conferences, and our 6-week BFR cohorts, the latter of which has seen the participation of 68 individuals.
The number of individuals participating in our cohorts did not significantly increase in our second year, however, HOPE saw an increase in the number of participants who were committed to learning on a higher level and found greater success in their farming ventures.
An example of the positive impact our practical skills workshops are having is the success of Daniel Reza, the owner and operator of Green Wing Microgreens. Shortly after Reza started growing microgreens for his family, he happened upon HOPE’s social media post for an “Intro to Growing Food” workshop. Reza says he learned more about the magic of soil, about proper tool usage, and the importance of the foundation he is using to grow his microgreens. With his enhanced knowledge and opportunities found at HOPE, he has now added an additional source of revenue to his household. He not only sells his organically grown microgreens at area famer’s markets up to four times each month, but now, here at HOPEs indoor market, his products are available for sale to the public four days a week.
As we move into the third year, we plan to invite more guest experts to speak at our workshops, provide more individualized training and personal visits with growers, and offer more online resources for farmers across the region to be successful in the field, as well as in operating their farming businesses.

At the time we developed the project plan and grant application the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was still unclear. As a result we were unable to do some of the activities we’d planned, particularly those requiring travel or large gatherings. Other activities were adapted for virtual delivery.

We did assess the food sovereignty programs offered by tribal colleges in North Dakota and concluded that partnering with an existing program would be more effective than launching an entirely new food sovereignty program.

We recruited students in the northeastern region of North Dakota for our Farm Beginnings course and served 15 students of which seven were from the northeastern region and six were Native American Beginning Farmers. The Farm Beginnings class met nineteen times starting January 28 and ending April 22. The course included 40 hours of online material plus readings, worksheets, podcasts, pre-recorded videos and a digital resource library. Nine new Whole Farm Plans were created as a result of the course.

We also held a focus group to assess the demand for beginning farmer education on the Spirit Lake reservation. We found that there is interest in education on farm business planning, production methods, and especially Native American led education on traditional farming methods and uses of plants.

The North Dakota Local Food Development Alliance met monthly and doubled in membership and engagement. The Alliance gained several new members from the northeastern region. A food security initiative serving the Spirit Lake Tribe called Wana Wota joined the Alliance. The Alliance launched a Tribal Food Sovereignty working group with tribal members, NDSU Extension's Tribal Liason and USDA Rural Development's ND Tribal Liason all participating.

Recognizing the challenges of starting any type of business, the Corporación Juvenil para el Desarrollo de Comunidades Sostenibles (CJDCS), through its AgroInnova program, successfully provided a comprehensive training experience with both conceptual and practical components. The program implemented innovative outreach and recruitment methods and delivered meaningful hands-on technical assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers.

The program was designed for 140+ participants, including 10% Military Veterans and 70% socially disadvantaged individuals. It aimed to develop five formal value-added enterprises using locally grown products and enlisted five experienced farmers/ranchers as mentors to empower the next generation of agricultural entrepreneurs. Participants were expected to complete the 6-month training cycle, including five specialized certifications, followed by hands-on mentorship and an apprenticeship component supervised by agricultural experts.

During the first two years of the program, it exceeded its targets, recruiting 203 participants and achieving 94 completions—surpassing the goal of 91. Four training cycles were conducted, offering 95 workshops and 21 farm visits, including practical experiences that reinforced theoretical knowledge. Twenty-two participants have completed business plans with marketing components. The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón facilitated 20 certificate courses, equipping participants with critical skills for agricultural business success.

Additional achievements included the incubation of four value-added enterprises, focused on products such as local coffee, medicinal plants, hot sauces, and vinaigrettes, and the active engagement of eight experienced farmers as mentors. Despite challenges such as weather disruptions and scheduling adjustments, the program adapted to ensure that all goals were met and that participants were well-supported throughout their training journey.

By the end of the reporting period, AgroInnova had made significant progress in fostering agricultural innovation, sustainability, and economic development in Puerto Rico.

