Progress 08/15/11 to 08/14/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience consisted of new and beginning sustainable and organic farmers and ranchers in Georgia. In addition, our efforts reached socially and economically disadvantaged communities regionally in Georgia and in Atlanta. Changes/Problems: In retrospect, the grant proposal and budget created a difficult management situation by only providing for one full-time equivalent position inside Georgia Organics to oversee an almost exhausting multitude of annual activities and personal relationships: namely, mentors, mentees, field day hosts, workshop presenters, conference presenters, conference scholarship recipients, advisory team members, videographers, podcast recorders, writers, website developers, graphic artists, university researchers—to say nothing of the many outreach efforts. Furthermore, during the first year of the grant, Jonathan Tescher—Georgia Organics’ farmer services coordinator who also served as a co-PD and led the execution of the grant—left the organization. Donn Cooper was hired to replace him and joined Georgia Organics on August 6, 2012, just over one week prior to the conclusion of the grant’s first year. As a result of the enormousness of the work and the transition in personnel, it was practically incumbent upon Georgia Organics to partner with as many organizations as possible to deliver educational opportunities on organic and sustainable production across Georgia, which has four distinct geographic zones, complicated social relations, and the largest land area east of the Mississippi River. Consequently, in addition to hosting its own activities, Georgia Organics worked with outstanding agricultural organizations inside the state to develop, participate in, and coordinate workshops and field days in order to maximize reach and work efficiently. Over the final two years of the grant, outreach and educational activities were held in conjunction with Georgia Organics' Farm to School program, Team Agriculture Georgia, Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education, South Georgia Growing Local, West Georgia Farmers Cooperative, Northeast Georgia Locally Grown, Georgia Mountains Farmers Network, Athens Land Trust, UGA Sustainable and Organic Production Team, Coastal Organic Growers, Florida Organic Growers, Certified Naturally Grown, Global Growers, National Women in Agriculture, the UGA Small Business Development Center, and Fort Valley State University. Other challenges were primarily external. In particular, this grant was operated during a difficult budget period for state and Federal collaborators. For one, UGA and other state employees were recovering from severe cost cutting measures during the recession. Offices were often understaffed, and communication and coordination could prove to be difficult. The same can be said of Federal employees. Only, a government shutdown in late 2013 and the final passage of the Farm Bill in early 2014—followed by rapid rollout of programs—exacerbated those effects. While these circumstances did not stop or alter execution of the grant, they affected efficiency and planning to some degree. In addition, the lack of an organic certification cost share program in Georgia in 2013 certainly froze certification progress in Georgia. As of mid-2014, Georgia Organics could only identify 75 certified organic farms in the state by cross-referencing databases from the state Department of Agriculture and USDA ERS. Comparing those numbers to previous years was problematic due to the chronic unreliability of lists of certified organic producers. The National Organic Program’s real-time directory of active certified farms, as mandated by the Farm Bill, will provide a more stable basis for gauging progress. For the record, Georgia currently boasts the largest number of farmer enrolled in the Certified Naturally Grown program, an alternative certification to organic. Lastly, Georgia Organics’ website has changed its host, undergone a complete redesign, and implemented a new forum since late 2012. While most of the work has been completed, many of these changes have yet to go live, which has also meant that individual resource pages and multimedia resources have yet to be populated or uploaded. These items, such as articles and technical videos, will have increased views and show more robust quantitative metrics as they find more visibility in the final version of the website. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Donn Cooper, the project PD in replacement of Jonathan Tescher, presented on emerging food trends and agricultural issues to Extension agents on August 4, 2014. Attendance was 45. He also presented on the status of organic production in Georgia to researchers from the Georgia Food Policy Council on March 13, 2014. On March 3, 2014, he spoke at a SARE-sponsored workshop to UGA Extension agents about organic grain production. Attendance was 20 and included field demonstration of no-till seeding into a rye cover crop. On August 14-14, 2013, he attended the Southeast Beginning Farmer Workshop: Developing Farm Incubator, Internship, and Apprenticeship Programs, which was funded by a separate USDA NIFA BFRDP grant and hosted by Clemson University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results and information have been disseminated in person through exhibiting activities. Some of these activies included the Sunbelt Ag Expo, the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, the Southern Sustainable Working Group Conference, the South Georgia Growing Local Conference, the National Women in Agriculture Symposium, the Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Agriculture Conference, the Southeast Sustainable Livestock Symposium, the FFA Career and Trade Show, the Sustainable Agriculture Conference for Beginning Farmers, the Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Agricultural Conference,the Georgia Small Farm Conference, the Team Agriculture Georgia workshops, theFederation of Southern Cooperatives Small Farm Conference, the Conservation Production Systems Conference, the Fort Valley State University Farm Home and Ministers' Conference, and the Fort Valley State University Taste of Ag Field Day. Total attendance for these events was well over 300,000. Georgia Organics conservatively estimates that it reached approximately 25,000 through exhibits at external outreach events during the course of the grant. Georgia Organics' key method of dissemination is its website (www.georgiaorgnics.org), specifically that