Source: AGRICULTURE & LAND-BASED TRAINING ASSOCIATION (ALBA) submitted to
INTENSIVE ON-FARM TRAINING AND ACCESS TO RESOURCES TO ENABLE LATINO FARMWORKERS TO TRANSITION TO ORGANIC FARM OWNERSHIP
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031328
Grant No.
2023-70017-40874
Cumulative Award Amt.
$750,000.00
Proposal No.
2023-04889
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
Harkleroad, N.
Recipient Organization
AGRICULTURE & LAND-BASED TRAINING ASSOCIATION (ALBA)
1700 OLD STAGE ROAD
SALINAS,CA 93912
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
OFEED will provide training, technical assistance and affordable access to resources for 100 beginning, socially disadvantaged (BSD) organic farm businesses. The project is designed to engage farmers at different phases of their first 10-years of operation from planning to launch to expansion and maturity. Project objectives and outputs reflect tailored assistance at each stage:Objective 1: Plan & Pilot- 60 (25/year) aspiring farmers gain knowledge and prepare for business launch in a 1-year course, of whom 30 graduate and test launch on ½ acre.Objective 2: Establish and Expand - Another 30 start-up farms (launched in 2020-2022) build capacity and expand, 16 of whom will transition from ALBA onto their own land.Objective 3: Move On and Mature - 40 ALBA alumni farms (launched in 2013-2019) and other regional beginning socially disadvantaged farmers are strengthened through financing and food safety and management assistance to address their individual business needs.Objective 4: Facilitating Resource Access - Assist 70 beginning socially disadvantaged farm owners gain access to USDA and private grant and loan programs to fund and grow their businesses averaging $40,000 per farmer.60 farms will be trained, launched and incubated on ALBA's 100-acre organic farm and training facility. Another 40 independent alumni farms operating in the region, will be assisted by ALBA and our longstanding partners who provide assistance in production, business coaching, lending and land matching. OFEED will provide a new focus on resource access and introduce new trainings on, entrepreneurship and computer and financial literacy.
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
90260303020100%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The Organic Farmer and Enterprise Development Project (OFEED) will provide training, technical assistance and affordable access to resources for 100 beginning, socially disadvantaged (BSD) organic farm businesses. The project is designed to engage farmers at different phases of their first 10-years of operation from planning to launch to expansion and maturity. Project objectives and outputs reflect tailored assistance at each stage:Ø Objective 1: Plan & Pilot- 60 (25/year) aspiring farmers gain knowledge and prepare for business launch in a 1-year course, of whom 30 graduate and test launch on ½ acre.Ø Objective 2: Establish and Expand - Another 30 start-up farms (launched in 2020-2022) build capacity and expand, 16 of whom will transition from ALBA onto their own land.Ø Objective 3: Move On and Mature - 40 ALBA alumni farms (launched in 2013-2019) and other regional beginning socially disadvantaged farmers are strengthened through financing and food safety and management assistance to address their individual business needs.Ø Objective 4: Facilitating Resource Access - Assist 70 beginning socially disadvantaged farm owners gain access to USDA and private grant and loan programs to fund and grow their businesses averaging $40,000 per farmer.?
