Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project is a collaborative project of Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF), and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI). The project serves a target audience of beginning farmers and ranchers--individuals who are in their first ten years of operating a farm start-up. The project aimed to serve over 500 farmers during the three-year grant award period. During the first year of the project, partners served 346 farmers, while in the second year of the project, partners served 408 farmers. During the third year of the project, partners served 472 beginning farmers, including 179 farmers in the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), 14 Stateline Farm Beginnings students, 274 farmers attending Whole Farm Workshops and other programs at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and 5 farmers at the Liberty Prairie Foundation farm incubator, the Prairie Crossing Farm Business Development Center (FBDC). In the final year of the project, respondents to our participant surveys indicate the following: 12% of these farmers are socially disadvantaged, 52% are female, 30% are veterans, and 33% are limited resource farmers. Changes/Problems:No changes or problems surfaced in Year 3 of the grant period. However, the project experienced several minor changes that we implemented in Year 2. The primary change to the project involves the proposed development of a microloan fund. After Year 1 of the grant period, AOLC determined that the organization no longer needed to develop a loan fund to serve local small-scale food farmers, as the Farm Service Agency began serving this role with their microloan product. We also did not move forward on the Journey Person program, although we completed the planning of the program in Year 1. Our work on Objective 3 demanded staff time and resources beyond our projections and meant that we will return to implementation of the Journey Person program in a future year. Beyond the third year of funding, AOLC will focus on expanding/deepening the IDA program, expanding land-link technical assistance, and plan a multi-year farm financial facilitated discussion group. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Project partners conducted a variety of training activities, including coursework in the ten-session Stateline Farm Beginnings course. In Year 3 of the grant period, a record percentage of Stateline Farm Beginnings participants were paired with farmer mentors and received a season's worth of training in a target area of their choosing. 9 out of 11 farm families participated, i.e. 12 SFB students. Other activities included 5 consultations with members of our Technical Assistance Pool, 4 consultations with a livestock expert farmer from our farmer network and 1 Advanced Winter Workshop. Substantial professional development takes place within the context of our Farm Asset Builder program, whereby 4 farm families received a year's worth of financial management technical assistance from AOLC staff experts. Liberty Prairie Foundation facilitated a number of introductions of FBDC participants to more advanced farmers who have successfully improved diverse business models in vegetable production, pastured livestock production and grain production. Each of the 5 beginning farmers was paired with at least one of these "mentors". FBDC members were supported to participate in at least one producer oriented conference/workshop (e.g. MOSES, ACRES, Great Lakes Vegetable Producers). Two FBDC staff took part in professional development workshops in project leadership and personnel management. Two FBDC farmers were supported in their development and presentation of field days on their farms. Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has continued to offer a variety of workshops and other education events based on evaluations and requests from farmers, other non-profit organizations, community based or schools employees as well as other public entities. We consider the 2 Cover Crops conference we hosted to be a great success and we will continue to offer this event annually. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Describe how the results have been disseminated to communities of interest. Include any outreach activities that have been undertaken to reach members of communities who are not usually aware of these research activities for the purpose of enhancing public understanding and increasing interest in learning and careers in science, technology, and the humanities. Project partners conducted outreach to farmers and the public through organizational newsletters as well as the newsletter of the Upper Midwest CRAFT. The Angelic Organics Learning Center newsletter reaches approximately 3,000 individual recipients, while the CRAFT newsletter serves approximately 600 recipients, many of which are farmers. All partners publicized workshops and programs on their websites, on social media and with flyers and brochures. We also published a CRAFT handbook for members of CRAFT. Highlights of the FBDC project and our farmers are published in the Prairie Crossing Farm monthly electronic newsletter, reaching approximately 1,200 recipients. The PC Farm Facebook page is also used as a vehicle for dissemination of farmers' progress to the general public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the project period of September 2012 through August 2015, the Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project partners Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), and Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) increased the number of beginning farmers served annually from 346 to 472 farmer participants. Each year of