Source: TUFTS UNIVERSITY submitted to
EXPANDING THE PIPELINE OF BEGINNING FARMERS TO GAIN HANDS-ON TRAINING, ACCESS TO INCUBATOR FARMS, AND LAUNCH SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL BUSINESSES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031292
Grant No.
2023-49400-40888
Cumulative Award Amt.
$750,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-04853
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2023
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[BFRDA]- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Standard
Project Director
Hashley, J. B.
Recipient Organization
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
200 WESTBORO ROAD
N. GRAFTON,MA 01536
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (New Entry) operates a comprehensive incubator farm training programs for historically underserved producers. New Entry will broaden its beginning farmer pipeline to attract younger, more localized, and demographically diverse aspiring farmers. Project goals are to: increase the number of farmers under 40 years of age by exposing young people to on-farm learning opportunities; prepare more diverse farmers with sustainable production and climate resiliency skills to succeed on an incubator farm; strengthen and expand our multi-year incubator curriculum with measurable milestones; and develop access to transitional support services to better support producers transitioning off the incubator and establishing independent businesses in the region. The long-term goal of this BFRDP project is to expand the pipeline of younger beginning farmers who have the training in climate-smart agricultural production methods and associated agripreneurship and management skills to own and operate viable agricultural businesses in Eastern Massachusetts and create a more robust and resilient local food supply chain. Project outputs will include a Practicum and Certificate Program in Sustainable Food Production with area schools and Community Colleges; a 3-year incubator farm training curriculum to prepare producers in climate-smart resilience and financial management; and increase mentorship, technical support, and business services after producers graduate from the incubator farm. Outcomes: 150 young farmers in Massachusetts will gain production skills, launch, and grow new farm businesses, 75% will continue farming after 3 years, and 50 other beginning farmer training programs will access curricula and project resources to benefit over 2,000 BFRs.
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
90201991070100%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
Our goal for this 3-year BFRDP project (2023-2026) is to build a robust pipeline of younger and more diverse beginning farmers to gain the hands-on crop production skills and farm business management training necessary to prepare them to access an incubator farm program and launch and sustain viable agricultural businesses. Specifically, New Entry aims to broaden the beginning farmer pipeline to attract a younger, more localized, and demographically diverse new farmer audience. Our goals are to: increase the number of farmers under 40 years of age by exposing young people to on-farm learning opportunities; prepare more diverse farmers with the requisite sustainable production and climate resiliency skills to succeed on an incubator farm and launch viable operations; build a robust multi-year curriculum on the incubator with clear year-over-year business goals and measurable milestones; and develop a package of transitional support services to better support producers transitioning off the incubator and establishing independent businesses in the region.In collaboration with 25 individuals and organizations committed to engagement in this project, New Entry will achieve desired outcomes for at least 150 beginning farmers via the following outcomes:Objective 1. Develop and expand beginning farmer training curriculum for classroom and experiential field training in specialty crop production to build the new farmer pipeline: Attract 100 young people to engage in farming and assess agriculture careers through a new Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture and a Certificate Program in Sustainable Crop Production.Objective 2. Develop a three-year incubator farm program curricula with skills and competency assessment processes that set goals and measures farm business development targets for 30 incubator farmers to achieve and prepare for long-term success.Objective 3. Enhance Individual Farm Technical Assistance, Mentoring, and Financial Management Support to Prepare at least 25 Producers to Transition off the Incubator.Objective 4. Disseminate Curriculum and Resources Regionally/Nationally to reach up to 200 land-based training programs serving 2,000 Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.