Project Methods
ALBA provides subsidized access to training and resources to lower the barriers to launching a farm business and minimize financial risk. As farmers move through the program, they earn larger parcels of land and more intensive technical assistance to help establish a viable farm business. As they prepare to leave the program after 5 years, they increasingly rely on partner services to help secure land and navigate the transition to successful independent farming.With 22 years of experience, ideal growing conditions, strong local markets for organic produce and abundant agricultural talent in the farmworker community, ALBA is ideally located to incubate BSD farm businesses. The ALBA facility has 100-acres of organically certified and irrigated farmland, farm equipment, a demonstration plot and a fully-equipped classroom. Farmable land is split into fourteen blocks each independently farmed by up to 40 beginning farmers and the training room accommodates up to 40 aspiring farmers.Capacity Building ApproachALBA's approach to farm development is straightforward, recognizing that the best way to learn is by doing: on the land and in the market. To make it happen ALBA uses a few simple guidelines:Subsidize access to land, equipment and training, but on a declining basis.Educate by exposure, using guest speakers, dialogue, networking, field trips and field days.Facilitate networking to help farmers build their knowledge and support networks.Provide on-site expertise in key areas to inform and guide decision-making.It sounds simple but the complexity comes in the array of issues that must be learned and the myriad hurdles that must be cleared for a farm to attain success. Getting through it requires countless hours of hands-on training over weeks, months and years.Access to land and equipment is subsidized in the early years to minimize financial risk to our limited-resource farmers. Still, we require that each aspiring farmer invest in their venture. Subsidies are provided on a declining basis, accessing land and farm machinery at 20% in the first, and at 40%, 60% and 80% in the three successive years on ALBA's land. This subsidy schedule is to minimize the financial risk of attempting to launch a farm business in the early years, while gradually preparing farmers for facing market rates upon departure.ALBA's provides instruction in a culturally appropriate manner to best tap into trainees' potential. Training is simultaneously translated in English and Spanish, and partner consultants are bilingual. Recognizing that many participants aren't accustomed to classroom learning, our approach is very experiential, stressing dialogue over lectures, learning-by-doing in the demo plot, exposure to different perspectives through guest speakers, and visual learning through field trips.Developmental StagesThrough nearly two decades of incubating farm businesses, ALBA has observed that farms pass through a series of phases, each of which presents distinct problems requiring tailored interventions. The six phases span ten years. Under O-FEED they are grouped into pairs and directly align with three objectives. An additional cross-cutting objective was added which will benefit farms at all stages.Phases Corresponding to Objective 1: Plan and Pilot (years 1 & 2)Plan (Year 1, pre-launch) - Each November, 20 aspiring farmers enroll in the Programa Educativo para Pequenos Agricultores (PEPA) which translates to small-farm education program. It's a year-long, 250-hour course that features classroom instruction and field-based training to teach aspiring farmers how to launch and operate a small organic farm business. The course is split into 5 modules covering crop planning, soil health, organic production and pest management, marketing, business planningand management, and regulatory compliance. Participants apply lessons learned in the classroom by group farming the 1-acre practice plot over two crop cycles. The course is taught in a bilingual format by ALBA staff with help from partners and industry professionals who periodically lead class sessions. To graduate participants must develop a business plan with financial projections which they present to their peers.Pilot (Year 2) - An average of 11 PEPA graduates 'pilot launch' farms in ALBA's Organic Farm Incubator. The farmers are grouped on a block of land, adjacent to the training room where they are easily monitored by staff and work in community with peers. They start on a ½ acre of land, paying just 20% of the market rate for land and farm equipment. This year is devoted to test their capacity and commitment to operating a farm enterprise. Classroom instruction continues but is scaled down. Instead they receive more field and business assistance from ALBA staff, while partners provide business support services.Phases corresponding to Objective 2: Establish and Expand (years 3-5)Establish (Year 3) - The beginning of year 3 is a watershed moment. Participants must decide whether to devote themselves to pursuing farm business ownership. The time demands of managing a larger parcel (2+ acres) requires that they quit their jobs, invest their savings and possibly take on debt. At this stage, new farm owners begin to receive technical assistance from partner organizations to rapidly adapt to full-time farm management.Expand (Years 4 and 5) - Continuing farmers progress in terms of acreage, farming practices and sales but are typically struggling with myriad issues such as pest management, labor, marketing and food safety compliance. Though growing