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

Outputs
Target Audience:During this period, we continued to focus on hands on training in agriculture production to students who visit the farm in person. These students are interested in learning new skills in agriculture to support their careers in agriculture business and to put to use on their own farms or homesteads. Changes/Problems:Today we have gathered considerable input from transitioning veterans and beginning farmers for the ability to attend our courses in individual one-week blocks, over a longer period of time, versus the 20 week intensive program we have taught since 2019. A challenge for this course of action is its impact on veteran education benefits, but we have recently been approved for benefits to be available so veterans can attend training one week at a time then apply for prorated benefits once they have accumulated two weeks or more of training. Non veteran students are not impacted by the VA rules and their attendance continues to improve as we offer shorter courses. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training and professional development was provided in each of the courses we taught this year. Additionally we also hosted several groups on the farm, focusing on topics of conservation and modern farming techniques with our fodder box and precision agriculture with our partner John Deere. We also utilize our facilities at every opportunity to teach. We recently hosted a honey extraction day on the farm using our commercial kitchen and honey processing center and a wheat plot tour with K-State. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Updates have been provided to stakeholders through our board meetings, outreach in the community, our Facebook and YouTube pages, and our website. We are active in outeach with our supporters and in publicizing our learning opportunities in local publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we will be continuing to offer multiple types of learning opportunities to veterans, beginning farmers, and community members interested in learning agriculture practices. These learning opportunities will include courses in: Regenerative Agriculture Specialty Crops Small Scale operations and marketing High tunnel operations Cover Crops Animal behaviorism Grazing management Precision Agriculture

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Four more food preservation courses are planned for this year. In the past 3 years, with the support of donors and staff we have been able to expand the farm's infrastructure with new assets for our students and for our teaching methods, including: 50 by 60 multipurpose building with full utilities, from The Sunderland Foundation Fodder Box - controlled environment system producing 400 pounds of barley per day - from American Fodder Box Herd of 12 Akaushi cattle for livestock research -Lynn Griswold USN veteran Two large classroom buildings - Flint Hills School and John Deere foundation Commercial Kitchen and honey processing center Two new water wells - one solar from NRCS grant Conservation Award for terraced and tiled field - NRCS grant In addition to these advancements, the regular operations of the farm continue on, providing learning opportunities for students and community members. Having strong production practices in place ensure that we have every opportunity to teach with hands on instruction for any topic a student may be interested in. During this season, some updates from the farm are: Nineof theMissouriAkaushicows havecalved and three arereadyto calve.Garlic mineral has been given for fly pressure.Cattlearenowbeing watered out of the solar watering system,which has been very successful. - Sheephavelots of babies on the groundand severalmultiples. - Soybeansweredrilled inon May 22ndand may have to besprayedforweed pressure. Looked at potential Wagyu bullswhich are very deep in their genetics at a local breeder. - Harvestedtwosteers and themajority ofthe meat has alreadybeen sold. Horrendous stormon the27thof Aprilat the farm. Several sections of roofingon buildingswill have tobe fixed.

Publications

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is primarily transitioning service members, veterans who wish to farm, and any student in the area who is interested in pursuing farming. Changes/Problems:We have requested a no-cost reprogramming of funds to allow us to find support staff to keep our agreements, registration, and regulatory paperwork up to date. This will allow our instructors and director to fully devote their attention to students and the future of the program's mission. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This is the second year we have collaborated with the Kansas Wheat Council for a test plot which includes a 2 hour training and farm tour for 15 area farmers. We also hosted farm tours for Veterans in Nature Service as part of the Nature Conservancy and had 8 visitors attend. A farm tour was hosted for the NRCS new employees and their mentors, which we had 25 attendees forTwo additional farm tours were hosted of local specialty crop operations with an emphasis on agritourism possibilities at two local farms. We had 8 participants attend these. This year we hosted a controlled burn demo and training along with the Oklahoma NRCS for 30 people that traveled from across the US and Canada to participate. We have also been working to establish a new training program in aquaponics. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results are provided through updates to our partners and stakeholders via email newsletters, our website, and reports at various industry meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next period we plan to market our programs to more students and continue to expand our offering of courses to them.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this grant period, the SAVE Farm has worked with Ducks Unlimited on two wetland restoration projects to support waterfowl and other wildlife. Improvements to the farm this year included a new roof, lighting, and strengthening of the high tunnel structure, as well as additional electrical enhancements in the livestock barn. We also received and placed into operation a custom built fodder box to expand our ability to train students on controlled environment agriculture. We expanded the Honor Orchard with additional blackberry bushes and lavendar plants. We also installed and renovated the new classrooms and installed a ramp to meet ADA guidelines for access to the classrooms. We continue to work on our tile drain outlets and terraces with NRCS. We renewed our teaming agreement with Kansas State University and have K-State staff assisting in conducting courses at the farm with an emphasis on specialty crops and introduction to horticulture. We were also awarded a grant in cooperation with NRCS to teach workshops throughout the year on range management and intensive grazing management. This will allow us to grow our staff by 3 part-time instructors.