Project Methods
Objective 1. Obj. 1A: Develop the structure and course offerings for a new Certificate Program in Sustainable Food Production: New Entry will work with high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and North Shore Community College (NSCC) Horticulture program to develop new on-farm experiential education programs for graduating seniors and early college age students interested in environmental studies, sustainability, and horticulture. We will work with NSCC administration to select existing and develop new courses for a new Certificate in Sustainable Food Production. We will revamp two of our existing courses by adding new curriculum and training modules and develop a new on-farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture.Obj 1B. Develop a Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture to provide on-farm practical skills in diversified vegetable production: Finally, we will develop the structure and format for an on-farm Practicum at New Entry's Incubator Farm to give up to 20 students per year a 120-hour, 12 week on-farm practical skills training in organic vegetable production.Obj 1C. Explore alternate formats for on-farm skills development for aspiring farmers: New Entry will explore alternative opportunities for on-farm skills development. The option to enroll directly in New Entry's courses and workshops is still available for individuals not interested in academic credit. New Entry will collaborate with area high schools to explore placements of students with farms that are interested in offering more structured on-farm work experiences to enable students to both learn and receive hourly wages.Obj.1D. Outreach and Recruit Diverse Participation in New Experiential Education Programs: New Entry will develop outreach materials and communication strategies in multiple languages to broadly promote program participation. We will target outreach to underserved and immigrant communities in the region. For New Entry's direct program participation, we will develop outreach materials, recruitment flyers (in multiple languages), inquiry forms, applications, and enrollment tracking protocols to assess outreach success and monitor partner and community referrals. Leveraging our Advisory Committee will expand reach to their community networks and increase access to historically underserved communities.Objective 2. Obj. 2A. Review and Evaluate Incubator Assessment Models across the national FIELD Network. We will begin by reviewing other incubator farm program expectations and curricular frameworks posted online in our resource library, inquiring on the national incubator Listserv, and conducting interviews with respected partner organizations. We will review existing resources for sustainable vegetable production. We will collect, review, and assess existing models, requirements, and tools used to support incubator goal setting and performance outcomes.Obj. 2B. Develop a Three-year Curricula and Skills / Competency Assessment Process for Incubator Farmers. Wwe will set goals and measures for appropriate farm business development targets to encourage farm program participants to achieve and prepare for long-term success. With farmer input and feedback, we will develop program milestones for Years 1, 2, and 3 and develop what we will call an Incubator Farm Resilience Evaluation and Self-Assessment (iFRESA) Framework. This framework will be introduced to farmers as they enroll in the incubator and it will connect their personal, financial, and farm business plan goals to the year over year milestones and expectations for incubator farm business development targets.Obj. 2C. Develop an Incubator Training Curriculum and Resource Library to complement the skills and competency goals outlined in the iFRESA Framework Tool. To accompany the iFRESA Framework, we will research existing materials that will develop the basis for 8 new training modules and resource referral fact sheets to address key milestones that will be outlined over the three-year incubation period. Topics for the training modules will follow the main headings in the Farm Business Health Assessment Tool. We will set clear milestones, benchmarks and performance measures for producers to achieve in each year of the incubator program. We will host monthly check-in meetings and schedule formalized pre-season and post-season evaluation meetings. We will facilitate incubator farmer peer-to-peer learning and sharing.Obj. 2D. Implement the iFRESA Framework Tool and Iterate as Needed. Staff will work with 10 incubator producers over the course of the first year of the project to pilot the tools and determine how the process is working, what challenges arise, the time commitment needed to review the assessments and provide feedback, and what barriers may be preventing farmers from making progress toward their goals.Objective 3. Obj. 3A. Evaluate and Assess Successful Models for Supporting Beginning Farmer Farmland Access and Infrastructure Development. We propose to further assess other incubator farm program's transition strategies, submit inquiries to the national incubator farm Listserv, and conduct interviews with respected partner organizations to determine if there are untapped and successful models for transition support services. We will collect, review, and assess other new or emerging models to inform our transition services.Obj. 3B. Connect Transitioning Farmers to Peer Mentors for Support and Guidance. We propose to develop a peer "incubator transition" mentoring program and engage farmers who have successfully acquired farmland in the metro area to serve as mentors and coaches for our incubator farmers. We will recruit up to five mentors per year to help inform and develop their transition strategy. We will ask for a brief mentor engagement evaluation from both parties.Obj. 3C. Support Transitioning Farmers to Expand Access to Professional Services by Granting "Transition Consultants" to Support the Acquisition of Land and Infrastructure: We will strengthen our technical assistance services to connect producers with access to USDA programs and cost-share resources, access to capital, grants, and land access strategies. We will also develop a new "consulting package" program that will provide up to five beginning farmers per year with up to 20 hours of paid professional consulting services to support their transition off the incubator onto