the project, partners made progress toward the goal of providing beginning farmers with the experience, knowledge, skills, and support services they need to overcome barriers and successfully establish, lead, and/or expand sustainable farming businesses in their first 10 years of startup (or transition) in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Accomplishments are listed under each of the the four project objectives: Under Objective 1: Expand, launch, and link advanced regional farmer training, technical assistance, and mentoring programs to meet the needs of farmers in years 2 to 10 of startup: We served 9 farmers through TAP in Year 3, 2 in Year 2, and 7 in Year 1 of the grant period on the subjects of legal expertise, fruit production, enterprise budgets, marketing, strategic planning, accounting and 4 on whole farm systems and productivity. AOLC offered 5 Advanced Winter Workshops in Years 1-3 of the grant period on farm financial record keeping. We publicized these opportunities to the CRAFT network through our CRAFT e-newsletter, which reaches over 600 email recipients (past and present members of CRAFT and Farm Beginnings). We did not offer the Journey Person program, although we completed the planning of the program in Year 1. Our work on Objective 3 demanded staff time and resources beyond our projections and meant that we will return to implementation of the Journey Person program in a future year. Partners offered 45 field days over three years for 821 participants. The Stateline Farm Beginnings course trained 54 farmers to launch new farms. MFAI offered a total of 49 Whole farm Workshops, and two statewide WI Cover Crops Conferences. In Year 3, the Cover Crops Conference took place at MFAI and covered the latest research on Cover Crops with emphasis on climate change and economics. The conference also included 3 separate on site visits for :1. cover crops for vegetable growers, 2. cover crops in n-till systems and 3. cover crops in conventional systems. In Year 3 of the project, MFAI recorded 274 total registrations, and completed 188 evaluations. Of these evaluations, 61% of participants reported they were currently farming, 70% said they plan to farms in the next season and 88% said they planned to implement what they learned. Under Objective 2) Launch a regional farm incubator collaborative and develop farmland tenure tools that increase farmland access and strengthen incubator services to beginning farmers. Farm Incubator: In Year 1, LPF formed an informal network of incubators, which includes non-profits (7) and 2 for-profit farms, which host limited incubator programs. LPF participated in the first land lease deal in Year 1. In Year 2, 6 institutions participated in the 2014 NIFTI (National Incubator Farm Training Initiative) National Workshop in Portland OR. 3. In Year 3, LPF focused on developing the public exposure of beginning farmer incubators. LPF has served as a "key informant" for New Entry's NIFTI research into models of success. In Year 3, 4 member institutions attended the the 2015 NIFTI National Field School in Durham, NC. All members participated in CRAFT, MOSA and local field days. As part of their annual June meeting, the Sustainable Ag and Food System Funders visited both LPF and partnering agency Black Oaks to learn more about beginning farmer issues and opportunities. Farmland Access: LPF worked with both private and public landowners to broker deals to provide farmland access to beginning farmers. In Year 3, Radical Root Organic Farm acquired access to an additional 5 acres adjacent to their existing Casey Farm lease. Midnight Sun Farm acquired a long term lease on a farmstead and acreage in Harvard, IL (McHenry County). Additionally, we have pending proposals with Libertyville Township Openspace District, McHenry County Conservation District, and Lake County. LPF continued coaching for a) Radical Root Farm during their first year at leased Casey Farm; b) Midnight Sun Farm in their 2014/2015 transition to new leased land in McHenry County; and, c) YawYe Farm in the evaluation of a privately held farm in Wauconda for 2015/2016 transition. LPF in collaboration with Openlands has two farm purchases in process to facilitate two or more "lease to purchase" transactions with beginning farmers in Lake and McHenry counties. Under Objective 3) Design and launch a regional farmer finance program that provides beginning farmers with micro-loan funds, IDA match-savings programs, and related technical assistance: AOLC successfully launched an IDA savings program, the Farm Asset Builder (FAB) in Year 2 of the project. FAB has improved the finances of eight local beginning small-scale sustainable farmers by accomplishing three objectives: 1) improving the financial literacy of farmers; 2) creating a structure and incentive for farmers to save for a farm asset purchase, and; 3) preparing farmers for debt financing. Seven of the eight participants reached or exceeded their $1,200 savings goals. Six used $2,400 in matching funds for intermediate and long term assets for their farm businesses. These eight farmers are able to invest a total of nearly $30,000 into local farm businesses. FAB participants report an increase in the following key business skills: capital financing, financial forecasting, business planning, and recordkeeping. The FAB program has been successful in reducing farmers' fear of borrowing by helping farmers gain the knowledge and skills they need to analyze the effects of debt on their finances. AOLC did not launch a micro-loan fund during the project during the project, as explained in the Changes/Problems section of the report. Finally, under Objective 4): Evaluate the project and connect with national farmer training