The Regenerative Poultry and Vegetable Farming in the San Luis Valley for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers project built on Rio Grande Farm Park (RGFP)'s existing Farmer Incubator program. This program supports farmers in starting their own small farming enterprises, generate economic return from farming, and attend workshops on regenerative farming and business development practices. The majority of RGFP’s incubator farmers are immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala and operate as a cooperative. 

The goals of this project were to 1) introduce poultry farming as a new income pathway for farmers in the San Luis Valley, improving their economic health; 2) ensure that farmers have the knowledge and skills to launch successful food-related enterprises; and 3) increase farmer income and consumer access to fresh local produce by creating a direct-to-consumer farm stand model selling fresh, local, organic goods.  Through this project, RGFP increased local farmers' capacity to generate income and offer local food to the community. 

The project focused on three key elements:

1. Poultry Farming. RGFP introduced a new poultry farming model based on Minnesota's Main Street Project. This model uses poultry as the centerpiece of production while integrating diverse regenerative agricultural farming practices.
2. Enhanced Education. In conjunction with partners, RGFP offer in-depth education on   new markets, financial management, regenerative agriculture, and poultry farming. Additionally, incubator farmers convened regular meetings with support staff to plan, and evaluate the season and programming. 
3. Farm Stand Pilot. Incubator participants started a farm stand pilot run by the cooperative that they created and operate. The farm stand was set up in Alamosa, CO and operated for three days/week for seven weeks.  It provided a new market channel while gauging capacity for and community interest in a permanent stand that could sell chickens and produce. 

The overall activities on the first year were limited by the pandemic mandatory curfews, and the political unstable environment during elections and related transitions.  These factors refocus our strategies from direct contact with farmer and ranchers in public settings to online tools, phone conversations and email communications. The government directives for no public gatherings limit public events attendance (e. g., produce market places, social/public events, farm visits, and others). Also, there were delays during the Christmas holidays, from November 2020 to February 2021 in which businesses and farmers became unresponsive to our attempts to outreach and set up meetings. However, we were able to:

• plan strategies for year 2022,
• educate employees about the grant requirements,
• draft powerpoint presentation to share with the public,
• create and record a BFRDP grant program introduction video,
• research educational information from USDA library and other private sources to be use as educational materials,
• research and evaluate educational printing material affordable options,
• attend USDA seminars about the BFRDP grant requirements,
• secure a collaboration contract with the University of PR-Mayaguez Agriculture Department to provide agriculture subject matter experts during the grant implementation to meet the education deliverables,
• translate BFRDP information and educational documents for future distribution,
• market BFRDP grant in our organization website,
• meet with other organizations to assess the local agriculture community,
• meet with other organizations to acquire local agriculture data collection,
• develop internal documents to onboard farmers and ranchers,
• create online information seminars, 
• create online registration and survey tools,
• contact other community organizations to inform about the BFRDP services and seek collaboration (e. g., Farmers Bureau, University of Central Florida),
• meet with a handful of farmers in person that were willing to overcome covid-19 concerns

You can summarized the first year as a period of preparation. Also, as a period of initiating the BFRDP grant implementation plan. 

New Jersey boasts productive, high-quality farmland located near some of the most densely populated and diverse markets in the world. Fruit and vegetable, nursery, floriculture, and greenhouse operations exist, along with strong public commitment to farmland preservation and agricultural industry development. However, successful continuance of agriculture in the “Garden State” depends upon developing a skilled next generation of farmers. The RU Ready to Farm: Getting Rooted in the Garden State program has expanded on the existing Rutgers Cooperative Extension RU Ready to Farm initiative, turning this program into a multi-year, statewide program providing technical education, mentorship, and land access opportunities to beginning farmers. Over the past four years, the RU Ready to Farm program team has worked to address the continuing viability of the agriculture industry by providing this hands-on training and education to a diverse audience of 188 new and beginner farmers across the State of New Jersey. With the support of the program and its team, at least 22 farmers have started a farm business, and 11 have found employment on active farms. The three-phase program is structured as a comprehensive educational resource that takes beginner farmers through (1) learning foundational knowledge (soil selection, pest and disease, farming regulations, etc.), (2) hands-on farm growing, management, and marketing, and finally (3) operating their own farm business with continued program support. The waitlist for the program has grown by over 300% between the first and fourth year that this program has been offered, an encouraging sign that there is a strong force of beginner farmers excited to begin their journey into the world of agriculture.