portion dedicated to farmers (http://georgiaorganics.org/for-farmers/for-farmers-2). Although its redesign to make information more relevant and accessible is almost complete, the section for farmers received 53,715 pageviews and 40,054 unique pageviews in 2014. By comparison, the same pages received 50,814 total pageviews and 36,805 unique pageviews in 2013, and 41,214 total page views and 26,742 unique pageviews in 2012. Since 2011, total visitors to the Georgia Organics website has grown from 87,002 to 127,082 to 143,861 to 150,206. Our blog, "The Daily Dirt," featured producer-written articles, as well as other informationgenerally aimed at the producer community and has received 20,379 pageviews since its initiation in 2014. Additionally, Georgia Organics increasingly relies on social media to disseminate information to new and beginning farmers in Georiga. Since the start of the grant, total likes for Georgia Organics' Facebook page has grown from 7,869 to 21,013. Georgia Organics publishes a quarterly newsletter, "The Dirt," that is distributed annually to nearly 16,000 households through direct mailing, retail outlets, and indivdual Community Supported Agriculture programs. The Fall 2014 issue focused primarily on activities on behalf of famers funded by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, including the publication of one the four commissioned case studies. Georgia Organics also publishes a month e-newsletter, "Grower News," for farmers intended to provide information on educational programs, technical advice, events, and professional opportunities. To date there are 2254 subscribers. This is a dip in subsribers from 2013 (2328) owing to a change in email service providers. The positive trend in subscribers from 2011 to 2014, however, is clear: 1,668, 2,088, 2,328, 2,254. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project sponsored Georgia Organics’ annual conference from 2012 through 2014 by funding general conference production, presenter honorariums and conference scholarships. The conference was held in Columbus, Atlanta and Jekyll Island, respectively, and averaged 1000 attendees. With 1300 in attendance, the 2013 conference in Atlanta was the largest in the organization’s history. Over three years Georgia Organics offered 48 educational sessions for farmers, including topics on silvopasture, pastured poultry, tropical niche crops, cover crops for brassica production, organic corn production, crop planning for coastal seasons, aquaponics, direct marketing, social media marketing,Southern SARE producer grants, value-added product opportunities, organic insect control, organic vegetable disease management, weed control, medicinal herbs as niche crop, mushroom cultivation, grass-fed cattle pasture management and genetics, small ruminants, negotiating land leases, marketing torestaurants and distributors, farm record-keeping, successful CSA strategies, postharvest handling and packaging, food safety, small-scale intensive farming, organic pecan and peach production, determining nitrogen availability, mob grazing, and developing a successful meat CSA. Half-day workshops included topics on organic certification, crop planning, enterprise budgets, managing root-knot nematodes through grafted resistant rootstocks, women in agriculture, establishing economical and productive raised beds, food hubs, fruit tree and berry cultivation, and permaculture. Additionally, Georgia Organics offered a total of 24 farm tours of exemplary area farms producing everything from commercial worm products to ginger. Rating for overall conference quality and information averaged 4.65 out of five over the three years. During the course of the reporting period, Georgia Organics coordinated and participated in 18 field days. These field days provided direct educational opportunities to farmers by giving them access to commercial and research farms. Sites included a ranch with on-farm red meat and poultry processing, two of the most profitable certified organic specialty crop operations in Georgia, a certified organic soybean and corn farm, a small ruminant farm, a Certified Naturally Grown mixed vegetable farm in suburban Atlanta, a mixed vegetable farm in the Georgia mountains, a certified organic blueberry, a certified organic peanut farm, and the UGA certified organic research farm in northeast Georgia. Total attendance for all events was 825. This number does not include participation in the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo field day, which attracts 500 attendees, or counts attendance by multiple local high school classes at the organic soybean and corn farm. Georgia Organics also coordinated or supported numerous half- and full-day workshops. These included a small farm tax and labor workshop, a small-scale intensive production workshop (in partnership with the National Center for Appropriate Technology), a pruning and grafting workshop, a veteran and underserved producer workshop, a pecan production workshop, a small organic farm production workshop, two cool season vegetable production workshops, a conference on capacity building for local food systems, an introduction to business planning for socially disadvantaged producers in southwest Georgia, a workshop on shiitake mushroom production, a workshop on organic grain production targeting Extension personnel, a farm business workshop in partnership with the University of Georgia and the Small Business Development Center, and a workshop on high tunnel production and NRCS programs on a certified organic farm in middle Georgia, in which Georgia Organics provided travel assistance to almost forty socially disadvantaged producers from metro Atlanta through its mentoring program. These workshops had a total attendance of 526. Georgia Organics conducted 19 presentations across Georgia intended to foster new and beginning sustainable farmers. These presentation focused on organic certification and the revenue/expense models for small specialty crop producers and were held at conferences, workshops and events, where Georgia Organics also participated as a substantial planning collaborator. Cumulative attendance was approximately 1,152, and events were located across the state, including White, Rabun, Randolph, Peach, Butts, Peach, Coffee, Chatham, Gwinnett, Houston, Fulton, Terrell, Harris, and Oconee counties. In terms of outreach, Georgia Organics exhibited at no fewer than 28 farmer-focused events, distributing information on sustainable markets, production practices and marketing certifications. Even after