on up to 5 acres and $100k in sales, farms typically have skills and management gaps addressed by ALBA and partner TA.Phases corresponding to Objective 3: Move On and Mature (years 6-10)Move On (Year 6) - Farms must make the transition from ALBA land. Even with 4 years of experience, beginning farms are at their most vulnerable until they weather re-locating. New land may vary in size, climate, soil type, slope, drainage and infrastructure. Once farmers leave ALBA, partners step up to take a lead role in helping farms navigate the transition.Mature (Years 7 - 10) - In the final stage of the development pathway, the assistance provided to farmers is customized to their unique needs. Every farmer is different and carries both strengths and weaknesses. Their chosen business and marketing strategy is also different, requiring guidance which is specific to their capacity and circumstances. Fortunately, at this stage relationships with partners are familiar and well-established enabling farms to develop and execute business strategies with expert guidance.A fourth objective, Facilitating Resource Access, will work across these stages to help farmers access resources to establish and grow their businesses. Activities under this objective will focus on facilitating farms' access to public and private grants and loans to fund their business growth. Too often they are not able to access programs due to a lack of awareness or language skills, or simply the complexity of the application process. To increase their capacity to access funds, we will develop workshops and devote personnel to assisting them in the process. We will also work with the local USDA office in Salinas to ensure that our BSD farmers are privy to all programs.Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ALBA and partners took the initiative to raise private capital to establish The People's Land Fund, which awards grants to beginning farmers. Over 150 grants have been awarded thus far totalling in excess of $2 million dollars. Moreover, ALBA recommends farmers for grant programs operated by California Certified Organic Farmers which has lead to 120 grants being made to beginning organic farmers averaging $10,000 each. ALBA will continue to facilitate funding for our farms through these initiatives and others.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:All beneficiaries arebeginning farmers ranging from pre- launch up to 10 years in business. Over 90% will be socially disadvantaged farmers, the strong majority of whom are Latino and at least 60% are immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Most are non-English speakers and tend to have less formal education limiting their job options. As a result, the median income of participants at intake is less than $30,000. Changes/Problems:ALBA is on track with its activities and deliverables. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?ALBA provided a myriad of training for its aspiring farmer participants. These educational events were all offered in Spanish with some also interpreted into English.In total, at least 85 participated in 1+ training, though several of the tracks were mandatory for ALBA's 35 incubator farmers, so engagement was very high.The trainingsincluded: - 4 x 8-week long modules onCrop Planning and Soil Health, Small Farm Business Management, Marketing, Organic Production. Each of these modules represent about 80 hours of training time. - 1 Ag Supervisory and Leadership 8-session - A food safety workshop series that consisted of 8 x 2-hour sessions on Code of Conduct for Supervisors, Managing Favoritism, Wage and Hour Laws, Managing High and Under-performing Employees, Conflict Resolution, Effective Communication, and Recruitment and Retention. - A worker safety series that included 1/2-day trainings on CPR, Tractor Safety, Forklift Safety, Pesticide Safety; shorter trainings were held on Children's On-Farm Safety and Heat Illness and Injury Prevention, as well as developing an Injury and Illness Prevention Plan. - A food safety series included a full-day Produce Safety Alliance training as mandated by federal law, Basic GAPs and Symptoms of Foord-Borne Illness, Sanitation, Record-keeping, Mock Audits, Risk Assessments, and Traceability. - Farmers received training on Applying for Organic Certification, Organic Rules and Regulations Updates and Common Pitfalls. - Another partner, Kitchen Tabler Consultants, provided quarterly facilitated peer-to-peer learning opportunities for ALBA's first year farmers covering the use of a simple profit and loss and cash flow calculator, sales, SWOT goal setting, and cost and margin by crop. Follow-up 1:1 technical assistance was also provided. - A two-part session on Financial Capability that included household budgeting, savings and credit. - A 1/2-day Conservation Field Day in partnership with NCAT and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. For the first time, ALBA provided simultaneous interpretation into indigenous languages of Mexico, Trique and Mixteco. - An 8-part Digital Literacy course that helped farmers access and utilize Google Office applications. - Partner Kitchen Table Advisors provided workshops on Google Business Practices, Taxes, Water Quality Regulations, Access to Capital and Cash Flow, Payroll, and Profit and Loss Prep. - CA FarmLink carried out its Resilerator Course in Spanish over 8 weeks, averaging 2 hours per session. This course is designed to help farmers better their business acumen for economic viability and wealth generation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Over the next year's reporting period, ALBA will essentially providethe same set of activities, services, and aim to acheive -- if not exceed -- the current's period's outcomes. We are considerng ways to integrate English language and math training into the Farmer Education Course. We also intend to expand our internship offerings by adding providing the Ag Student Enterprise Course at least two times.