OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE TO DISADVANTAGED FARMERS IN ARKANSAS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0219365
• Grant No.: 2009-39300-20159
• Proposal No.: 2009-00711
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2009
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2012
• Grant Year: 2009
• Program Code: [2501]- Outreach for Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers (OASDFR)

Recipient Organization
ARKANSAS LAND AND FARM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
P. O. BOX 743
BRINKLEY,AR 72021

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Through the services to be provided, the program will increase minority farmers' ability to satisfy their production needs for profitable operations, enhance the environmental quality and natural resource base, and gain new capacity for entry into USDA programs and those of private institutions. In turn, the participants will have the capacity to sustain their own economic viability and advance the quality of life for their communities as a whole. The specific performance indicators that will be monitored throughout the life of the project to track results include the following: Changes in farm ownership or operating status Changes in farm enterprises,Changes in farm management and marketing practices Training objectives achieved Farm development objectives achieved Changes in USDA program participation Changes in farm gross income from sales and land rental Changes in government farm payments received Changes in net farm income/loss Changes in debt positions Number of acres by loan status Operator confidence in management skill Operator confidence about farming in the future An important dimension of the developments to be generated by the program is an increasing rate of adoption of new, non-traditional farm enterprises and production techniques. Increased adoption of innovative practices will be generated through direct training and demonstration, which will help to overcome the traditional reluctance of SDF to change practices. An additional area of expectation is the further strengthening within USDA and other farm service entities of the importance of partnerships with nonprofit community organizations in reaching and serving black and other minority farmers, particularly when the desire is to implement new farm management practices. As a result we hope that these agencies will increase support for such partnerships as a method to smooth the transition for other socially disadvantaged people to begin or return to farming. e. Means of Data Collection and Analysis The case records are the means by which farm plans, operating data, USDA service utilization, and program encounters data will be collected and retained. A case record is constructed for each farm operator who enrolls in the program. The case file, though highly

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
601	6030	3030	100%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

outreach training & tech. assist. for disadvantaged ar farmers

economic sustainability of limited resource minority farmers

utalization of usda resources by minority & limited resource farmer &

collective marketing and production co-op structures use of

production,harvest & post harvest handling practices to satisfy

highmarket requirements

Goals / Objectives
ALFDC's proposed OATDAF prog. responds to the outreach & asst needs of AR minority farmers & proposes to provide a compr. service using a case management strategy for farm dev. planning,training,tech asst,& advoc.The aim is asst minority farmers to own,retain,& successfully oper. farms to achieve sus. econ ret. on labor & investment,to encourage & facilitate minority farmer partic. in agri. prog. as well as mrkt & prod. co-ops.In the pursuit of these aims,the following oper. goals & obj. will be achieved during the 3yrs of oper. By the end of the 3yr prog. period,a min. of 150 soc. disadv. farm owners & oper. will have been recruited & participated in a yr long prog. of training & tech. asst. in the prep. & implem. of compre. indiv. farm dev. plan.By the end of the 1st yr of oper.,50 farm owners & oper. will have been enrolled & partic. in prep. & implem. a farm dev. plan.By the end of the 2nd yr of oper.,100 farm owners & oper. will have been enrolled & partic. in prep. & implementing a farm dev. plan.By the end of the 2nd yr of oper.,150 farm owners & oper. will have been enrolled & partic in prep & implem a farm dev. plan.By the end of the 3 yr prog per., 40% of the 150 partic. farm oper. will have incr. their tot gross farm income from agri. sales,land rent & gov. farm payments by at least 15% over the avg. from the 2 years prec. their enrollment.By the end of the 1st prog yr, 20% of the clients who are curr. oper farms will have adopted mgmt plans & prac. that led to an inc. in farm income by a min. of 20%.By the end of the 2nd prog yr, 30% of the enrolled clients who are curr. oper farms will have adopted mgmt plans & prac. that led to an inc. in farm income by a min. of 20%.By the end of the 3rd prog yr, 40% of the enrolled clients who are currently oper. farms will have adopted mgmt plans & prac. that led to an inc. in farm income by a min. of 20%.By the end of the 3 yr prog. per.,80% of the 150 partic. oper will have successfully obt. 1 or more service from USDA which sig. affects econ. viab. of his or her farm enterprise.By the end of the 1st prog yr,50% of the partic. farmers will have obtained 1 or more sig. service from USDA.By the end of the 2nd prog yr,70% of the partic. farmers will have obtained 1 or more sig. service from USDA.By the end of the 2nd prog. yr,80% of the partic. farmers will have obt. 1 or more significant service from USDA.By the end of the 3 yr prog.,a min. of 75 oper. or 50% of the 150 enrolled farmers will have initiated new farm enter. involving alt. high-value crops.By the end of the 1st prog yr, 25 oper. will have identified a high ret. enter. to inc. into their farm oper. & initiated efforts to dev. prod. and mrkt cap.By the end of the 2nd prog. yr,a tot. of 50 oper. will have ident. a high ret. enterprise to inc. into their farm oper. & initiated efforts to dev. prod. & mrkt cap.By the end of the 3rd prog. yr,a min. of 75 oper. will have inc. high ret. enter. into their farm oper. & initiated efforts to dev. prod. & mrkt. cap.

