Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Our continued focus is women veterans in agriculture and women in agriculture who have connections to the veteran community (including spouses of veterans, daughters of veterans, and other veteran family connections). We have also sought to engage resource professionals who serve women veterans across the PNW, with a focus on our partners in OR and WA. This year we emphasized connections with OR and the burgeoning Farmer Veteran Coalition (OR chapter is in formation) and Oregon State Small Farms program. We also continued to engage our Advisory Committee that includes representatives from academia, Oregon State University, WA Department of Veteran Affairs, WA chapter of Farmer Veteran Coalition, Annie's Project, Washington Farmland Trust, and Rogue Farm Corps. Changes/Problems:Actionanable Recommendations, per theme: 1.The networking opportunity learning circles offers is a key driver to attend and every interviewee mentioned the connection(s) they made at the circle(s) as a benefit. To leverage participants' desire to contribute as well as receive, invite participants to share what they would like to offer at the circle during introductions. Explore the potential for building a mentorship model or buddy system for women farmers to support them to resource each other. Explore ways to cultivate local communities to sustain self-guided circles. This pilot could inform the development of a toolkit to support them. 2.To maximize accessibility, Veteran Women for the Land delivers broad content during a one-day gathering. Recall of technical content delivered during the circles was minimal. To leverage participants' desire to contribute as well as receive, invite participants to share what they would like to offer at the circle during introductions. Explore the potential for building a mentorship model or buddy system for women farmers to support them to resource each other. Explore ways to cultivate local communities to sustain self-guided circles. This pilot could inform the development of a toolkit to support them. 3.Veteran identity is not a monolith, and many veterans are ambivalent (or feel negatively) about their military experience/identity. Provide print or online access to content or resources discussed during the learning circle. Assist participants who are interested in learning more or collaborating on projects to form self-guided groups for continued engagement/action. Keep the information discussed in learning circles alive by following up with participants 3-4 weeks after the event to support application of resources/learning/connections. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We hosted a series of 6 Learning Circles in FY'2024. The following provides high-level details regarding what the events were and how many people attended: Whatcom County WA in October 2023 We planned this event with Flynn Farms, a veteran owned farm in the Whatcom County Oregon community, and Cloud Mountain Farm Center Four people registered for the event, so we set up on the day, but no one showed up. We discueed regrouping and trying again, but due to staff changes and land tenure issues we are still on hold Central Point OR, hosted on October 7, 2023 Topic was hosted about on-farm water resilience with a section about climate stress/grief Event was hosted at OSU's SOREC research center where farmers from the area joined the day long event We hada total of 12 participants and 5 service providers We did have a total of 18 register but not all showed up on the day of Portland Learning Circle The topic was about urban farming and building community Event was a partnership with the Oregon Food Bank and Oregon State University Extension Host was a non-binary veteran who farms in the area We had a total of 10 participants and 7 resource providers We did have a total of 16 people register Clackamas County Small Farmer School: Agenda Topic of the day was a curated experience for women veterans at Oregon State University Extension Small Farmer school which included business and agronomic workshops This was a partnership with Rogue Farm Corps and OSU Extension We had a total of 10 participants with 2 active resource providers involved throughout the day Chimicum WA on May 2nd Topic was focused on accessing markets We partnered with Gray Fox farm in Chimicum WA We had a total of 13 participants and 15 registrants Olympia WA on July 2024 The topic was focused on apiaries, bees and community We partnered with GruB Farm's Healing Through Hives program to reach veterans in the greater Olympia WA community We had a total of 10 participants and 19 registrants for this event How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As noted above in the publications section, we have shared flyers and agendas from our events which have been shared across a growing network of practice that includes resource providers and veterans that we have reached. We have an online network of 19 number of people and a list of contacts that we consistently promote events at with a total of 127 recipients. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our project is nearing completion. We aim to spend the remainder of our project time, using the no-cost extension to host a series of events for our community of practice at the Oregon State University Small Farms Conference on February 15th 2024. We will host the following events: -A working session with veteran serving organizations in partnership with Farmer Veteran Coalition and Oregon State University Extension on February 14th. -An affinity space for veterans and women veterans at the Small Farms Conference hosted in Corvallis on the 15th of February. -A happy hour discussion and resource sharing opportunity for veterans and veteran serving orgs to join after the official program concludes at the Small Farms Conference on February 15th. We are working with our external evaluator, Insight for Action, to finalize our evaluation report which includes data collected across all three years of our project. This will be included in our final report to NIFA.