reducing the outsized attendance numbers of the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference and the Sunbelt Ag Expo (3000 and 100,000, respectively), attendance for these events is very conservatively estimated at 20,531. Some of these activities included Fort Valley State University Taste of Ag Field Day, the Southern Sustainable Working Group Conference, the South Georgia Growing Local Conference, the National Women in Agriculture Symposium, the Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Livestock Symposium, and the FFA state conference. In 2012 and 2013, Georgia Organics assembled a host of vendors of sustainable farm inputs, organic buyers and university researchers in order to share opportunities in the expanding organic market with agricultural communities in the traditional row crop areas of south Georgia. Georgia Organics also coordinated or participated in nine high-impact meetings, which covered Farm to School purchasing from local farms, regional farmer feedback, auxin-resistant crops, Latino outreach, and impending state and Federal regulations affecting small, sustainable farmers, among other things. Total attendance for these meetings was 355. Through its mentoring program, Georgia Organics provided direct learning experiences frompracticed farmermentors and assistance to 42 farmers throughout Georgia. It also supported more than fifty farmers, most of whom are socially disadvantaged, to travel to immersive on-farm educational experiences in the form of workshops, field days, farm tours and regional conferences. Additionally, Georgia Organics initiated relationships with Latino community members by convening a working group and farmer veterans in order to continue outreach to these emerging constituencies after the conclusion of the grant. Forty-seven short technical videos were completed with 20,080 combined plays (www.vimeo.com/channels/gofieldtrip). Video topics included urban farming, beneficial insects, economical washing stations, harvesting flowers, propagating tomatoes, negotiating a land lease agreement, managing dairy goats on pasture, planting mounds/hugelkultur, growing organic peanuts, growing in coastal soils, growing ginger, brooder house watering systems, converting a high tunnel to a chicken coop, pruning young fruit trees, hand tool maintenance and winter storage,loading hogs for processing, farmers market presentation, soil blocking, on-farm chicken processing, introduction to biodynamics, mobile hog structures, growing sweet potato slips, microgreen production, packing CSA boxes, packing shed design, biologically-intensive pecan production, seeding beans, gourmet mushroom cultivation, Florida weave trellising, shiitake mushroom production, no-turn row composting, fall direct seeding in hoop house, pasture-integrated chicken house design, cultivation, lambing, rotational intensive grazing, portable watering systems, summer hoop house production, cover crops, seed starting in the greenhouse, fruit tree planting, transplanting onions, winter high tunnels, sweet potato harvest, humane treatment of cattle, and winter high tunnel crops. Additionally,43 podcasts of conference educational sessions directed toward farmers were completed. There have been 4,706 total views to date.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, D. 2013-2014. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance, funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers, interested growers and agricultural professionals. Via email.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cooper, D. 2012-2013. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance, funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers, interested growers and agricultural professionals. Via email.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Tescher, J. 2011-2012. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance, funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers, interested growers and agricultural professionals. Via email.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Wall, M. 2013-2014. The Dirt. Quarterly. Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and interested parties. Via email, mail, farmer distribution, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Wall, M. 2012-2013. The Dirt. Quarterly. Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and interested parties. Via email, mail, farmer distribution, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Wall, M. 2011-2012. The Dirt. Quarterly. Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and interested parties. Via email, mail, farmer distribution, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Current Food Trends and Emerging Agricultural Constituencies." Northwest District Cooperative Extension Training. University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia. 4 August 2014. Presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Overview of Organic Market in Georgia." Organic Fruit and Vegetable Weed Control Workshop. Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia. 23 July 2014. Presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Organic Production Overview." Team Agriculture Georgia: Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Agricultural Conference. Georgia National Fair, Perry, Georgia. 29 May 2014. Conference presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Small Farm Business Planning." UGA Small Business Development Center Farm Business Workshop. Oconee County Extension office, Watkinsville, Georgia. 24 February 2014. Presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Small Vegetable Farm Economics." Agricultural Outreach and Initiative Workshop. Cuthbert, Georgia. 17 December 2014. Presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cooper, Donn. "Overview of Organic Certification." Auburn Commercial Horticulture Training. Opelika, AL. 24 September 2013. Presentation.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2011
Citation:
Fazio, R. 2011. "Producing Wheat and Whole Wheat Flour for the Local Market." https://georgiaorganics.org/forfarmers/producing-wheat-and-whole-wheat-flour-for-the-local-market/.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Chandler, J. 2012. "Sustainable Sheep Production in the Southeast." https://georgiaorganics.org/for-farmers/sustainable-sheep-production.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2012
Citation:
Jones, B. 2012. "Learning about Lease Agreements." https://georgiaorganics.org/for-farmers/learning-about-lease-agreements/.