collaboratives and networks to share project outcomes and replicate best practices. Both AOLC and MFAI hired evaluator Ann Williams to design surveys that measure the effectiveness of programs for farmers enrolled in intensive programming. As per the Plan for Evaluation submitted with our application, these evaluations measured students and graduates of the strategic business planning course--Stateline Farm Beginnings and Whole Farm Workshops. Our partner also measured farmers enrolled in regional farm incubators. In Year 3 of the grant period: we report the following results: 72% plan to start farming; 0% plan to stop farming; 88% report a change in knowledge. Of Stateline Farm Beginnings graduates and Farm Incubator farmers: 72% report a change in skills (management and production); 72% developed a farm proposal; 30% developed a farm business plan. For participants in the past year's programing: 22% started farming; 25% did not start farming; 68% continued farming; 2% stopped farming; 18% changed business practices; 77% changed farming/land management practices; 10% changed marketing practices; 30% developed a farm plan; 40% adapted practices that increased productivity; 63% adapted practices that increased environmental sustainability; 90% adapted practices that increased their social well-being; 64% are currently farming; 100% increased production; 68% increased revenue/income; 61% increased amount of land in sustainable production; 71% increased use of sustainable practices; 15% changed or added labor management practices; 60% met or exceeded goals for income.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Year3: 5 websites created: 1 craftfarmer.org website updated via feedback from committee of CRAFT members across North America, IllinoisFarmBeginnings.org created; farmbeginningscollaborative.org created; new WFW calendar page, 1 new webpage for FBDC/Liberty Prairie Foundation.
Year 2: Three Farm Asset Builder web pages added to AOLC website; craftfarmer.org website updated via feedback from committee of CRAFT members across North America, new WFW calendar page, 1 new website for Liberty Prairie Foundation.
Year 1: Three new pages; new IDA webpage, new IDA eligibility page, new WFW calendar page.
|
Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project is a collaborative project of Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF), and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI). The project serves a target audience of beginning farmers and ranchers--individuals who are in their first ten years of operating a farm start-up. The project aimed to serve over 500 farmers during the three-year grant award period. During the third year of the project, partners served 472 beginning farmers, including 179 farmers in the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), 14 Stateline Farm Beginnings students, 274 farmers attending Whole Farm Workshops and other programs at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and 5 farmers at the Liberty Prairie Foundation farm incubator, the Prairie Crossing Farm Business Development Center (FBDC). We surveyed our farmer-participants. Respondents to these surveys indicate the following: 12% of these farmers are socially disadvantaged, 52% are female, 30% are veterans, and 33% are limited resource farmers. Changes/Problems:No changes or problems surfaced in Year 3. Changes that we implemented in Year 2 remain the same, namely that AOLC no longer needed to develop a loan fund to serve local small-scale food farmers, as the FSA is now serving this role with their microloan product. Also still the same in Year 3 is the fact that we did not move forward on the Journey Person program, although we completed the planning of the program in Year 1. Our work on Objective 3 demanded staff time and resources beyond our projections and meant that we will return to implementation of the Journey Person program in a future year. Beyond the third year of funding, AOLC will focus on expanding/deepening the IDA program, expanding land-link technical assistance, and plan a multi-year farm financial facilitated discussion group. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Project partners conducted a variety of training activities, including coursework in the ten-session Stateline Farm Beginnings course. A record percentage of Stateline Farm Beginnings participants were paired with farmer mentors and received a season's worth of training in a target area of their choosing. 9 out of 11 farm families participated, i.e. 12 SFB students. Other activities included 5 consultations with members of our Technical Assistance Pool, 4 consultations with a livestock expert farmer from our farmer network and 1 Advanced Winter Workshop. Substantial professional development takes place within the context of our Farm Asset Builder program, whereby 4 farm families received a year's worth of financial management technical assistance from AOLC staff experts. Liberty Prairie Foundation facilitated a number of introductions of FBDC participants to more advanced farmers who have successfully improved diverse business models in vegetable production, pastured livestock production and grain production. Each of the 5 beginning farmers was paired with at least one of these "mentors". FBDC members were supported to participate in at least one producer oriented conference/workshop (e.g. MOSES, ACRES, Great Lakes Vegetable Producers). Two FBDC staff took part in professional development workshops in project leadership and personnel management. Two FBDC farmers were supported in their development and presentation of field days on their farms. Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has continued to offer a variety of workshops and other education events based on evaluations and requests from farmers, other non-profit organizations, community based or schools employees as well as other public entities. We consider the 2 Cover Crops conference we hosted to be a great success and we will continue to offer this event annually. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project partners conducted outreach to farmers and the public through organizational newsletters as well as the newsletter of the Upper Midwest CRAFT. The Angelic Organics Learning Center newsletter reaches approximately 3,000 individual recipients, while the CRAFT newsletter serves approximately 600 recipients, many of which are farmers. All partners publicized workshops and programs on their websites, on social media and with flyers and brochures. We also published a CRAFT handbook for members of CRAFT. Highlights of the FBDC project and our farmers are published in the Prairie Crossing Farm monthly electronic newsletter, reaching approximately 1,200 recipients. The PC Farm Facebook page is also used as a vehicle for dissemination of farmers' progress to the general public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the third year of the Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project, partners Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), and Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) have made progress toward the goal of providing beginning farmers with the experience, knowledge, skills, and support services they need in order to overcome major barriers and successfully establish, lead, and/or expand sustainable farming businesses in their first 10 years of startup (or transition) in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Partners worked toward four major strategic objectives during the 36-month project period. Accomplishments are listed under each of these the four objectives: Under Objective 1: Expand, launch, and link advanced regional farmer training, technical assistance, and mentoring programs to meet the needs of farmers in years 2 to 10 of startup: We served 9 farmers through TAP in Year 3 of the grant period on the subjects of legal expertise, fruit production, enterprise budgets, marketing, strategic planning, accounting and 4 on whole farm systems and productivity. We also offered advanced Technical Assistance Program (TAP) opportunities, adding two veteran farmers from within our farmer network to the consultant pool. We developed 1 Advanced Winter Workshops in Year 3 on farm financial record keeping. We publicized these opportunities to the CRAFT network through our CRAFT e-newsletter, which reaches over 600 email recipients (past and present members of CRAFT and Farm Beginnings). We did not offer the Journey Person program, although we completed the planning of the program in Year 1. Our work on Objective 3 demanded staff time and resources beyond our projections and meant that we will return to implementation of the Journey Person program in a future year. AOLC offered 14 field days in Year 3 for 231 farmers. The Stateline Farm Beginnings course trained 14 farmers to launch new farms this year, and 4 participants of the previous year's class launched farm businesses. In 2015 MFAI offered 10 Whole farm Workshops and the second statewide WI Cover Crops Conference. Four workshops and the WI Cover Crops Conference were designed as advanced education events while 6 workshops were appropriate for beginning farmers. The WI Cover Crops Conference took place at MFAI and covered the latest research on Cover Crops with emphasis on climate change and economics. The conference also included 3 separate on site visits for :1. cover crops for vegetable growers, 2. cover crops in n-till systems and 3. cover crops in conventional systems. We recorded 274 total registrations for education events funded by this grant, and completed 188 evaluations completed. Of these evaluations, 61% of participants reported they were currently farming, 70% said they plan to farms in the next season and 88% said they planned to implement what they learned. Under Objective 2) Launch a regional farm incubator collaborative and develop farmland tenure tools that increase farmland access and strengthen incubator services to beginning farmers. Farm Incubator: In Year 3, Liberty Prairie Foundation has focused on developing the public exposure of beginning farmer incubators. LPF has served as a "key informant" for New Entry's NIFTI (National Incubator Farm Training Initiative) research into models of success. This year 4 member institutions attended the the 2015 NIFTI National Field School in Durham, NC. All members participated in CRAFT, MOSA and local field days. In June as part of their annual meeting, the Sustainable Ag and Food System Funders visited both the Liberty Prairie Foundation and the Black Oaks beginning farmer programs to learn more about beginning farmer issues and opportunities. Farmland Access: We continued working with both private and public landowners to broker deals to provide farmland access to beginning farmers. This year Radical Root Organic Farm acquired access to an additional 5 acres adjacent to their existing Casey Farm lease. Midnight Sun Farm acquired a long term lease on a farmstead and acreage in Harvard, IL (McHenry County). Additionally, we have pending proposals with Libertyville Township Openspace District, McHenry County Conservation District, and Lake County. LPF continued coaching for a) Radical Root Farm during their first year at leased Casey Farm; b) Midnight Sun Farm in their 2014/2015 transition to new leased land in McHenry County; and, c) YawYe Farm in the evaluation of a privately held farm in Wauconda for 2015/2016 transition. LPF in collaboration