Project Methods
a.Stakeholder Involvement Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation(ALFDC),a growing number of our clients are former oper. who have already been forced to suspend oper. & are now confronted w/a bewildering struggle to retain their remaining land holdings & trans. them to a new gen. of Black farmers.Planned Seq. of Proj. Activities-The Outreach,Asst & Training for Disadv. AR Farmers(OATDAF) prog proposes to use a case mgmt strat. to focus compre. farm outreach and farm dev training & tech asst serv. on a cohort of 50 partic. soc. disadv. farmers in each of the 3 ys.Partic. will cont. to rec. add. training & tech. supp. in the yrs foll. the intensive dev supp. of the 1st yr.Outreach and Recruitment Act.:Outreach will be carried out through ALFDC's existing comm-level networks & through the curr. programs' newsletter & mailings.Outreach & casefinding act. target 3 distinct groups:existing farm oper.,young & beg. farmers many of whom are stepping into farming after a gener. transfer of land & oper. from retiring oper., & land owners who have retired/have been forced to suspend farming due to inab. to obtain credit.Case Intake & Assess.:Flowing out of the outreach & recruitment process is case intake & assessment.A case file will be opened for each SDF client.This case file will rec. such factors as the past acreage, mix of enterp., earnings, & USDA prog partic.,in add. to an analysis of existing liab. & assets.Also to be captured in the case record is an assess. of the oper. training & supp. needs.This opening case record serves as a baseline for meas. future changes & dev in the oper.The case record will also identify proposed farm dev act.,current operating plans, & identify USDA prog in which the client should participate & any needed asst he/she may req. to access the prog.Indiv. Farm Dev Plan:Specific training curricula & mat. will be dev to enhance the potential for farm ownership, divers. of farm oper.,risk mgmt,& mrkt.These will include inf. on fin. mgmt & bookkeeping,credit mgmt,& the dev of farm plans.Training materials & info. from USDA, priv. sector fin. inst.,1890s Hist. Black Colleges & Univ(HBCU),& other public inst. will be inc. into the training & farm dev mat.Del. of this info. will be made in sev. formats:in one-on-one dir. client asst.,small group meetings,short multi-class courses,single event workshops,& at visits to demon. sites.The pers. nature of the del. system,utilizing known farm outreach staff & comm. based paraprof. farmers,will enhance prog effectives.Cont. Training,Tech Asst & Monitoring:After a case has been opened,it will receive reg. training,tech asst services & monitoring to see that the dev. obj. are being achieved at a satisfactory rate.The types of training & tech asst that will be employed are outlined in the following section of the proposal.Monitoring will be done by the Farm Adv. and paraprof mentor farmers located across the ALFDC service area.All contacts with the partic. will be rec. in the case rec. through a simple "service ticket" which will be seq. filed in the case record.