|
Progress 08/15/13 to 08/14/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience consisted of new and beginning sustainable and organic farmers and ranchers in Georgia. In addition, our efforts reached socially and economically disadvantaged communities regionally in Georgia and in Atlanta. Changes/Problems: There are no major changes to report. However, the producer who acted as a mentoring coordinator in 2013 was not able to fulfill that duty to the same degree in 2014. Consequently, the program did not have the same reach. The website for Georgia Organics has also been under some type of redesign over the past two years. Consequently, uploading of case studies and articles is behind, which has prevented gathering data on pageviews. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Donn Cooper, the project PD in replace of Jonathan Tescher, presented on emerging food trends and agricultural issues to Extension agents on August 4. Attendance was 45. He also presented on the status of organic production in Georgia toresearchers from the Georgia Food Policy Council on March 13. On March 3, he spoke at a SARE workshop on organic grain production directed toward Extension agents. Attendance was 20. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated through exhibiting activities. For example, Georgia Organics exhibited at 11 farmer-focused events, distributing information on sustainable markets and production practices. Attendance for these events is very conservatively estimated at 10,294. Some of these activities included the Sunbelt Ag Expo, the Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Regional Conference, the Southern Sustainable Working Group Conference, the South Georgia Growing Local Conference, the National Women in Agriculture Symposium, the Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Livestock Symposium, and the FFA state conference. Georgia Organics' key method of dissemination is its website (www.georgiaorganics.org), specifically that portion dedicated to farmers (http://georgiaorganics.org/for-farmers/for-farmers-2). Although its redesign to make information more relevant and accessible is still incomplete, the section for farmers received 53,715 total pageviews and 40,054 unique pageviews over 2014 (as off November 7). By comparison, the the same pages received 50,814 total pageviews and 36,805 unique pageviews over 2013. Add to those numbers Georgia Organics' sizeable social media followers, which currently totals over 22,000 on Facebook alone. Our blog, "The Daily Dirt," features producer-written articles, as well asothers generallyaimed at the producer community, and has received 20,379 pageviews this year. Georgia Organics published a quarterly newsletter, "The Dirt," that is distributed to nearly 16,000 through direct mailing, retail outlets andCSA programs. The Fall 2014 issue focused primarily on activiteson behalf of farmersfunded by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, including the publication ofa case study. Georgia Organics publishes a monthly e-newsletter, "Grower News," for farmers intended to provide information on educational programs, technical advice, and professional opportunities. To date, there are 2254 subscribers. This dip compared to 2013 (2328 subscribers) owes to a change in email service providers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Georgia Organics’ seventeenth annual conference was held on Jekyll Island in February and had over 900 attendees, of which 33 percent identified themselves as farmers. Of farmers who responded to evaluations, 73 percent were new and beginning farmers: 57 percent said they had five years or less experience and 26 percent said they had been farming between five and ten years. 37 percent had some type of marketing certification, with another 31 percent of respondents signaling they would pursue certification. Overall, Georgia Organics offered seven tours of coastal farms, 11 intensive workshops (including a special session focusing on women operators), and 16 educational sessions designed for farmers and ranchers to improve their production and marketing practices. Farmers scored their knowledge and awareness gained through conference educational programming at an average of 4.06 out of five, with 40 percent rating the educational offerings a perfect five. Through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Georgia Organics provided 30 full or partial scholarships to beginning farmers to attend its annual conference. Ten of these recipients identified themselves as socially disadvantaged producers, while all recipients had less than ten years of experience as farm operators. Scholarship recipients scored their knowledge and awareness gained through educational programming at an average of 4.46 out of five, with over 50 percent rating the educational offerings as a perfect five. During the course of the reporting period, Georgia Organics coordinated and participated in seven field days. These field days provided direct educational opportunities to farmers by giving them access to commercial and research farms. Sites included a Certified Naturally Grown mixed vegetable farm in suburban Atlanta, a mixed vegetable farm in the Georgia mountains, a certified organic farm in the far southeastern corner of the state, a certified organic peanut farm near Statesboro, and the UGA organic research farm in northeast Georgia. Total attendance for all events (minus the Sunbelt Ag Expo field day) was 535. Georgia Organics also coordinated or supported six full-day workshops. These included a conference on capacity building for local food systems, an introduction to business planning for socially disadvantaged producers in southwest Georgia, a workshop on shiitake mushroom production, a workshop on organic grain production targeting Extension