A partnership of Easter Seals Wisconsin (ESW), Wisconsin Farm Center (WFC), and University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX), the Securing Beginning Farmers Through Succession Planning project, in keeping with BFRDP goals, addresses the need of Wisconsin farmers who do not have succession plans in place (56% of farmers over the age of 55) to ensure the successful transition of farm operations to the next generation of beginning farmers, over a three year period. We successfully completed the three-year grant period by exceeding all project goals.

The long-term goal of the project was to increase the number of beginning farmers in Wisconsin and to enhance their sustainability, with the primary objective to provide the outreach and individualized, on farmsite, guidance, information and technical assistance necessary for farmers and farm families to develop and implement effective and sustainable succession plans for their farm business operations to transition to the next generation of beginning farmers.

UWEX provided statewide outreach to farmers and families; WFC Facilitators and ESW FARM Specialists provided senior farm operators and beginning farmers with the guidance, knowledge and tools needed to make informed decisions on continuation of the farm business, retirement plans, and financial, tax and inheritance issues.

During the three years of the project, 123 farmers were guided and encouraged to complete a succession plan by FARM Specialists, resulting in 62 individuals completing and finalizing an effective, sustainable plan for the next generation of beginning farmers to assume management of their own farm business operation, with the assistance of WFC Facilitators. Twenty-three others are in process.

The Southern New England Farmers of Color Collaborative (SNEFCC) is a collaboration of beginning farmers of color and collaborators who work to increase the success of farmers of color in the New England states. SNEFCC aims to position farmers of color for new opportunities, and to provide them with the necessary skills and resources to build and sustain successful farm enterprises now and in the future. This work requires a solid foundation of education and training; ongoing mentoring and coaching; skill and resource sharing; and other forms of mutual support and relationship building. Through SNEFCC's Land Access Course for Farmers of Color in Southern New England Project, as well as SNEFCC's management of peer-to-peer learning groups (called Farmer Circles) in each state, SNEFCC is helping to meet these unique needs and is building a strong network of beginning farmers of color across the region. 

In our first project year, we hired a Project Coordinator and Project Assistant. We assembled a Steering Committee (originally called our Core Team) of 10 individuals representing several leading BF service providers in the CT-RI-MA region; nine members identify as BIPOC. We launched a subcommittee focused on Curriculum Development.  An Executive Committee of four members  met monthly (and sometimes bi-weekly) to monitor steps toward project activities and give staff guidance. SNEFCC's Land Access training program that is structured to engage a cohort of farmers of color (and aspiring farmers of color) with a curriculum focused on pathways to land access for both urban and rural farmers. The course launched in Feb 2022 and was offered again in spring 2023. In addition to land access training, SNEFCC is supporting peer-to-peer learning through Farmer Circles which has proven to be an exciting strategy to build farmer networks and resilience. In 2022, SNEFCC distributed stipends to 23 farmers for the purchase of seeds, tools, and other small inputs. Moving into our final year, SNEFCC is taking steps to support BIPOC farmers in their access to tools and equipment. SNEFCC will distribute stipends to BIPOC farmers to purchase tool inputs, and also explore the development of shared equipment libraries. SNEFCC is also supporting the professional development and learning of BIPOC farmers through participation stipends to cover registration and travel costs to attend farmer training opportunities.