with Openlands has two farm purchases in process to facilitate two or more "lease to purchase" transactions with beginning farmers in Lake and McHenry counties. Under Objective 3) Design and launch a regional farmer finance program that provides beginning farmers with micro-loan funds, IDA match-savings programs, and related technical assistance: Halfway through its second year of operation, AOLC's Farm Asset Builder (FAB) program has improved the finances of eight local beginning small-scale sustainable farmers by accomplishing three objectives: 1) improving the financial literacy of farmers; 2) creating a structure and incentive for farmers to save for a farm asset purchase, and; 3) preparing farmers for debt financing. Seven of the eight participants reached or exceeded their $1,200 savings goals. Six used $2,400 in matching funds for intermediate and long term assets for their farm businesses. These eight farmers are able to invest a total of nearly $30,000 into local farm businesses. FAB participants report an increase in the following key business skills: capital financing, financial forecasting, business planning, and recordkeeping. All of the FAB farmers have met or are on track to meet the program's savings goals. AOLC found that many beginning farmers are wary of the risks of debt financing. The FAB program has been successful in reducing the the fear associated with borrowing by helping farmers gain the knowledge and skills they need to analyze the effects of debt on their finances. Finally, under Objective 4): Evaluate the project and connect with national farmer training collaboratives and networks to share project outcomes and replicate best practices. Both AOLC and MFAI hired evaluator Ann Williams to design surveys that measure the effectiveness of programs for farmers enrolled in intensive programming. As per the Plan for Evaluation submitted with our application, these evaluations measured students and graduates of the strategic business planning course--Stateline Farm Beginnings and Whole Farm Workshops. Our partner also measured farmers enrolled in regional farm incubators. From this analysis, we report the following results: 72% plan to start farming; 0% plan to stop farming; 88% report a change in knowledge. Of Stateline Farm Beginnings graduates and Farm Incubator farmers: 72% report a change in skills (management and production); 72% developed a farm proposal; 30% developed a farm business plan. For participants in the past year's programing: 22% started farming; 25% did not start farming; 68% continued farming; 2% stopped farming; 18% changed business practices; 77% changed farming/land management practices; 10% changed marketing practices; 30% developed a farm plan; 40% adapted practices that increased productivity; 63% adapted practices that increased environmental sustainability; 90% adapted practices that increased their social well-being; 64% are currently farming; 100% increased production; 68% increased revenue/income; 61% increased amount of land in sustainable production; 71% increased use of sustainable practices; 15% changed or added labor management practices; 60% met or exceeded goals for income.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Websites: IllinoisFarmBeginnings.org; FarmBeginningsCollaborative.org; Routes2Farm.org
|
Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project is a collaborative project of Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF), and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI). The project serves a target audience of beginning farmers and ranchers—individuals who are in their first ten years of operating a farm start-up. The project aimed to serve over 500 farmers during the three-year grant award period. During the second year of the project, partners served 408 beginning farmers, including 160 farmers in the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), 15 Stateline Farm Beginnings students, 243 farmers attending Whole Farm Workshops and other programs at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and 5 farmers at the Liberty Prairie Foundation farm incubator, the Prairie Crossing Farm Business Development Center (FBDC). Of these farmer-participants, our demographic surveys indicate that 4% of these farmers are socially disadvantaged, 54% are female, 4% are veterans, and 12% are youth. Additionally, 21% of Whole Farm Workshops participants are limited resource farmers. Changes/Problems: Thanks to the USDA’s excellent new microloan program offered through the Farm Service Agency, AOLC no longer needed to develop a loan fund to serve local small-scale food farmers, as the FSA is now serving this role. We have spoken with several farmers in our network who are using this loan product, and they speak favorably of it. The FSA microloan product launch has allowed AOLC to focus more of its resources to the successful launch and implementation of our Farm Asset Builder (FAB) IDA matched-saving program (see summary under Objective 3). Evaluations of the FAB program are very positive and we are glad to offer this well-received and meaningful product to the beginning farmers in our network. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Project partners conducted a variety of training activities, including coursework in the ten-session Stateline Farm Beginnings course. Seven Stateline Farm Beginnings participants were paired with farmer mentors and received a season’s worth of training in a target area of their choosing. Other activities included two consultations with members of our Technical Assistance Pool, and two Advanced Winter Workshops. Jenny Meyer, on staff at AOLC, took part in professional development opportunities through the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, including the Start-2-Farm conference in April in Illinois and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Director meeting in late 2013. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project partners conducted outreach to farmers and the public through organizational newsletters as well as the newsletter of the Upper Midwest CRAFT. The AOLC newsletter reaches approximately 3,000 individual recipients, while the CRAFT newsletter serves approximately 550 recipients, many of which are farmers. All partners publicized workshops and programs on their websites and with flyers and brochures. We also published a CRAFT handbook for members of CRAFT. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2015, project partners will continue to conduct activities outlined in scope of work submitted with our proposal. We will work toward each of our four objectives. We will train more farmers through the Stateline Farm Beginnings program and our CRAFT workshops. MFAI will offer Whole Foods Workshops, with a focus on intermediate level courses. LPF plans to formalize farm incubators and long-term land leases on a protected 45 acres of land in Kenosha County. LPF also plans to hold farm incubator meetings and conduct site visits with all current incubators. The final year of the project will include condensed ‘Whole Farm Workshops,’ the dispersal of land lease templates and resources, a focus on the incubator collaborative, and an expanded Technical Assistance Program. Beyond the third year of funding, AOLC will focus on advanced production intensives, expanding/deepening IDA program, expanding land-link technical assistance, and offering robust mentoring services.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the second year of the Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project, partners Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), and Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) have made progress toward the goal of providing beginning farmers with the experience, knowledge, skills, and support services they need in order to overcome major barriers and successfully establish, lead, and/or expand sustainable farming businesses in their first 10 years of startup (or transition) in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Partners worked toward four major strategic objectives during the 36-month project period. Accomplishments are listed under each of these the four objectives: Under Objective 1: We served 2 farmers through TAP in Year 2 of the grant period; one with market research technical assistance and the other with website administration and social media. We have also made progress in developing the Technical Assistance Pool (TAP), adding consultants CRAFT handbook, in print and online. We developed Advanced Winter Workshops, offering two in Year 2 on the spectrum of farm financing options available to beginning farmers and on farm financial record keeping. We publicized these workshops to the CRAFT network through our CRAFT e-newsletter, which reaches over 550 email recipients (past and present members of CRAFT and Farm Beginnings). We did not move forward on the Journey Person program, although we completed the planning of the program in Year 1. Our work on Objective 3 demanded staff time and resources beyond our projections and meant that we will return to implementation of the Journey Person program in a future year. MFAI scheduled 25 beginning and intermediate on site workshops and a State Cover Crop Conference. 8 workshops were designed for Intermediate levels and 17 for beginning and intermediate levels. 12 workshops were cancelled due to a very hard winter and low enrollment. 13 workshops took place on site, the Cover Crops Conference was scheduled in Wisconsin Dells, a more central location. MFAI had a total of 243 attendees for 13 completed workshops and the Cover Crops Conference. AOLC offered 11 field days in Year 2 for 285 farmers. The Stateline Farm Beginnings course trained 15 farmers to launch new farms this year, and 6 participants of the previous year’s class launched farm businesses. Under Objective 2): Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) developed an informal network of 9 incubators in Year 1 of the grant period. In Year 2, 6 institutions participated in the 2014 NIFTI National Workshop in Portland OR. 3 incubator site managers served as leaders in developing adapted process protocols. Member institutions made individual site visits over the course of the year. Additionally, members participated in CRAFT, MOSA and local field days. LP Developed a “conservation grazing” business model for large landowners (public & private) interested in transitioning leased conventional corn/bean land to beginning graziers using a combination of warm and cool season grasses for water quality and wildlife habitat benefits. We have pending proposals with Libertyville Township Openspace District, Openlands/USFWS, and Jo Davies Land Trust. LPF expanded the program to facilitate long-term leasing between public and private landowners developed in Year 1. LPF continued coaching for a) Radical Root Farm during their 1rst year at leased Casey Farm, b) Midnight Sun Farm in their 2014/2015 transition to new leased land in McHenry County, & c) YawYe Farm in the evaluation of a privately held farm in Wauconda for 2015/2016 transition. Under Objective 3): Year 2 was a very exciting period for this objective. AOLC staff successfully launched the Farm Asset Builder program in the first quarter of Year 2, after raising funds and advertising the program. The Farm Asset Builder Program provides matched savings Individual Development Accounts (IDA) so that farmers can save for a farm