personnel, a Farm Business Workshop in partnership with the University of Georgia and the Small Business Development Center, and a workshop on high tunnel production and NRCS programs on a certified organic farm in middle Georgia, in which Georgia Organics provided travel assistance to almost forty socially disadvantaged producers from metro Atlanta through its mentoring program. These workshops had a total attendance of 223, with over half attendees qualifying as socially disadvantaged producers. The Farm Business Workshop was particularly innovative, as for the first time it offered needed business literacy focusing on direct market farmers, and it encouraged the Small Business Development Center to channel its expertise to an agricultural clientele in Georgia. Overall, the workshop had 26 attendees, who rated the workshop at 4.27 out of five in terms of acquiring practical skills and knowledge to manage a business more effectively and efficiently. Forty-four percent said they would make major changes as a result of the workshop. Likewise, the workshop on business planning held in southwest Georgia had an overall rating of 4.2 out of five, with 90 of attendees responding they had gained knowledge to improve their operations. Georgia Organics conducted eight presentations across Georgia intended to foster new and beginning sustainable farmers. These presentation focused on organic certification and the revenue/expense models for small specialty crop producers and were held at conferences, workshops and events, where Georgia Organics also participated as a substantial planning collaborator. Cumulative attendance was approximately 667, and locations included Butts, Peach, Coffee, Gwinnett, Houston, Fulton, Terrell, Harris, and Oconee counties. In terms of outreach, Georgia Organics exhibited at 11 farmer-focused events, distributing information on sustainable markets and production practices. Attendance for these events is very conservatively estimated at 10,294. Some of these activities included the Sunbelt Ag Expo, the Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Regional Conference, the Southern Sustainable Working Group Conference, the South Georgia Growing Local Conference, the National Women in Agriculture Symposium, the Georgia Multicultural Sustainable Livestock Symposium, and the FFA state conference. Georgia Organics also coordinated or participated in seven high-impact meetings, which covered Farm to School purchasing, regional farmer feedback, auxin-resistant crops and Latino outreach, among other things. Total attendance for these meetings was 242. At the same time, Georgia Organics has begun recruitment of an organic peanut stakeholders' group, with the hope that this enterprise might be a profitable operation for a beginning or limited-resource grower in the state. While personnel issues reduced the impact of the mentoring program, seven farmers received direct assistance in 2013-2014, three of which are socially disadvantaged producers. Additionally, Georgia Organics provided travel support for 40 socially disadvantaged producers to attend a high tunnel workshop on a certified organic farm owned by a socially disadvantaged producer in rural Georgia. It also provided support for one socially disadvantaged producer to attend the 2013 National Goat Conference in order bring the knowledge gained from that event back to his producer cooperative in western Georgia. What’s more, Georgia Organics coordinated a trial of grafted tomatoes on selected mentor farms in order to test the marketability and pest resistance of grafted heirloom tomatoes, which receive a premium at direct markets, in different geographic zones of Georgia. Evaluation of the mentoring program, which is now in its eleventh year, is an ongoing process. Seventeen short technical videos were completed with 4112 combined plays. Video topics included urban farming, beneficial insects, economical washing stations, harvesting flowers, propagating tomatoes, negotiating a land lease agreement, managing dairy goats on pasture, planting mounds/hugelkultur, growing organic peanuts, growing in coastal soils, growing ginger, brooder house watering systems, converting a high tunnel to a chicken coop, pruning young fruit trees, hand tool maintenance and winter storage, rotation hog grazing, and sensible loading of hogs for processing. Twenty-three podcasts were created from the conference sessions. To date, these have 1134 views. These will be loaded onto jump drives and distributed at future exhibiting events over the next year.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Cooper, D. 2013-2014. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance, funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers, interested growers and agricultural professionals. Via email.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Wall, M. 2013-2014. The Dirt. Quarterly Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and parties. Via email, mail, farmer distribution, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
|