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In 2023, the first year of program implementation, the collaborative delivered learning circles at three sites, each with its own topic: 1) Spokane, WA - diversifying operations, 2) Orting, WA - perennial production and veteran resource fair, and 3) Eugene, OR - mental health. At this mid-point, women veterans who attended the circles were invited to participate in interviews to gather their reflections and constructive feedback to inform the subsequent round of learning circles. From among 14 potential participants, eight agreed to be interviewed. Collectively, they had attended all three of the learning circles and at least three are People of Color based on their unprompted self-disclosure. The data was analyzed to identify key themes which were shared with the program's advisory committee, who offered actionable recommendations in response to the findings. Key Themes 1. The networking opportunity learning circles offers is a key driver to attend and every interviewee mentioned the connection(s) they made at the circle(s) as a benefit. The networking opportunity learning circles offers is a key driver to attend and every interviewee mentioned the connection(s) they made at the circle(s) as a benefit. Some were more motivated to attend or follow-up so they could offer guidance/support/resources to others (as opposed to obtaining them for themselves). Six of seven interviewees had been in touch with other attendees following the circle(s). The continued connections participants described were typically with just one or two other attendees. Participants emphasized that the facilitation was excellent, supporting a safe environment where people could share and connect. They also talked about the benefit of building their "Rolodex" so they would have people to reach out as future needs arise. "Everyone got a chance to say something.I got a general idea of where each person in the room was coming from farming wise... I feel like,even if Ididn'ttalk to each person individually, I knew wherethey'recoming from."-Veteran woman farmer "I'vebeen in contact with some of the women who were part of the circle.I'vebeen able toprocureand source food items for our food boxes moredirectly, andreally increase the radius of whatwe'reable to source from our [local] producers. Just this morning I had a conversation with a new dairy producer.We'reexcited to dive into that relationship.It'sbeen a wonderful networking connection."-Veteran woman service provider "The lady that runs the place out there came out two months later with a U-Haul truck andI donated about 100 of my blueberry bushes for them to plant out there.It'sthe passion and the mission of whatshe'sdoing, how it coincides with whatI'mdoing, the sense of connection, and then honor for wanting to help her do well...It was only through the connection and the sense of place and the sense of belonging within the group, at that time in that space, that compelled me to do that."-Veteran woman farmer 2. To maximize accessibility, Veteran Women for the Land delivers broad content during a one-day gathering. Recall oftechnical contentdelivered during the circles was minimal. It is challenging to reach a small group of farmers (i.e., those who identify as non-binary/women and veterans) who are highly diverse with regard to their agricultural interests. By design, Veteran Women for the Land delivers broad content to maximize accessibility and emphasizes the networking aspects of programming. Recall of technical content delivered during the circles was minimal at the time of the interviews (5-11 months later) and none of the subsequent actions participants took (e.g., work trade, share resources or information about how to access resources elsewhere), on their own or with others, were based on learning circle content. One participant explained that it's hard to make the leap from the information delivery and ideation that happen in the circle to acting, especially when content is high-level information delivered at a one-off event without follow-up. "I havea long listto follow up with...I'mlearningall ofthese new things and went through the learning circle, which was fantastic for the information provided, but how do we provide that to others whenwe'rehavinga hard timeputting that information together and making it useful?"-Veteran woman farmer "One of the gals was talking about food hubs in their communities... This gal had some gigantic indoor hydroponics...Idon'tremember the particulars of that, butit'slike, oh, I could do a little bit of that in my community, but Idon'treally know how to start, so right nowit'sin the back of my head.It'sjust an idea that Iwouldn't,Icouldn'teven think about what the first step to get some momentum on that... It was justkind of liketapping into some ideas. You get these a group of people together, andyou startthinking and brainstormingand talking back and forth. And then you just walk away... here was all these thingsthat'sstarting to havegood conversation, and no, no next step...maybe makingit a regular thing where, as a group, we agree that this is really an important thing.Let'sget together in two or three months and figure out whatwe'regoing to do next."-Veteran woman farmer 3.Veteran identityis not a monolith, and many veterans are ambivalent (or feel negatively) about their military experience/identity. Some enter service to escape poverty and military trauma is common; some veterans have become radicalized against the military as a result. Others have patriotic or familial drivers for enlisting, report positive experiences, and/or hold a strong military identity. The time that has passed since completing service influences the extent to which one identifies with their veteran identity. Others such as mother, wife, farmer, etc. often become more prevalent as veterans move through their post-service lives. "I was in the Marine Corps... I was an administrative clerk, nothing fancy... I didn't really feellike I related to any of the ladies there. A lot of them had served at least 20 years so they're fresh out of the military, even though they're my age or maybe even older. I'm 55, but I was surprised there were a couple ladies older than me there, and then you get the ladies that maybe in the last five years got out of the military. I don't even relate to that either, because I've been out for 30 years." -Veteran woman farmer "When I meet people, they assume my husband is the only veteran. The learning circle helped me realize that I do matter, and what I'm doing does matter. These are good approaches because you don't want to be like, 'Hey! I'm a veteran too!' and sound like a jerk, but you want to work it in. Having our identity and not feeling like the men at the farm are the only ones who matter just because I'm a woman and don't have that man's strength, but I can do things, I am contributing, and I am important. [The Learning Circle] gives you ways to do that without blurting it out. You don't want to be that woman who's waving your arms. Just how to navigate your way through that." -Veteran woman farmer "I typically tend to shy away from anything that calls out women, veteran women, or veterans in general." -Veteran woman service provider "I think there would be more success with land access and collaborative work [if the circles were focused on] Black and Brown and Indigenous people than there would be with women veterans because of the deeply entrenched culture of patriarch and individualism and competitiveness... if you're centering Black and Brown women farmers and queer women, then you'll get your veteran." -Veteran woman farmer?
