Source: CENTER FOR LAND-BASED LEARNING submitted to NRP
ENHANCING SUCCESS OF MILITARY VETERANS IN AGRICULTURE THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING AND WRAP-AROUND SUPPORT
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026884
Grant No.
2021-77028-35275
Cumulative Award Amt.
$744,937.00
Proposal No.
2021-05270
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[AGVET]- Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans (Ag-Vets) Competitive Grants Program
Recipient Organization
CENTER FOR LAND-BASED LEARNING
40140 BEST RANCH RD
WOODLAND,CA 957769106
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The long-term goal of this project is to provide comprehensive classroom and hands-on agricultural education to military veterans and to connect them with support services that will increase their retention in agricultural careers. Our target audience will include service-disabled veterans, women veterans, and socially disadvantaged veterans in the state of California. We plan to train 54 unique individuals in this population for workforce opportunities in agriculture, which will be either entrepreneurial (Beginning Farmer Training Program) or long-term farm or ranch management positions (Apprenticeship Program). The Center for Land-Based Learning (CLBL) will be the lead applicant and administer the project. CLBL was a sub-awardee on a previous AgVets grant (Award # 2018-77028-28386) with the Farmer Veteran Coalition. The current proposed project was designed around lessons learned from the previous grant, with the following goals: 1) Expanded recruitment of veterans into agricultural training; 2) Providing comprehensive and immersive training opportunities; and 3) Providing culturally competent wrap-around support to address barriers to completion. This project will train 15 veterans to operate their own farming businesses and place 15 additional veterans into farm management apprenticeship positions with paid training and education. Twenty-four veterans will participate in a short course helping them explore a career in agriculture. A team of collaborators will provide assistance with statewide recruitment, including government agencies, and will also assist veterans through individual support and connection to resources. Veterans will be paired with mentors, and be provided financial support to overcome barriers to participation or completion of the program.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
60101993100100%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management;
Goals / Objectives
The goals of this project are -1. Raise awareness of agricultural opportunities in veteran communities and lower barriers to participation by offering multiple entry points and building diverse partnership2. Provide comprehensive education and training opportunities for hands-on learning and classroom training in diverse agricultural enterprises.3. Provide culturally competent wrap-around support to veterans to encourage retention and remove barriers to completion
Project Methods
Outreach and Recruitment:The new partnerships that will be developed through this grantsuch as the Dept of Labor's pilot VETS TAPS program, AgrAbility, and the Women Veterans Alliance will help us reach a wider network for veterans.AgrAbility will help us reach service-disabled veterans, which are a new target audience.Women Veterans Alliance will specifically help us target women veterans.DOL VETS TAPS program is nationwide, that will be able to reach veteran audiences on a broader scale than in the past.We will host virtual information sessions that provide an avenue for veterans to ask questions and learn about our programsAgricultural Education and TrainingThe Explorer Program will walk those very new to agriculture through basic questions to see if agriculture is a good fit for their goals and lifestyle needs. The curriculum has been used for over 20 years and is light - sessions are once a week for 6 weeks.The BFTP utilizes three types of teaching methods: a) lectures delivered by farmers, agriculture professionals and other ag educators, b) hands-on "labs" that take place outdoors in the training site and c) farm visits that expose participants to a diverse range of practices on different farms and ranches. Participants are required to develop a business plan as the final project, which is then presented to a panel of farmers and peers.Veterans will then participate in either the 7-month Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP)with both classroom and hands-on training opportunities, or in the CFA's 2-year registered Apprenticeship Program (CFAAP) with both classroom and paid on-the-job training.Veterans in the CFAAP will be trained in leadership and management skills through a year-long course, with the goal of preparing them for a successful occupation in farm or ranch management.Veterans in the CFAAP will receive workforce readiness support through our collaboration with the Vet Jobs organization to help them update their resumes and practice interviews once they exit the program.We will also provide resource connections to the Dept of Labor Veteran Employment Training Service centers and the suite of SBA partners such as the Veteran Business Outreach Center, local Women's Business Centers, SBDCs and SCORE for mentorship on their businessSupport Services:CLBL will hire a Veteran Coordinator position to provide a dedicated staff with military experience and human resources skills to assess veteran needs and support them through the entire application process.Veteran participants in the CFAAP will be connected with successful farmers through a mentorship program designed to expose them to a diversity of farm production practices, begin building a network in the larger agricultural community, and support them in thinking about their future careers.The coordinator will also monitor each veteran throughout the program and help remove any barriers to completion by utilizing a network of community-based resources specifically for veterans.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of this grant was veterans who are interested in starting their farms or want to become farm managers/supervisors on farms. Changes/Problems:The only challenge we face is in the retention of veterans, while our recruitment efforts have attractedmany veterans to apply for and enroll in our programs, retaining them has been a challenge. The offering ofshorter courses rather than the seven-month course is an effort to attract and retain veterans as the time commitment is short. This is not a major change in our approach but more of a tweak based on the need. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the following specific training - Intro to Irrigation Soil Science Leadership Training & Education for Aspiring Managers The Beginning Farmer Training Program included the following workshops - Crop Planning, Weed Management, Marketing, Cover Cropping, Nutrient Management, Tractor Training, and Raising Seedlings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The primary community of interest in this project was veterans interested in farming. We created awareness of our program by recording the experiences of the veterans in our program and featuring it in our newsletter and social media posts. In addition, we tabled at farm create conferences throughout the State to showcase our programs and engagement with veterans What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will continue to recruit veterans in our Apprenticeship Program. In 2025 we propose to run more Explorer courses. We willalso offer short courses instead of the seven-month program, these courses can be found here -https://www.landbasedlearning.org/program/california-farm-academy-courses/