Progress 08/15/12 to 08/14/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience consisted of new and beginning sustainable and organic farmers and ranchers in Georgia. In addition, our efforts reachedsocially and economically disadvantaged communities in southwest Georgia and Atlanta, as well as socially disadvantged multicultural communities in the Atlanta area. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Donn Cooper, farmer services coordinator for Georgia Organics and co-PD (replacing Jonathan Tescher), attended the Southeast Beginning Farmer Workshop: Developing Farm Incubator, Internship and Apprenticeship Programs, which was also funded by aNIFA BFRDP projectand hosted by Clemson University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Georgia Organics' key method of dissemination is its website (www.georgiaorganics.org), specifically that portion dedicated to farmers (http://georgiaorganics.org/for-farmers/for-farmers-2/). Although it is being redesigned to make information more relevant and accessible, the section for farmers received 50,054 pageviews from Aug. 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013 (plus an additional 14,681 from Aug.1 to Nov. 11). There were 44,732 for the same period from 2011 to 2012. Before the beginning of the project, there were only 15,618 pageviews during the same period from 2011 to 2012. Georgia Organics publishesa montly e-newsletter ("Grower News")for farmers intended to provide information on educational programs, technical advice, and professional opportunities. As of October 2013, there were 2306 recipients. That compares to 1989 recipients in October 2012. Georgia Organics has exhibited at four events across the state of Georgia with a cumulative attendance exceeding 100,000. These were, namely, the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, South Georgia Growing Local Conference, Georgia FFA Career and Trade Show, and the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Georgia Organicsfacilitated two screenings of Grow!, a feature film about young farmers, in Atlanta and southwest Georgia. Cumulative attendance was 126. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Outreach efforts have proven successful and will remain the same. The University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University, as partners, will deliver their case study products and regulations guideduring the next year. Their progress has been delayed due to staff turnover/hiring at their respective institutions. Georgia Organics intends to augment their products with other resources in order to provide a more robust informational packet to new and begining organic and sustainable farmers in Georgia. There will also be a full compliment of semi-technical agricultural articles, which producers have had difficulty prioritizing over the exigencies of farming. A professional writer may need to be contracted, as producers are also not adept at expressing themselves or making deadline. Podcasts from 2013 education sessions are still under production.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In a state where thenumberof organic farmers is relatively negligible, the essential goal of this project is to cast a wide net,targeting new, sustainably-minded farmers across Geogia and equip them with basic marketing and production information, for which there are not robust institutional resources. The number of people interested in farming is unprecedented; however, with that interest comes a proportional lack of knowledge. Essentially,those looking to start farming sustainably ororganically have little to no experience, if their baseline is not in factsquare one.Accomplishments, then, can largely be measured in terms of outreach and volume, asattendees and audience membersnearly alwaysaffirm an increase in knowledge and a desire to start or keep farming. Not counting farm and relationship partners,19 new and beginning sustainable farmers have been part of the Georgia Organics' mentoring program in 2013. At least seven of these qualify as socially disadvantaged. Real impacts of the program will not be known until an exit interview in December 2013. It is assumed all will continue to farm, and most have undergone a significant change in skills and attitudes (it should be noted that aberrant precipitation inGeorgia severely hindered successful production in 2013 and may have lasting effects on producers' willingness and financial ability to pursue farming). Applicants were selected for their seriousness, access to land, and geographical proximity--this last condition resulted from insufficient oversight in previous years due to physical distance. One qualitative outcome from 2012 that we expect to be duplicated in 2013: "The GO [Georgia Organics] mentor program has been a very positive experience. Although I have only spent a few hours with my mentor, her advice and practical knowledge was [sic] invaluable. The program also provided a farm visit with ------. His recommendations regarding soil condition/improvement assisted us in developing a long-term soil improvement plan for our farm." Georgia Organics conducted five (5) field days in which new and beginning sustainable farmers met to share informational resources andtoured operations throughout Georgia. Cumulative attendance for these events was 86. Participation by economically and socially disadvanted producers was 41%. On a scale of increasing knowledgevalue from1 to 5, attendees consistently rated these events as4 and above. One field day consisted of a tour of five farms in the metro Atlanta area and was conducted in partnership with Global Growers, a non-profit thateducates multicultural farmers on production and marketing conditions. Georgia Organics conducted five (5) workshopswith topics covering fruit tree pruning and grafting, cool season brassica production, organic grain production, and pecan production with biological amendments. These were addressed to new and beginning sustainable farmers. Cumulative attendance was 134. Participation by economically and socially disadvantaged producers was 37%. Attendees uniformly said they gained knowledge that would be incorporated in their operation. Two of these workshops were in partnership with the Southwest Georgia Project, which identified socially disadvantaged producers with local purchasing options. Georgia Organics subsequently provided technical production training. Georgia Organics conducted ten (10) presentations at conferences and events across Georgia intended to foster new and beginning sustainable farmers. Cumulative attendance was 694, of