independent farms. We will create a resource and referral list and build relationships with potential advisors and consultants.Objective 4. Obj. 4A. Prepare Resources and Lessons Learned for Dissemination: Staff will develop and format curricula materials into formats that can be shared publicly. We will document program development process steps, challenges, opportunities, partnerships, outcomes and impact of the program. Our materials will feature case studies of farmers impacted by the project and lessons learned to inform changes to implement if we were to replicate the project.Obj. 4B. Engage Stakeholders in Evaluative Assessment of Project Outcomes: We will review our evaluation metrics, indicators and outcomes. We will invite course participants and incubator farmers to share their experiences from a program perspective.Obj. 4C. Share Materials and Resources Nationally for Broad Adoption: New Entry will post curricula materials in our online resource libraries. We will prepare and deliver three 90-minute "training of trainer" workshops or webinars for 30+ service providers (90 total) on our experiences building and administering the program. New Entry will provide up to 10 hours of support and mentoring to share our experience with national programs who want to adopt similar programming. New Entry staff will also share resources, materials and lessons learned through this project at annual BFRDP PD Meetings and other national conferences.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:The project serves a diverse group of beginning farmers, focusing on historically underserved communities, including immigrants and refugees, people of color, veterans, transitioning farm workers, career changers, and urban and rural youth interested in farming. The goal is to create opportunities for young people under 40 to gain hands-on farming experience, access resources, and launch viable farm businesses. The project targets participants across Eastern Massachusetts, particularly Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties, aiming to build a sustainable local food system by providing culturally relevant training, outreach, and technical assistance to help these new farmers succeed. Audience Emphasis: Military veterans, Organic producers, Small farms, Specialty crop producers, Immigrant producers. Changes/Problems:During the first year of the grant, we realized that involving the Advisory Committee in large group setting would not be the most efficient way to leverage support from advisers. We have therefore decided to move to a different model, where starting in year 2, we will consult individually with the advisers that have the knowledge related to our current work. In addition, we faced some delays launching the Certificate with North Shore Community College. During the past year, they have been constrained by an audit as well as by union contract negotiation that froze all curriculum meetings. Despite these delays, we have regularly followed up and explored ways to move the program development forward despite these constraints. We anticipate that the second year of the project will be marked by more progresses on this front. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The primary opportunities for training and professional development provided by the project have centered around the Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture and the tailored technical assistance available to incubator farmers. The Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture has been a key offering, providing a comprehensive, hands-on training program over a 10-week period. Participants engaged in practical, on-farm learning experiences that covered all essential aspects of crop production, with an emphasis on sustainable and climate-smart farming practices. The practicum also focused on skill development through structured activities, supported by the online learning platform Canvas, which included weekly modules, resources, and knowledge assessments. In addition to the practicum, the project provided extensive technical assistance to incubator farmers and graduates. This assistance was tailored to meet individual business goals, supporting participants through various aspects of their journey toward independent farming. It included in-depth help with farm business planning, financial management, and record-keeping--all aimed at enhancing their business viability. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this first phase of the project, we have mostly focused on building the programs, including the Practicum Course, the iFRESA, the Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture. We anticipate that we will start disseminating the results during the second year of the project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we anticipate accomplishing the following: Goal 1: Create a revised version of the Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture, incorporating feedback from the first iteration of the program. Launch the second iteration of the Practicum. Continue working closely with North Shore Community College to develop the Certificate program. Finalize updates to the Business Planning Course, including improving course materials, developing new templates, refreshing the course platform, and revisiting supplementary resources. Goal 2: Run the first pilot of iFRESA, ensuring that incubator farmers complete the online assessment and following up with them to build individualized learning plans. Expand the milestone framework to create a more quantitative approach for tracking progress within the incubator program. Finalize the eight training modules and launch the Google Site to allow incubator farmers easy access to resources. Develop a written technical assistance plan for farmers going through the incubator. Goal 3: Review existing approaches from other incubator farms to support farmers graduating from the incubator. Continue providing technical assistance to incubator farmers and graduates. Develop a graduation checklist for incubator farmers and begin implementing it. Continue facilitating consultation packages for farmers transitioning off the incubator. Continue facilitating the mentoring program by matching experienced farmers with those transitioning off the incubator. Goal 4: Continue engaging the advisory board, shifting to an individual consultation format. Present the project at the 2024 BFRDP Director meeting. Share curriculum and materials with partners and upload them to resource libraries.