Publications

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is primarily transitioning service members and veterans who wish to farm. Changes/Problems:We anticipate implementing adjustments to our program schedules to accommodate more students. We discontinued the well-intended but ultimately unsuccessful honey supplies and equipment operations program that was coordinated through SAVE Farm. During COVID, student numbers were dramatically impacted due to restrictions and the repressed job market and lack of child care availability in our area. Many veterans have not been able to enroll due to limited child care and the required two year waiting period of the GI Bill. Funding from USDA was reduced from past grants and as such our staff is 1/3 of its previous levels. Previously we had 6 full time staff and at this time we have 4 part time staff. We are working to find private support for additional staff and when we can begin to utilize the GI Bill for students. Our fiscal note will allow hiring more instructors and support staff and we intend to utilize those funds. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through the continuing intern program, students have been able to achieve greater success thanks to the mentorship of program instructors and farmers as the students build their operations and continue to work in agritherapy. The program also hosts a series of farm tours which have been widely attended by beginning farmers and veterans and servicemembers interested in discovering more opportunities at the SAVE Farm. After having to pause these tours due to Covid, we were excited to be able to resume them in the summer of 2021 and continue them during this reporting period. These have been hosted at a variety of types of farms, the ones occurring during this reporting period being: Fall 2021- Zeandale, KS Summer 2022 - Sterling, KS Summer 2022 - Riley, KS Additionally, NRCS has been able to bring farmers and students to the farm on a quarterly basis to be trained on monoliths and observe our grazing practices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results and progress updates are provided to communities of interest through the SAVE Farm newsletter, through numerous news articles in local and regional publications, and through regular meetings with partner organizations. Updates to our work are also provided on the SAVE Farm website and social media platforms where a broad community is engaged. We also communicate with the public through conversations with our volunteers from the community that visit our Victory Garden. All produce from the garden is donated to local organizations with a special emphasis on veteran organizations. Our work has been featured in John Deere magazine this year, as well as The Nature Conservancy's international publications and local Kansas newspapers and publications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we are focusing on student and instructor recruitment. We have seen success through our students this past year and are eager to provide that same success for new students. We also plan to provide additional programming to help students access the program according to their needs and schedules. By adapting the program schedule and frequency, we will reach more students and gain additional awareness in the community for veterans and non-veterans who are seeking to become beginning farms and experience the healing benefits of agritherapy on the SAVE Farm. We have been able to secure additional funding through partner organizations to focus on marketing and promotion to help bring more students into the program. We have been developing a tracking system for students and continue to work to utilize it. Recruiting students is improving as the nation comes out from COVID restrictions. However, funding for advertising is limited to nonexistent. We are seeking private funding for advertising to recruit students.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Over the past year, 5 students received training through the SAVE Farm's primary program. Of these five, 2 had medical emergencies that forced them to leave the program before completion. Three students graduated and are now farming their own beginning farmer operations, focusing on leafy green and mushroom production and poultry production. All three of these students are actively participating in the 2-year-continuing intern program. These alumni students are also participating in an entrepreneur start up program through John Deere to purchase specialty equipment. We also have a student from 2020 who is participating in the continuing intern program and is focusing on goat production. His story has been highlighted in John Deere magazine. Additionally, the SAVE Farm was visited by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts representatives in pursuit of developing a special program for veteran farmers with special emphasis in farming business management. We view this as just one more way the SAVE Farm's mission will be able to extend geographically and increase the impact seen on veterans interested in farming as a career. Improvements to the learning facilities have also been made including: - facility improvements in our hightunnel through the installation of plumbing and electric - land improvements through terracing and installation of tile drain outlets on 50 acres with NRCS - increased implementation of good conservation practices which improved the pasture land on the farm - doubled the cow herd by increasing from 12 cows to 24. - acquired two buildings from a donor organization to be utilized as classrooms. These buildings were relocated to the farm in the summer of 2022 and will begin to be updated as needed for classroom use. - Two test plots have been established in partnership with K-State Research and Extension for wheat and sorghum. - We have expanded the orchard to a total of 2 acres and added additional crops including blackberries and hazelnuts. -The addition of a well and irrigation system provided infrastructure to the farm and learning opportunities for the students as they installed and now maintain the system. These orchard additions were supported by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: https://www.deere.com/en/publications/the-furrow/2021/november-2021/the-save-farm/
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/veterans-farming/