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Plan & Pilot- 60 (25/year) aspiring farmers gain knowledge and prepare for business launch in a 1-year course, of whom 30 graduate and test launch on½ acre. Over 40participants completed modules in ALBA'sFarmer Education Course or other courseworkto achieve some combination of the following: prepare to launch a farm, obtain college credit, obtain a better career in agriculture. A cohort of 25 participants, most all of which were immigrant farmworkers, was formed in October 2023 and they participated in 4 x 8-week long modules on Crop Planning and Soil Health, Small Farm Business Management, Marketing, Organic Production, and the final module on Farm Planning was begun at the end of the reporting period. The other 15+participants were a combination of ALBA interns, usually Ag Production students and the children of farmworkers,coming directly to ALBA to obtain college credits. We also offeredan accredited Ag Student Enterprise Course over the summer that allowed students to have an 8-week 'seed to harvest' experience. Of the 2022-2023 cohort, 16 graduated in October 2023. Joining another 24 farmers, eleven of these graduateslaunched a farm on a half-acre in ALBA's Organic Farm Incubator. Many had successful first crops of broccolini, kale, onions and other cool-season crops, which were primarily marketed to Coke Farms, a local values-aligned Food Hub. Given their success, most of these newly fledged farmers were allowed to scale up to 1-acre over the course of the year. Objective 2: Establish and Expand- Another 30 start-up farms (launched in 2020-2022) build capacity and expand, 16 of whom will transition from ALBA onto their own land. Most all the existing farmers in ALBA's incubator expanded their acreage going into the 2023-24 lease cycle. ALBA's 90 acres of farmable land were completelyoccupied by participants. They averaged 2-3 acres each with some farmers achieving over 5 acres. All these farmers received intensive 1:1 support on equipment and irrigation system use, market access, compliance and organic production. Partners assisted with access to capital and land matching (CA FarmLink), business coaching (Kitchen Table Advisors), and nutrient and irrigation management (Resource Conservation District of Monterey County). This period saw 11 farmers obtain independent organic certification, 35 secure liability insurance, and 35 obtain third-party food safety certification through ALBA's unique GroupGAP program, amongst other important milestones, demonstrating that they had increased their capacity to ultimately farm independently. Amongst those farmers in the 22-23 lease cycle, 7 graduated off ALBA's land to farm independently in the region. Another 7 decided to leave ALBA and not continue to farm. We are happy with this success ratio, and hopeful that those and didn't continue to farm were able to benefit from ALBA's training and leverage new skills in the labor market. Objective 3:Move OnandMature -40 ALBA alumnifarms (launched in 2013-2019)and other regional beginning socially disadvantaged farmers are strengthened through financing and food safety and management assistance to address their individual business needs. ALBA continued its robust food safety training to ALBA alumni (i.e., farmers who have graduated off ALBA's land and are actively farming). There isa lack of Spanish-speaking and affordable service providers on food safety and had previously made the strategic decision that this is an area that ABLA count expand into to better serve these farmers. During this reporting period, ALBA assisted 15farmers and 5obtained Harmonized GAP food safety certification. Fifteen farmers obtained new loans with CA FarmLink, totaling $329,588. CA FarmLink also provided 8 land lease consultations and helped match farmers to a total of 12 acres. Partner, Kitchen Table Advisors, helped 15farmers connect with land opportunities, totaling 167acres. They also assisted over 20 farmers with developing an annual profit and loss statement. Objective 4: Facilitating Resource Access- Assist 70 beginning socially disadvantaged farm owners gain access to USDA and private grant and loan programs to fund and grow their businesses averaging $40,000 per farmer. ALBA assisted all its 35 incubator farmers, as well as 10+ alumni, in obtaining the USDA-AMS National Organic Cost Share Program reimbursement, totaling $33,750. While not USDA programs, ALBA assisted 11 farmers with the CA Department of Food and Agriculture Drought Relief Program. About 1/2 of those farmers received an award in the $3,000 to $5,000 range. We also assisted 7 farmers in applying for the CA State Go-Biz program. We are still collecting data as to whether these grants were awarded, but the range for each award was between $5,000 to $25,000. Partner, Kitchen Tabler Advisors, supported3 clients with CDFA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program Assistance applications; 5 clients supported with Farm to School Incubator Grant with grant writing resources, and with a Cal OSBA grant.

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