those 457 identified themselves as farmers, 180 as non-agricultural professionals, and 57 as Extension and agricultural professionals. These presentations focused on organiccertification andrevenue/expense modelsfor small specialty crop producers. On average, theaudience membersrated highly thatthey had "gained knowledge and awareness that better prepares you to succeed as a farmer" (4.5 out of 5 rating). One qualitative sample measuring changes in practice: "I plan to improve record-keeping of plants, crop rotations, sprays and irrigation." Georgia Organics facilitated or participated in six (6) meetings designed to further economic opportunites for farmers. These meetings involved food hub development, cooperativeorganization, minority outreach,and school institutional purchasing, respectively. Cumulative attendance was 119, of whichapproximately 65 identified themselves as farmers. Participation by economically and socially disadvantaged producers was 49.5%. Sixteen short technical videos were completed with 4893 combined plays. Video topics included farmers market stand presentation, soil blocking, chicken processing, biodynamics introduction, growing sweet potato slips, mobile hog structures, microgreen production, packing shed design, CSA box packing, biological pecan production, direct seeding, tomato trellising, mushroom production (2), row composting, and fall hoophouse production. Moreover, fourteen technical videos from the previous reporting period received an additional 3149 plays. Website: http://vimeo.com/channels/gofieldtrip/videos. Georgia Organics annual conference in Atlantahad 1300 attendees, of which 345 identified themselves as farmers. Although Georgia Organics does not track conference attendee demographics, at least 39 scholarships for beginning and socially disadvantaged producers were distributed. The lowest overall rating of any of the 40 workshops and educational sessions was 4.18 out of 5. Scholarship recipients scored their knowledge and preparedness they had gained from the conferenceat 4.54 out of5.Some qualitative comments from scholarship evaluations: "Our marketing strategies will be more directed. We can also make more informed decisons relating to insect/pest management." "As a farmer who is starting a new farm business, I learned a lot of tips on record-keeping."
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Cooper, D. 2012-2013. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance,
funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers and interested growers. Via
email.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Wall, M. 2012-2013. The Dirt. Quarterly. Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and interested
parties. Via email, mail, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
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Progress 08/15/11 to 08/14/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: During the first year, 18 young and beginning farmers received 277 hours of mentorship from established producers. Qualified mentees were selected based upon their credentials as beginning farmers, with mentors selected based upon their technical and educational abilities. Mentees' average age was 41 years; seven mentees were beginning farmers 30 years old and younger. Additionally, five farm tours were held at farms at organic and sustainable farms across Georgia, focusing on intensive commercial vegetable production for retail markets, hoop houses, irrigation, field equipment, organic commodity production, and rotational grass-finished livestock production with an emphasis on cultivating genetics suitable to the climate of Southeast. Average attendance was 25, of which one-fourth to a half tended to be farmers with five years of experience or less. Two workshops were held in August. The first delivered information on proper farm tax preparation for smaller, diversified producers. Along with a field demonstration, the second provided information on small-scale intensive production with partnership from NCAT and UGA. Attendance for the workshops was approximately 25 and 80 respectively, and attendees for the latter generally were new and interested farmers not part of an established constituency. Moreover, 14 short technical videos were completed on the topics of poultry production, weed cultivation, lambing, rotational intensive grazing, portable livestock watering systems, summer hoop house production, cover crops, seed starting in a greenhouse, fruit tree planting, onion transplanting, winter high tunnels, sweet potato production, and humane cattle management. These are available to the public at vimeo.com/channels/gofieldtrip and will be disseminated more comprehensively at www.georgiaorganics.org/farmers.aspx after a Website redesign before the conclusion of 2012. Average plays per video to date amounts to 116. At the same time, 22 presentations with audio from both the 2011 and 2012 Georgia Organics conference respectively have been produced for general audience consumption on Georgia Organics University (vimeo.com/channels/309711). The 2012 Georgia Organics conference provided 23 workshops and educational sessions with an average attendance of 69, as well as eight tours of farms in western Georgia and eastern Alabama. Over the first year of the grant, www.georgiaorganics.org/farmers/aspx--which publicized events, highlighted products, and published data from workshops and producers--received 4751 unique pageviews from new visitors and 4800 unique page views from returning visitors. Information was also disseminated via a monthly email newsletter, "Grower News," and a monthly print newsletter, "The Dirt." From August 2011 to October 2012, the total number of "Grower News" recipients climbed by 567 or 39 percent, and "The Dirt" had a quarterly distribution of 19,700. Programming