Rogue Farm Corps’ collaborative project Strengthening Oregon’s Beginning Farmer and
Rancher Education and Resources through Collaboration, Outreach, and Inclusion built
capacity to sustain and enhance our state’s beginning farmer education programs, resources, and
service providers through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) Working Group of the
Oregon Community Food Systems Network. In October 2019, 25 farmers, educators, and service
providers gathered for a strategic visioning and planning session to define this Working Group’s
short and longer term goals and priorities for better supporting Oregon BFRs. The Working
Group provided a central hub for updated information on BFR education programs and
resources, increase engagement within the BFR community, strengthen organizational
connections and support services, and boost outreach efforts. Top short-term priorities include
increasing coordination to advance collaborative efforts, increasing the diversity of leadership
and participation in the BFR Working Group, forming advisory committees to develop future
strategies, and obtaining additional resources to support unmet needs. Professional coordination,
facilitation and training provided by this project deepened current work; enabled the formation
of a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee; developed a long-term strategy for
the Land Connection Technical Assistance Advisory Committee; updated, improved and
disseminated BFR Resource guides; and convened stakeholders to prioritize action items and
strengthen strategies for a future BFRDP proposal and other funding opportunities that will
increase collective impact. These joint efforts supported enhanced viability of beginning
farmers and ranchers throughout Oregon.

Note for Delivery: Because this was a planning grant, numbers correspond to service provider meetings, trainings, and professional development, not service delivery for BFRs.

With the nation’s need to foster a new generation of farmers, beginning farmer education must go beyond simply offering training to get them started farming and instead create educational programs and tools that keep them farming. This project created a learning progression from basic to advanced education—based on farmer developmental stages—to support beginning farmers and ranchers successfully through their first 10 years and beyond. The project built on Oregon State University’s established basic beginning farmer education programs, adding advanced
education in business management and sustainable farming methods. The program and the new advancements created an education pathway that includes experiential and instructional courses. The project is a powerful partnership between Oregon Tilth, Inc., and the Oregon State University Small Farms Program.

Progress related to project objectives:

1. With extensive farmer participation, we identified four key developmental stages
of farmers and farm businesses. We continue to use this information to inform and develop basic and advanced curriculum that is ready when the farmers are ready.

2. We developed one online course (25 hours of content) and two topical online modules (3 hours of content each) influenced by objective 1 as sophisticated online education offered in a hybrid face-to-face and online format.

3. We established Teaching Farms at three Oregon State University research farms. These Teaching Farms offered a variety of field-based educational events. In addition, each farm has a focus area for curriculum development for adoption at other sites in Oregon and nationally. Examples include: dry farming demonstration and grower collaborative, and basic hands on training in farm production.

4. We created and support four women’s farming networks in high demand areas of Oregon serving and connecting over 400 beginning and experienced women farmers. With our other approaches to networks we now maintain a total of seven farmer networks that include nearly 800 farmers.

The Urban Growers Leadership Program (UGLP) supports limited resource and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers within the urbanized areas of northern Rhode Island by decreasing community learning program participation barriers, providing learning and networking experiences and resources, and empowering beginning farmers to be successful and become leaders in their community. The Northern Rhode Island Conservation District (NRICD) will continue to collaborate with local and regional partners to administer training, technical assistance, networking opportunities, and funding for leading urban and community gardeners and farmers. Partners include African Alliance of Rhode Island, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Groundwork Rhode Island, Green Circle Design, RI Health Equity Zones (HEZ), Mt. Hope Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island: Plan4Health Initiative, Providence Healthy Communities Office and Providence Parks, Sankofa, Southside Community Land Trust, University of Rhode Island, What Cheer Flower Farm, Master Gardener Program, and the Young Farmers Network. Utilizing the knowledge base and skill sets of NRICD’s partners to facilitate the UGLP has promoted diverse agricultural practices and developed a network where participants will share knowledge, experience, resources, and assistance well after their participation. The 2024 UGLP provided multilingual training in English, Spanish, Swahili, and Kinyarwanda, along with a technical assistance program consisting of workshops, farm tours, and hands-on farm days that will enable the long-term ability of program participants to provide technical assistance in their communities. NRICD is currently working to develop a multifaceted tool to support the program participants while developing video training resources for the participants and their communities from the 2023 and 2024 workshops and will expand upon these resources in future project years. Limited resource and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers have and will continue to increase their agricultural, social, cultural and economic knowledge, while becoming ambassadors in their communities.