Recipient Organization
N F O INC
528 BILLY SUNDAY RD STE 100
AMES,IA 50010
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Currently the demand by consumers for organic dairy products exceeds the supply of organic milk. In turn, the supply of organic feed grains available to organic dairy operations is in limited supply. Therefore there is a need for addtional organic milk production and organicfeed grain production. Organic operations provide a segway into the field of production agriculture for beginning farmers due to the size of operation required for an organic enterprise. Often times smaller operations lend themselves to organic farming methods. However, beginning farmers interested in growing and producing organic commodities need to understand the unique challenges organic farming faces.During this developmental grant project the NFO staff and collaborators will design training materials, presentations and webinars to address challenges that beginning farmers will face. This will include material on organic marketing and operating procedures, lender communications, estate and transition planning, and a mentoring program. These materials and presentations will be delivered through 5 full day seminars, webinars, and selected mentoring.The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an educational plan to be used to train, develop and mentor beginning organicdairy and feed producers. Expected measurable outcomes include seminars planned, materials and core concepts developed within three months of funding. Venues will be reserved within two months of funding. Seminars will be promoted and attendees recruited. Five full day seminars will be held. Webinar will be developed and made available to beginning farmers. Attendees and mentors will be matched up. Thirty on farm mentoring visits will be made (6 visits to each of the 5 participants in the mentoring phase). The beginning farmers taking part in this program will have an increased understanding of general business topics, organic dairy and grain operational practices and marketing skills and tools needed to enhance their sustainability.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Reach 125 Beginning Farmers in the field of Organic Dairy and Organic Feed Production through 5 full day SeminarsReach 20 Beginning Farmers in the fields of Organic Dairy and Organic Feed Production through WEbinar Education OutreachEstablish and Conduct direct mentoring projects with 5 of the Beginning FarmersTo educate individuals interested in beginning a farm in the listed topics so that they can make informed decisions as they enter the field of agricultural production.To educate individuals who have already started farming in the last 10 years in the topics presented to maximize their potential to create and maintain profitable, sustainable operations.
Project Methods
The methods for this project will be to deliver training to the target audience through 5 full day seminars using formal class room instruction. Developing relationships with the beginning farmer attendees and the profesionalsconducting the training, and conducting Mentoring sessions on the farms of selected attendees to assist them in implementing the training.Evaluation will be conducted on both immediate results and longer term results by follow up written surveys and attendee feed back. An evaluation by the NFO staff and collaborators regarding what worked in the program and what changes should be made for future projects will also be completed.Evaluations will gather demographic information regarding the participants, their current level of understanding of the instructional materials, their current level of participation in farming operations, current level of production of feed grains and milk. These baseline measurements will be reviewed periodically throughout the project.During and at the end of the project the same set of data will be gathered in order to measure the results and the effectiveness of the training provided by the project. Results will be measured by new farm startups, new and beginning farmer participation in the project, and measuring business and production methods actually incorporated by the attendees.