opportunities were shared at three exhibiting events during 2012: Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, Federation of Southern Cooperatives Small Farm Conference, and Sunbelt Ag Expo. PARTICIPANTS: As the Project Director and Executive Director of the performing organization, Alice Rolls continues to provide guided oversight of all programming and implementation. Co-PD Jonathan Tescher, who formerly managed the grant and designed and implemented all programming, left Georgia Organics in July 2012 for an opportunity in private enterprise. He was replaced by Donn Cooper, who is acting in the same role and has assumed the same responsibilities (including reporting), in August 2012. At this time no other individuals have worked at least one person month on this project, although Kent Wolfe from the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development has begun site visits for case studies. The National Center for Appropriate Technology provided financial support in the form of a facilities rental fee and cost waiver for speaker Andy Pressman at a workshop on small-scale intensive farming at the University of Georgia campus in Griffin. To date, the project has provided for 30 scholarships for farmers to attend the Georgia Organics conference in 2012, with priority given to farmers who have participated in a mentoring program. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Eighteen young and beginning farmers received 277 hours of training improving technical knowledge, the specifics and application of which should be known over the next calendar year as evaluation of mentees' on-farm skills, changes of action, and adoption of risk minimization strategies continues on-site. All attendees ranked the benefit quality and usefulness of knowledge gained at grant-sponsored events on a scale of one (least) to five (most). Of five farm tours and two workshops, average usefulness of new knowledge gained equaled 4.65. The two highest scores were associated with farm tours/field days focusing on hoop house production and irrigation, which included on-site demonstration of actual operations and production strategies by highly successful vegetable producers growing for retail and restaurant markets. The lowest rating (4.22) was associated with the workshop on proper farm tax operation by a University of Georgia expert, which proved a glaring need in the state for proper tax professionals with experience in the rules and needs that apply to smaller-scale diversified operations. As a result, Georgia Organics, as an organization, was an informed of a deficiency in professional services and knowledge for farmers in the state, in terms of tax preparation, legal services, and licensing, and will implement corrective programming in the future. At the tour of the organic corn and soybean farm in southeast Georgia, Georgia Organics partnered with the host farmer to introduce organic production as science-based cultivation system to high school students from three schools in Bulloch County, most of whom were unaware of the details of organics as a production system and consumer product due to their rural location. Additionally, the same rating system was used for 23 workshops and educational sessions at the 2012 Georgia Organics conference, with topics ranging from successful CSA strategies to post-harvest handling to wholesale opportunities. The average score for usefulness of new knowledge was 4.57. Furthermore, believing in the success of peer-to-peer communication to alleviate technical and cultural impediments, Georgia Organics commissioned monthly producer-written articles on subjects of need in the farming community. To date, nine of these articles have received 2546 unique page views on the Georgia Organics Website. Seven were the top links in the "Grower News" e-newsletter, covering lamb production, irrigation, diversifying markets, potato production, pork production, growing summer lettuce, and negotiating lease agreements for young farmers.
Publications
- Tescher, J. Cooper, D. 2011-2012. Grower News. Monthly. Provides the latest information on technical and educational assistance, funding opportunities, farming employment positions, and events to community of growers and interested growers. Via email.
- Fazio, R. 2011. Producing Wheat and Whole Wheat Flour for the Local Market. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/11-12-04/producing_wheat_and_whole _wheat_flour_for_the_local_market.aspx.
- Chandler, J. 2012. Sustainable Sheep Production in the Southeast. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/12-01-14/sustainable_sheep_product ion_in_the_southeast.aspx.
- Myers, I. 2012. H2O Choices for the Farm. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/12-02-07/h20_choices_for_the_farm. aspx.
- Chandler, C. 2012. What To Produce on the Farm. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/12-03-08/what_to_produce_on_the_fa rm.aspx.
- Mosser, C. 2012. Growing Potatoes at Burge Organic Farm. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/12-04-04/growing_potatoes_at_burge _organic_farm.aspx.
- Francis, J. 2012. How One Young Farmer Started Raising Pigs. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail/12-05-02/how_one_young_farmer_star ted_raising_pigs.aspx.
- Hager, B. 2012. Growing Summer Lettuce. www.georgiaorganic.org/newsdetail/12-06-05/growing_summer_lettuce.asp x.
- Comerford, M. 2012. Line Breeding. www.georgiaorganics.org/newsdetail.12-07-11/line_breeding.aspx.
- Jones, B. 2012. Learning about Lease Agreements. www.georgiaorganics.org/farmers/leaseagreements.aspx.
- Wall, M. 2011-2012. The Dirt. Quarterly. Provides organic farming and consumer information to members and interested parties. Via email, mail, and retail outlets in Atlanta.
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