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: For curriculum development, the Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture has been fully developed and condensed into a 10-week format. The program includes comprehensive content covering all aspects of crop production. We created a skills evaluation checklist to ensure participants gain essential competencies throughout the program. For each module, we developed detailed slides, module summaries, supplementary resources, and knowledge tests, which have all been integrated into our online platform, Canvas. Additionally, we revised the Crop Production Course extensively, updating all course materials, restructuring some modules for better content flow, and enhancing the online platform for easier navigation. New resources were added, and existing ones updated to further improve the learning experience. As part of the process to develop the Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture, we had several meetings with North Shore Community College. The updated curriculum for both the Practicum and the Farm Business Planning Course was shared with the college administration and has now received accreditation approval. In terms of outreach and recruitment, we developed outreach materials, including flyers for the Practicum, which have been successfully distributed. The outreach plan has been implemented, with updates scheduled for 2025. Additionally, materials in multiple languages were created to promote participation, particularly targeting high school students and underserved communities, and have been shared with partners to maximize their reach. For program delivery, the first iteration of the Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture was completed, with 18 aspiring producers participating and 16 completing. To provide alternative skills development opportunities for those unable to participate in the formal Practicum or Certificate Program, New Entry explored other approaches. We hosted five high school students through collaborations with Essex Tech and Mass Hires. Additionally, an asynchronous version of the Crop Production Course is being developed to offer greater flexibility and make it available year-round. Goal 2: We reviewed existing models, analyzed incubator farm programs, curricular frameworks, and DACUM materials for sustainable vegetable production. Unfortunately, we found limited materials available, so we supplemented this with interviews and a monthly FIELD networking session conducted in Fall 2023. This allowed us to understand how most incubator programs are structuring their curricula. We developed a first version of the program milestones for Years 1, 2, and 3, aligning them with the Incubator Farm Evaluation and Self-Assessment (iFRESA) Framework. This initial version will be refined to include a more quantitative approach for evaluating incubator farmers' progress. The iFRESA tool itself was created by drawing on various existing resources, resulting in a comprehensive list of 150 skills that incubator farmers should develop as they progress through the program. A Qualtrics survey instrument based on this list has been designed to enable farmers to self-evaluate these skills. Following the initial draft, we collected feedback directly from farmers to refine the tool, and it will be piloted in the fall of 2024. To complement the iFRESA, we started developing eight training modules to address key milestones, and these resources are being mapped onto a Google Site to connect seamlessly with the iFRESA tool. Key training topics include Business Basics, Land Access, Financial Management, Employment and Labor Management, Production Practices, Marketing, Credit Access, and Insurance. We also developed a service provider coaching/resource and referral checklist, which is updated regularly to support incubator farmers and ensure consistent access to necessary resources. Our team worked closely with current and graduated incubator farmers to enhance their business plans, record-keeping practices, financial management, and other competencies needed for running a farm business successfully. Goal 3: We have successfully recruited farm mentors to support incubator farmers as they prepare to transition off the incubator program. So far, at least two matches have been established, with mentors meeting regularly with 2nd or 3rd-year farmers multiple times throughout the year. We continued our technical assistance for incubator farmers and graduates, focusing on individual business goals to facilitate a smooth transition to independent farming. In addition to ongoing technical support, we launched the consulting services program, which provides up to five farmers each year with 20 hours of professional consulting support to cover a wide range of needs, including financial advising, business development, legal assistance, marketing, and infrastructure consulting. We began this initiative with a recent incubator graduate, and systems are now in place to make the process more streamlined for other farmers in need. To track and evaluate the long-term success of incubator graduates, we have established a plan to monitor progress over several years--specifically in Year 1, Year 3, Year 5, and Year 10. Together with our PhD student, we have developed a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan, outlining the theory of change and identifying key indicators that will need to be tracked over time. Goal 4: We have started engaging the Advisory Committee to review the curriculum design, proposed project outcomes, and evaluation data to ensure all aspects align with the project's goals and needs. In terms of curriculum dissemination, we are currently preparing materials by formatting the new training curricula for public sharing. Once ready, these resources will be uploaded to various online libraries, such as Farmanswers.org and the FIELD Network, to encourage broad replication among other land-based programs. This will help to make our training materials accessible and beneficial for a wider audience. We have also completed mentoring activities with one of our partners, the Center for Land-Based Learning in California, and are planning to deliver a presentation at the BFRDP Project Director meeting in October 2024.

Publications