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

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience included veterans, active duty personnel preparing to transition to civilian life, their partners and other family members 18+ years of age. Individuals enrolled in the program included both those wishing to pursue a career in agriculture and/or to establish their own homestead. Changes/Problems:Enrollment and program completion have been less than anticipated due to circumstances beyond the program's control. Circumstances include students who could not commit for the duration of the program due to personal finances, change in military obligations and family ciccumstances. To better inform participants about course expectations and learn more about their individual goals, a monthly open house session has been implemented. This permits prospective students to visit the farm and discuss expectations for attendance/completion prior to beginning the course. Evaluators have also developed a survey that will permit them to follow-up with individuals who said they planned to complete the course and didn't. This will help us to better understand recruitment attrition. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?MAP participants received classroom and hands-on instruction in the following areas: • What is Agriculture • Ag Safety and Health • Soil (A farmer, at their core, is a soil producer) • Land Recovery (Starting from Scratch) • Livestock & Poultry (Cattle, Sheep, Hog) • Horticulture Vegetable, Fruit, Ornamental Production • Mushroom Cultivation • Land Acquisition • Farmer & Veteran Mental Health • Basic Carpentry, Electrical, & Plumbing For Farms (as available) • Fencing • Mechanical Maintenance (Preventive & Small Repairs) • Pasture Management • Permaculture Basics • Hydro/Aquaponics • Agricultural Economics • Federal, State, Local Programs and Assistance and Other Resources • Marketing • Certifications Partner collaborations expand the array of resources and knowledge available to participants. These include education about conservation programs (e.g., implementation and enrollment into programs), farm safety nets among other government program administration, farm health and safety, and marketing and production of specific items. Sessions cover resources at county and state-level agricultural entities, mental health, farm equipment safety, organic certification, soil health, farm operations, and the potential of online and niche markets. Programs range from all-day events to a few hours and focus on new and beginning farmers, veterans, and people interested in homesteading. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have not been formally disseminated through professional conferences or publications. General information about the project has been disseminated through individual or small group communications with interested parties (e.g., funders, Cooperative Extension, NC Grange, NC Department of Commerce, Veteran's of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, NC Tobacco Trust Fund Leadership Program, etc.) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plans are to conduct four MAP cohorts with an enrollment goal of 15 students/course.Stakeholder meetings will continue, along with preand post-test data analysis and periodic field observations. Evaluators will begin conducting follow-up interviews with participants in Year 2 to assess post-program grant outcomes. Evaluators have developed a photovoice and follow-up interview protocol. Photos are currently being collected via a participant GroupMe and will be used in follow-up interview facilitation beginning in Year 2

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Four cohorts of students totaling 17 individuals were enrolled in the Farm Military AgricultureProgram (MAP)..Follow-up interview data indicates that the quality of MAP instruction is high. Participants report satisfaction with the curriculum and hands-on learning components.Total number of participants employed by a farm of less than 10 years existence and percentage of participants engaged in agriculture was not collected in Year 1 as not enough time had elapsed between program completion and end of Year 1. Evaluators developed a pre- and post-test instrument to assess knowledge change. The pre- and post-test were piloted with Year 1 participants and are now being fielded with MAP cohort #12. Three semi-structured in-person and phone interviews with program graduates were conducted in Year 1 to capture insights from those who participated in the program prior to survey fielding. Three field observations were also conducted on the first and final day of a MAP cohort, a MAP graduation and a participant recruiting event at Fort Liberty, NC. The evaluators conducted 6 interviews with program partners who volunteer to facilitate sessions durings MAP on behalf of their NGOs, businesses, university-based institutions, state and county-level government entities. To facilitate quality improvements to the MAP syllabus and instruction based on participant feedback, the evaluators conducted three stakeholder meetings with program administrators at the beginning of each cohort to discuss opportunities and challenges Partner and participant interviews indicate that MAP has many benefits. Many partnersreport MAP reduces barriers to entry for military-affiliated people to get into farming such as helping them find resources more easily and providing hands-on training without the need to invest in farming before students are certain of their paths. Partners and participants report MAP provides direction and structure to military-affiliated people's lives. One of the biggest benefits according to partners and participants is that students can follow up with partners to gain more farm knowledge and connect with resources for their particular needs after graduation

Publications