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/12

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience is comprised of African American farmers. These farmers continue to experienceracial disparity in participation rates and distribution of benefits from agricultural programs operated by USDA agencies, particularly FSA, NRCS, RD and RMA. These continuing disparities raise issues of social equity as well as contribute to the erosion of important economic and cultural assets in the African American community. These farmers are older and less educated than peer white farmers. They are deeply involved in the Pigford litigation and related complaints regarding disparities and treatment and inadequate access to USDA programs. They own small acareage which preclude their participation successfully in row crop farming. They are now trying to transition to alterative crops. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The major training and professional development opportunities were training farmers how to get their vegetable farms and packing houses certified by USDA/AMS as implementers of Good Agricultural and Handling (GAP/GHP) praticies. This created new market opportunities - increased farm income. Growers were also taught marketing skills, the importance in branding, and other market related professional marketing essentials. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through newsletters, workshops and collaborations with other organizations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Over250 farmers and potential farmers were worked with during this project. Approximately 85% (210) of these participants have experienced increased gross icome from farm and farm related activities. We have obserrved a growing positive attitude toward conservation which has resulted in a 30% increase in program service enrollment. Over 90 farmers have transitioned from row crops to alternative crops (fresh produce), or entered into farming via alternatetherein increasing land retention as well as farm income. 85% of fresh produce growers have comitted to safe food production as a result of our training and outreach activities. This target group is starting to accept alternate crop farming as a potentially high value opportunity. Therefore small land owners are favorably returning and or entering farming.

Publications

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Provided technical assistance, outreach training and referrals to over 265 limited resource and minority farmers and land owners who participated in the program. The specific program benefits and outputs consisted of: 1.An increase in the their ability to participate in USDA programs. 2.Long term farm business and conservation plans developed. 3.Higher financial returns and economic sustainability for minority farm business enterprises were established. 4.Providing for a higher retention of black and other minority farm business enterprises and land ownership. 5.Lower debt positions for farm operators. 6.Ongoing advocacy support for minority farm retention. PARTICIPANTS: Dr.Calvin R. King provided oversight and a high level of one on one technical assistance,and advocacy for the targeted project population.As a result of his work and level of understanding of the issues facing the minority farm population, the program exceeded the project projected outcome. J.D. Davis with both a business and farming background provided both program design model,training and technical assistance for program participants through workshops and one on one technical asssistance. TARGET AUDIENCES: The three year program was designed to increase farm earnings and strengthen the ability of participating minority and limited resource farmers to sustain and grow their farming operations by providing a continuing comprehensive program of training, technical assistance and advocacy support to a minimum of 150 minority farmers. During each of the three years, a cohort of over 50 farmers were recruited and enrolled in the program for intensive assessment, training and technical assistance aimed at strengthening their farm management skills and improving the sustainability of their farming operations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Through the project services provided,minority farmers'increased their ability to satisfy their production needs for profitable operations, enhance the environmental quality and natural resource base of their farming operation, and gained new capacity for entry into USDA programs and those of private institutions. Participants increased their capacity to sustain their own economic viability and advance the quality of life for their communities as a whole. Other specific performance outcome throughout the life of the project included the following: 1.Number of acres by loan status. 2.Operator confidence in management skill. 3.Operator confidence about farming in the future. 4.An increase in the adoption rate of of new, non-traditional farm enterprises and production techniques. 5.Increased adoption of innovative practices was generated through direct training and demonstration,helping to overcome the traditional reluctance of SDF to change practices. Additional areas of outcome was an increased level of understanding within USDA and other farm service entities of the importance of partnerships with nonprofit community base organizations in reaching and serving black and other minority farmers, particularly when the desire is to implement new farm management practices and access to USDA resources. As a result of these agencies increased support for such partnerships as a method to smooth the transition for other socially disadvantaged people to begin or return to farming.This has been seen in their new strikeforce initiative.

Publications

• No publications reported this period