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 We conducted multiple outreach channels that veterans access, theseare listed below - EcoFarm Conference 2024 (Monterey) World Ag Expo (Tulare) CAFF Small Farm Conference (Online) National AgrAbility Conference (Atlanta) UC Davis Weed Day (Davis) AgSafe Supervisor 101 Training (Modesto) Produce Safety Training (Tulare) Goal 2 In 2023-24 we ran the seven-month Beginning Farmer Training Program and the 3 day Explore Your Farm Dream short course. We also lace veterans as apprentices on farms as part of the Beginning Farm Manager Apprenticeship Program Goal 3 The collaboration with the Farmer Veteran Coalition continued to provide support for veterans. Additionally, the veterans attended that National Agrability conference.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:We reached out to veterans who are interested in starting their own farms or getting skilled jobs onfarms in the region. This was out target audience as outlined in the project proposal. Changes/Problems:The major challenge we faced was in retaining a veteran for the Coordinator position. The person we hired first left and we hired another veteran on a contractual basis that we eventually wanted to take on as a full-time employee. This person was very good at engaging and supporting veterans but he too left for personal reasons. We are in the process of hiring another person, inmeantime, we have been working with the Farmer Veteran Coalition to fill in the capacity gap. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have provided the following training opportunities - Explorer course - a seven-week course for those exploring farming as a career that provides a snapshot of the farming sector in California Beginning Farmer Training Program - a seven-month course that provides beginning farmers thefoundation knowledge/skills, and awareness of and connection to the support networks that will help them take the next steps in establishing a farm enterprise Technical courses in- - Integrated Pest Management - 8 weeks Plant Science - 8 weks Leadership and Management - 4 weeks How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of our work sofar have been disseminated through our monthly newsletter and social media posts, and we have shared it with industry groups and at farmer conferences and gathers. We have also presented the opportunities at various places where veterans usually gather or come for support and resources (VA, Community Colleges, VSO) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to offer the Training program and Explorer course. We also have another round of integrated, Pest Management, Plant Science, and Leadership and management courses. In addition, we will also be conducting a course on Plant Science in this reporting period. We will continue with our outreach efforts with a focus on enrolling veterans in Southern California and mentor farms in this region.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 We expanded our outreach efforts by adding new channels to reach out to veterans about farming opportunities, which are listed below Yuba/Sutter Veteran Service Officers (VSO) Yube Communtiy College Yuba County VSO Contra Costa College San Joaquin Delta CollegeVSO California Association of County VSO Work for Warriors Farmer Veteran Coalation Goal 2 We delivered the seven-month training program in which 6 veterans enrolled and 4 graduated and are considering starting their own farms as a next step. The training program covered the basics of establishing a farm enterprise with a business plan as the final deliverable Goal 3 We are working closely with the CA Chapter of the Farmer Veteran Colation to provide the wrap-around service

    Publications


      Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:We conducted promotion and outreach of the Explorer course, andTraining and Apprenticeship programs across a wide range of organizations that work with and/or have contact with veterans. The outreach efforts yielded in the following - Changes/Problems:We didnot have any major changes in the program design or deliverables in the reporting year. Achallenge we faced was related to the Veteran coordinator position. This was a new position in our team and it took us a while to figure out the responsibilities of this position which created some tension for the coordinator that led to him leaving the job.Subsequently, we have hired a veteran who was a farmer and he is helping to structure this position and establish its roles and responsibilities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The training program helped veterans obtain foundation-level knowledge and skills to start a farm. One of the deliverables of the TrainingProgram was a business plan for which veterans attend fourbusiness planning courses and developed a detailed business plan. Veterans in the Apprenticeship Program develop skills in the various aspect of farm production that includes - crop planning, soil management, irrigation, weeding, and marketing. Additionally, we also conducted leadership and management classes to help them manage the workforce in a farm How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of this project are being disseminated through both online media sources and in-person sessions. Through tabling events at career fairs and farming conferences we are able to inform both veterans and farmers about the benefits of our project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan. to strengthen and expand our outreach efforts through our existing partners and new partners that we hope to engage with in the coming year. For the veteranswe will establish wrap-around services that will help veterans to take part in our programs, complete it, and take the necessary next steps

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 We conducted promotion and outreach of the program through various channels that are listed below - Veterans Administration California Veteran Service Organisation Farmer Veteran Colation Community Colleges in the region Career fairs - Fresno, Chico Google Ads Facebook ads Biweekly social media posts Monthly newsletter Monthly info sessions These efforts helped to promote the various opportunities that our programs offer to veterans who are interested in farming, and also helped to create partnerships with organizations serving veterans. In total we had 23 veterans apply for the Training and Apprenticeship program, of which 7 were accepted. Goal 2 Veterans who were interested in starting a farm and were in the planning stage were able to access the seven-month beginning farmer training program, which helpedto solidify their plans. The explorer course was offered to those who were at the exploratorystage and needed more information and knowledge of the farming landscape. For those interested in getting a job on a farm we offered the two-year State registered apprenticeship program that also involved 3000 hours of on-farm work experience. Goal 3 We hired a Veteran Coordinator to work closely with the veterans. the Coordinator is responsible for understanding the needs of the individual needs of veterans and guiding them tothe necessary resources

      Publications