Publications
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Our continued focus is women veterans in agriculture and women in agriculture who have connections to the veteran community (including spouses of veterans, daughters of veterans, and other veteran family connections). Changes/Problems:Our biggest challenge is simply getting folks to show up at events. We end up with solid attendance, but we do have to work very hard to do so, calling people ahead of events and reminding them multiple times. We have also had many more people register than actually attend. It is a challenge to plan for a large group, including funding for food when the attendance estimates change. That said, our groups have been high quality. Some locations have had more demand than others, owing in part to our partners and location of women veterans. We continue to do our best to serve a diverse geography while being realistic about where we can drum up the most support. The virtual networks and virtual gatherings have not been well-attended. We continue to explore what is the most effective tool at our disposal for connecting women veterans beyond events and across varied geographies. We have also submitted a no cost extension request for this project to enable us to do a better job accomplishing our final deliverable of hosting a convening with women veterans and veteran serving organizations by integrating with winter meetings in FY'25. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?QPR (Question, Refer, Persuade)training Mental Health First Aid training Trauma informed training Climate Grief training How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared the report and communication materials with our attendees and registrants using a number of tools. These are outlined in the "other products" section. Additionally, after each Learning Circle event, we sent a follow-up email with a thread of resources, a contact list, and relevant publications to support their ongoing learning. Each follow-up kit can be shared with NIFA if so desired. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan on hosting 6 more Learning Circles: 3 in Oregon and 3 in Washington. We are unlikely to keep hosting virtual gatherings as they have not been well-attended, but we are hoping to foster more online engagement with our online network via Mighty Networks. We are also planning on hosting a gathering during the summer of 2024 with our Washington Department of Veteran Affairs partner during the 'Serving Those That Serve' conference in Wenatchee WA. Our hope is that this helps extend the work and our lessons learned to the veteran community in Washington and Oregon. We aim to submit for a no-cost extension to support a second convening during Oregon State University Extension's Small Farms Conference during winter of 2025 to reach women veteran small-scale producers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1) We hosted 6 virtual convenings with 10 attendees in total across multiple events. We also invited 82 participants to join our online network via Higher Logic. We are shifting to Mighty Networks and aim to foster a more connected virtual network of women veterans using this online platform. 2) We co-hosted a Changing Hands workshop with Rogue Farm Corps and the Veterans Ranchto try to reach women veterans. Three of them joined the session, along with about a dozen more participants, to discuss the challenges with land access, land transition and leasing. This effort launched some great conversations with Bend/Redmond (Central Oregon area) partners and fostered planning for a Redmond area Learning Circle on land access and livestock production. Unfortunately, that event in Redmond was cancelled due to poor registration. We look forward to trying to host another event in this area. 3) We hosted a learning circle in collaboration with the Washington Department of Veterans Affairsat the Veteran Farmin Orting, WA. Around 15 veteran women in agriculture attended this inaugural event where they discussed regionally specific challenges and strengths, toured the farm, and got to know other folks in their community. 4)Our team co-hosted, with the Washington Chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a session for women veterans and other women farmers in the Spokane community focused on diversifying operations and self-care. We had guests from three amazing farms, including: women veteran farmers Virginia Thomas from Clover Mountain Dairy(blog post); Nikki Conley from Athol Orchards; and Brittany Tyler from Four Roots Farm. At this Learning Circle, we had 13 attendees, 23 registrants, 4 TA providers, the rest are farmers/aspiring farmers/other. All but one TA provider was white, all woman/female identifying. 5)Our other Learning Circle was all about Healing through Agriculture, hosted on a no-kill vegan farm run by Shaundele Leatherberryof Good Earth Organic Farm, in partnership with Teagan Moran of Oregon State University Extension. We had wonderful participation from veteran women and other women farmers in the Willamette Valley. We had some facilitation on self care by Dr. Melissa Birdand contributions from others in the field of horticultural therapy including Oregon State University's Crystal Kelso. We had a total of 14 attendees, 31 registrants, all attendee's women/female identifying except two who identified as non-binary, 2 identified as non-white, 4 TA providers, the others farmers/aspiring farmers/landowners.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Citation: Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, Katie Winters, Addie Candib, Chantel Welch, Kim Pham, Caitlin Joseph. 2022. Veteran Women in Agriculture: A regional needs assessment for the Pacific Northwest. Washington, D.C.: American Farmland Trust.
NIFA Support Acknowledgement: Y/N
Link: https://farmlandinfo.org/publications/veteran-women-in-agriculture/
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