Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience: Hispanic or Latino Immigrant producers Limited resource producers Specialty crop producers Women Participants Served Total number of unique participants who participated in the program: Total Number of Participants: 64 Actual cumulative number of participants who as a result of your program: Started Farming: Target - 0, Actual - 0 Helped prepare to start farming: Target - 18, Actual - 0 Improved farming success: Target - 150, Actual - 64 Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Total Meetings: 6 Total Meeting Participants: 121 Total Webinars: 0 Total Webinar Participants: 0 Total Website Visits: 0 Total Online Course Participants: 0 Meetings 1/19/2024: Anthony, NM -- Number of Attendees 28 2/23/2024: Berino, NM -- Number of Attendees 19 6/28/2024: Anthony, NM -- Number of Attendees 10 7/26/2024: Anthony, NM -- Number of Attendees 20 8/2/2024: Berino, NM -- Number of Attendees 21 8/9/2024: Anthony, NM -- Number of Attendees 23 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have used our organization's listserv to get the word out about all of our events, and we have sent targeted emails to our alumni network, partner farmers and academic collaborators about knowledge exchanges and the mobile toolkit. Additionally, we have used our social media platforms to post the events and have started taking flyers to local businesses, community centers and clinics. During this first year reporting period, our knowledge exchange sessions' participants have shared what they have learned with each other and with their communities throughout the Paso del Norte region. The knowledge will continue to be disseminated as our participants implement what they have learned on their farms and connect with others in our growing network of regional agroecological farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to have the knowledge exchange sessions on a regular basis in the form of field days, single day workshops, 2 to 3 day intensive workshops, weekend immersion workshops, and field trips. In addition to in-person sessions, we will also host online knowledge exchange sessions. Knowledge exchange sessions will include crop rotation planning, season extension, seed saving, plant diseases, soil management, market access and other relevant topics. We are launching the application to the mentorship program in the winter of 2024 and plan to have two cohorts of farmer fellows as part of our mentorship program during 2025. Each cohort will participate in a six month session of hands-on agroecology training. The fellows will learn desert farming and agroecology from hands-on experience and knowledge exchanges. The fellows will join our community of desert farmers, which we plan to continue strengthening and growing in our second year through mentorship and workshops. We used most of this reporting period to set up the system for how the mobile toolkit will be implemented. We also scheduled our first on-site assessments with farmers for technical assistance and use of the toolkit. The next reporting period will include the 1:1 production technical assistance, on-site visits, and the mobiletoolkit. The Mobile Toolkit and Technical Assistance Coordinator will be conducting a yearly survey to all farmers supported through the mobile toolkit.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Local Farmers in the Paso Del Norte Region face multiple challenges and needs. Fewer younger operations have been entering the business in recent decades, resulting in an aging workforce. Few farm operators are under the age of 35 and continuing issues with access to water and arable land add to the significant cost of starting and maintaining an agribusiness. Farmers in the Chihuahuan Desert are at the frontline of climate change as most climate models indicate that the Southwest will become drier in the years to come. Priority needs for small farmers in the region include training, practice space, mentorship, and technical assistance that includes climate smart solutions. La Semilla Community Farm serves low-income and limited-resource beginning or small acreage farmers from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in the Paso del Norte Region, which includes Dona Ana County, NM and El Paso, TX. Significant portions of both counties have low food access, and many people identify as Latino and speak a language other than English at home. Objective 1: We hosted 6 farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange sessions in the form of community workshops at three local farms. The workshops were on pruning, seasonality, cover crops, BCS operation and implementation, and soil health. The registration form included questions that served as a pre-workshop survey, and after each workshop, participants filled out a post-workshop survey. We had 64 participants across all workshops of which 63% considered themselves beginning farmers, 17% aspiring farmers, and 20% gardeners. 100% stated that the workshops increased their knowledge and skills, 100% stated they were satisfied with what they learned and 96% stated they will implement at their sites what they learned during the workshop. While 6% answered that they will not implement what they learned, that was due to a lack of access to a site where they can implement the learning. Objective 2: We hired a Farm Education Assistant and started defining the structure of the new mentorship program. We also established relationships with potential farmer mentors and ultimately selected the farmer mentor sites for participants in 2025. This reporting period was used to strategize and to build an audience to have a more diverse pool of applicants in 2025. Objective 3: We hired a Mobile Toolkit and Technical Assistant Coordinator. Our priority during this reporting period was to inventory all the tools and equipment included in the mobile toolkit; to create a list of technical assistance services that can be provided to farmers; to create logs for tools' and equipment maintenance and lending; to draft SOPs for mobile toolkit usage; and to develop needs assessment surveys for farmers who will likely be using the toolkit. We also increased awareness in our farmer network of the availability of the mobile toolkit and technical assistance services available. We did this via our listserv and at targeted outreach opportunities, including at the end of our knowledge exchange sessions. The key outcomes and accomplishments for this reporting period were the knowledge exchange sessions, the strategic planning of the mentoring program, and the system set-up of the mobile toolkit. Beginning Farmers learned about climate smart, agroecological, desert-adapted farming methods, and farm/land management practices. Regional farmers facilitated knowledge exchange sessions that benefited beginning and aspiring farmers. Regional farmers became aware of available resources to improve and increase production and booked appointments. Additionally, our volunteer program provided guidance and training to community members looking to inform their decision of whether or not to start their own agroecological practices or looking for hands-on experience for starting their own operations. Result 1. Participants will state they learned climate smart, agroecological, desert-adapted farming methods Producer action: Understand, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of learning exchange Estimated Number: 120, Actual Number: 64 How verified: Survey Result 2. Participants will gain experience on designing a growing space and transitioning from fallow land to functional farmland Producer action: Understand, Topic: Soil management When measured: End of learning exchange Estimated Number: 120, Actual Number: 51 How verified: Survey Result 3. Participants will state that they learned about food safety Producer action: Understand, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of learning exchange Estimated Number: 120, Actual Number: 23 How verified: Survey Result 4. Beginning farmer apprentices will state they learned about agroecological farm management Producer action: Understand, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of apprenticeship Estimated Number: 14, Actual Number: 0 How verified: Survey Result 5. Beginning farmer apprentices will commit to implementing a farm management plan and/or crop plan Producer action: Understand, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of apprenticeship Estimated Number: 14, Actual Number: 0 How verified: Survey Result 6. Participants will state that their production capacity has increased as a result of access to the Mobile Toolkit Producer action: Implement, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of grant term Estimated Number: 14, Actual Number: 0 How verified: Survey Result 7. Participants will state that their regenerative agricultural practices have improved as a result of access to the Mobile Toolkit Producer action: Implement, Topic: Vegetables When measured: End of grant term Estimated Number: 14, Actual Number: 0 How verified: Survey Keys to success for participants: Farmer-to-farmer format Practical education Apprenticeship opportunities Technical assistance Steps taken to help participants: -Hired Mobile Toolkit Coordinator -Hired Farm Education Assistant -Hosted production-focused community workshops -Developed structure for Farmer Fellowship and strategic planning -Developed strategic implementation plan

Publications