Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
The long-term goal of World Farmers' project is to advance beginning farmers in their development and ensure success of both new and advanced beginning immigrant farmers' operations. World Farmers will provide individualized support and technical assistance to beginning immigrant and refugee farmers through our Flats Mentor Farm program, which currently supports 280 immigrant farmers across 25 countries of origin. In addition to one-on-one technical assistance, World Farmers will facilitate farmer-to-farmer mentoring circles fostering knowledge sharing across cultures. These circles will include beginning farmers from outside the Flats Mentor Farm program, and folding new farmers into the FMF farming community, advancing each toward business security and farm ownership, and building networks across immigrant farming communities. Through this project, World Farmers will also provide mentorship to complementary community-led organizations at younger stages in beginning farmer program development in their implementation of new programs. The ultimate goal of this project is to advance beginning farmer businesses to the next phase of their operation and develop long-lasting networks across beginning farmer populations.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of World Farmers' project is to advance beginning farmers in their development and ensure success of both new and advanced beginning immigrant farmers' operations by building networks across immigrant farming communities, while mentoring community-led organizations in their implementation of new programs.World Farmers will provide individualized support and technical assistance to beginning immigrant and refugee farmers through our Flats Mentor Farm program, which currently supports 280 immigrant farmers across 25 countries of origin, as well as facilitate farmer-to-farmer mentoring circles, fostering knowledge sharing across cultures and folding new farmers into the FMF farming community, advancing them toward business security and farm ownership.Our long-term goal will be achieved by the completion of the following objectives:Cultivate spaces of farmer-to-farmer mentoring to share knowledge across cultural communities.Increase farmers' capacity and knowledge in basic production practices, pest identification, seeds access, and soil health.Support farmers to implement good farm safety practices, including equipment operations and pesticide use.Provide mentorship to complementary organizations at younger stages in beginning farmer program development.
Project Methods
Our proposal seeks to support beginning farmers in their journey towards farming success, facilitating access to knowledge, skills, and tools crucial for informed decision-making and eventual farm ownership. At the heart of our approach lies personalized assistance, tailored to each farmer's unique needs and circumstances, and a program that facilitates unrestricted land access and support to 280 farmers concentrated on two main land sites, the combination of which cultivates natural mentorship across all farmers and intentional skill building with those who are confident and ready to establish their operation. Our programs cater to beginning farmers at every stage, assisting immigrant and refugee farmers to secure land, navigate the intricacies of new markets, and expand their agricultural businesses.Central to our program is our farmer-driven mentorship model, a hallmark of World Farmers' ethos. Unlike programs that graduate farmers upon achieving certain milestones, we foster a lifelong learning community where experienced farmers play a pivotal role in guiding newcomers and beginning farmers across the 10-year spectrum support one-another, as well as those who have been farming for 10+ years. Flats Mentor Farm currently supports 280 farmers representing 25 countries and many more cultures. This mentorship naturally occurs across farmer levels, often aligning with shared languages and cultural affinities. With this initiative, we aim to intentionally cultivate cross-cultural exchanges among the diverse community of farmers in our program. In line with our mission, this BFRDP project seeks to sustain and evolve our mentorship model as our farming community expands and diversifies. Topics will be determined based on farmer input and polling, with coordination led by staff. Additionally, we are committed to fostering networking and learning spaces opportunities across World Farmers' FMF farming body, and respective farming bodies of SBRCA-NY and 40 Acres, connecting beginning immigrant, refugee, and diverse farming communities across experience levels. World Farmers will also welcome other immigrant farmer groups within the World Farmers network, including those in Great Barrington, MA, and Lewiston, ME with whom we have built partnerships with but who are not included in this grant project.World Farmers will also provide individualized support and technical assistance to beginning immigrant and refugee farmers in the program across topic areas highlighted in our program scope, and to partner organizations seeking to build similar programs.Quantitative and qualitative performance measurement will be used to track activities, outputs, and objectives met by World Farmers and project partners. World Farmers has several established evaluation systems to track FMF farmer needs and successes across phases. In-season, we conduct on-farm training and engagement and assessments with farmers through conversations and observations to track implementation of trainings. We provide one on one follow up technical assistance for those seeking more support in implementation of a practice, or in procuring equipment, or accessing USDA programs, for example. Additionally, through our winter assessments we are able to conduct individualized planning for the coming summer and future years, capturing needs, challenges, successes, and visions.