asset. We designed and created application forms, selection criteria, a selection committee, a complete yearlong financial technical assistance curriculum for participants, as well as a set of evaluations to conduct at regular intervals throughout the program year. We are very grateful for the support and leadership of California FarmLink and the other members of our Education Enhancement grant which supported us in gaining organization technical assistance and helped us launch our own agricultural IDA program—the only one on our region. Nine months into the program, participants are nearly 90% complete in fulfilling their obligations and are on track to receive their match funding (added to their own savings) and purchase assets for their farm businesses. We are also planning and raising funds for the continuation of the program, and are poised to accept at least 2 farmers into the program in 2015. So far, we have received strong and favorable farmer feedback on the Farm Asset Builder program. Because of the resources available through the Farm Asset Builder program, participants report an increase in the following key small business skills: • Capital Financing. “The financing workshop introduced me to a number of financing alternatives which we have not utilized or even considered in the past.” (Chris McGuire, Two Onion Farm) • Financial Forecasting. “It was good to learn about how much time is worthwhile to put into certain crops, and we learned we should work on planning.” (Ben Beyer, Harrison Market Gardens) • Business Planning. Two out of the four Farm Asset Builder farmers are actively working on their business plans, and one participant has already applied for new financing. • Record Keeping. Alison Parker, owner of Radical Root Farm, is taking advantage of the educational workshops so that she can, “become a good bookkeeper and good at accounting.” Alison is quickly improving her bookkeeping skills and plans to finalize a business plan for Radical Root Farm this fall. Finally, under Objective 4): Both AOLC and MFAI hired evaluator Ann Williams to design surveys that measure the effectiveness of programs for farmers enrolled in intensive programming. As per the Plan for Evaluation submitted with our application, these evaluations measured students and graduates of the strategic business planning course—Stateline Farm Beginnings and Whole Farm Workshops. Our partner also measured farmers enrolled in regional farm incubators. From this analysis, we report the following results: 18% plan to start farming; 0% plan to stop farming; 60% report a change in knowledge; 52% report a change in skills (management and production); 100% developed a farm proposal; 30% developed a farm business plan for own operation. For participants in the past year’s programing, we report the following results: 6% started farming; 26% did not start farming; 68% continued farming; 0% stopped farming; 14% changed business practices; 53% changed farming/land management practices; 22% changed marketing practices; 11% developed a farm plan; 33% adapted practices that increased productivity; 78% adapted practices that increased environmental sustainability; 97% (adapted practices that) increased their social well-being; 69% continue to participate in your training programs; 63% are currently farming; 100% increased production; 53% increased revenue/income; 60% increased amount of land in sustainable production; 79% increased use of sustainable practices; 18% changed or added labor management practices; 67% met or exceeded goals for income.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project is a collaborative project of Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF), and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI). The project serves a target audience of beginning farmers and ranchers—individuals who are in their first ten years of operating a farm start-up. The project aimed to serve over 500 farmers during the three-year grant award period. During the first year of the project, partners served 346 beginning farmers, including 139 farmers in the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), 25 Stateline Farm Beginnings students, 177 farmers attending Whole Farm Workshops, and 5 farmers at the Liberty Prairie Foundation farm incubator, the Prairie Crossing Farm Business Development Center (FBDC). Of these farmer-participants, our demographic surveys indicate that 8% of these farmers are socially disadvantaged, 53% are female, 5% are veterans, and 12% are youth. Additionally, 35% of Whole Farm Workshops participants are limited resource farmers. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Project partners conducted a variety of training activities, including coursework in the nine-session Stateline Farm Beginnings course. Other activities included seven consultations with members of our Technical Assistance Pool, and two Advanced Winter Workshops. Jenny Meyer, on staff at AOLC, took part in professional development opportunities through the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, including the Start-2-Farm conference in March and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Director meeting in late 2012. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project partners conducted outreach to farmers and the public through organizational newsletters as well as the newsletter of the Upper Midwest CRAFT. The AOLC newsletter reaches approximately 3,000 individual recipients, while the CRAFT newsletter serves approximately 200 recipients, many of which are farmers. All partners publicized workshops and programs on their websites and with flyers and brochures. We also published a CRAFT handbook for members of CRAFT. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2014, project partners will continue to conduct activities outlined in scope of work submitted with our proposal. We will work toward each of our four objectives. We will train more farmers through the Stateline Farm Beginnings program and our CRAFT workshops. MFAI will offer Whole Foods Workshops, with a focus on intermediate level courses. LPF plans to formalize farm incubators and long-term land leases on a protected 45 acres of land in Kenosha County. LPF also plans to hold farm incubator meetings and conduct site visits with all current incubators. AOLC plans to launch programs that have been developed in Year 1, including our IDA match-savings program and Journey Person Program. The IDA match-savings program will launch with at least 2 accounts formed in January 2014. The IDA program will include a financial education component that will also be useful for the microloan readiness program and Journey Person Program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the first year of the Farmer-to-Farmer Advanced Training Project, partners Angelic Organics Learning Center (AOLC), Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI), and Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) have made progress toward the goal of providing beginning farmers with the experience, knowledge, skills, and support services they need in order to overcome major barriers and successfully establish, lead, and/or expand sustainable farming businesses in their first 10 years of startup (or transition) in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Partners worked toward four major strategic objectives during the 36-month project period. Accomplishments are listed under each of these the four objectives: Under Objective 1) Expand, launch, and link advanced regional farmer training, technical assistance, and mentoring programs to meet the needs of farmers in years 2 to 10 of startup: AOLC designed materials for a Farmer Journey Person Program, which we plan to launch in late 2014. We have also made progress in developing the Technical Assistance Pool (TAP), adding consultants and consultations to the CRAFT handbook. We served 7 farmers through TAP in Year 1 of the grant period. We developed Advanced Winter Workshops, offering two in Year 1. We publicized these workshops to the CRAFT network through our CRAFT e-newsletter, which reaches over 140 farmers. MFAI conducted Whole Farm Workshops, reaching 177 individuals. There were 378 Whole Farm Workshops registrations; some participants attended more than one workshop. AOLC offered 12 field days in Year 1 for 227 farmers, adding land tenure and financing modules into the sessions. We also enhanced our Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), and distributed a handbook. The Stateline Farm Beginnings course training 25 farmers to launch new farms. Under Objective 2) Launch a regional farm incubator collaborative and develop farmland tenure tools that increase farmland access and strengthen incubator services to beginning farmers: LPF formed an informal network of incubators, which includes 9 members. Members include non-profits (7) and 2 for-profit farms, which also provide a limited incubator program on their land. Members also participate in larger national incubator list-serv. Member incubators have shared contracts, pricing schedules and management guidelines. Members of the network have visited two different participating incubators as part of a “learning circle.” Additionally, participating farmers have been invited to join CRAFT. LPF also established a new in-house program to model the role of an institutional presence in facilitating long-term leases between public & private landowners and beginning farmers. The first “land lease deal” in this program has been completed; Radical Root Farm has signed a 10 year lease with Conserve Lake County for 15 acres. LPF has established additional acreage deals in LaSalle and Kenosha Counties. In LaSalle County, one 45 acre parcel in Streator IL is now being farmed by beginning organic wheat, corn & soybean farmers. Products are being sold to HodoSoy and Chipotle. In Kenosha County, one 60 acre parcel has been protected, however, no beginning farmer lease has been completed. Under Objective 3) Design and launch a regional farmer finance program that provides beginning farmers with micro-loan funds, IDA match-savings programs, and related technical assistance: AOLC staff conducted information interviews to research a microloan fund. We hired a Program Coordinator, Justin Farr, to develop an IDA program. Justin also conducted outreach and fundraising efforts for the program. We expect to enroll 2-4 farmers in the IDA program in Year 2. Finally, under Objective 4) Evaluate the project and connect with national farmer training collaboratives and networks to share project outcomes and replicate best practices: Both AOLC and MFAI hired evaluator Ann Williams to design surveys that measure the effectiveness of programs for farmers enrolled in intensive programming. As per the Plan for Evaluation submitted with our application, these evaluations measured students and graduates of the strategic business planning course—Stateline Farm Beginnings and Whole Farm Workshops. Our partner also measured farmers enrolled in regional farm incubators. From this analysis, we report the following results: 45% are farming (currently); 29% plan to start farming; 4% plan to stop farming; 74% report a change in knowledge; 52% report a change in skills (management and production); 83% plan a change in behavior/approach; 89% developed a farm proposal; 84% developed a farm business plan for own operation.
Publications
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