Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted audiences that were served by this project include beginning farmers and ranchers that are limited-resource Hispanics and Military Veterans in an 84-county South-West Texas region that includes 40 USDA StrikeForce with exceptional levels of poverty. Hispanic producers in this region are often immigrant and first-generation farm workers. Texas has the second largest farm worker population in the nation, an estimated 361,411 seasonal and migrant farm workers, with the largest populations in the Rio Grande Valley, and the second largest number residing in the Winter Garden area. Both of these areas are included in this project's service area. This project's South Texas service area also has the highest number and greatest concentration of Hispanic farmers and ranchers in the U.S; San Antonio is the largest city in this project's service area and has three military bases that provide a very large number of new, transitioning Veterans each year. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Chattanooga, TN January 17-20, 2018 (Cruz Salinas) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Directors Meeting, Nashville,TN September 25-27 (Juan Raygoza) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Directors Meeting, Nashville,TN September 25-27 (George Bennack) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Since this is not a NIFA-funded research project, research results are not being dissemintaed to communities of interest. However, materials produced to promote the program or recruit beginning farmers for training events are distributed in targeted local places. Another source for dissemination and promotion of educational events is the facebook page: www.facebook/begfarmers 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 and final year of our project we continued working with our partnering institutions, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in San Antonio, Texas and the Texas-Mexico Border Coalition (TMBC) in San Isidro, Texas providing several one-on-one technical assistance and group trainings to new beginning farmers and ranchers in South, Central and West Texas. The web-based training: "Getting Started in Farming: An Introduction to Farm Business Planning" was promoted at all events that were attended in central Texas and promotional materials and a newspaper ad were developed to advertise our services in south and central Texas area. We continued working closely with "Proyecto Desarrollo Humano" a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in Peñitas, Texas, where we provided weekly classes, one-on-one technical assistance, hands-on training and support with materials and supplies to a collaborative group of mainly Hispanic women participants. In collaboration with the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, a Farmers Market was set up at the "Proyecto Desarrollo Humano" center two times during the growing season where'Women, Infants and Children" (WIC) vouchers were accepted and redeemed for fruits and vegetables. As a result, program participants were able to increase considerably their revenue. Throughout the year, in addition to one-on-one technical assistance and group workshops, we provided several phone and email consultations to beginning farmers and ranchers in the region. This year was very productive giving presentations, workshops, and training; and the highlight outputs are as follows: On September 11th, six veterans in Harker Heights, Texas took a class about "Fall Production" with topics including cover crops that do well in the season, alternative methods of insect pest management, soil preparation, and working with natural cycles to reduce crop risks. On September 14-15, our team offered three workshops at the First Texas Hispanic Farmer and Rancher Conference in McAllen, Texas. Topics given were: "Variety Selection and Pest Management", "Minimizing Input Costs" and "Market Opportunities for Small-Scale Farms". As result of giving these workshops, we were able to connect with new beginning farmers and ranchers that later received further training or one-on-one technical assistance on their own farms. On October 8th, a workshop and hands-on training on High-Tunnel Construction and Production was given in Lyford, Texas where 23 individuals participated. On March 29th, a presentation about production planning for direct sales was given in Weslaco, Texas in collaboration with the Texas A&M Research & Extension Center. On June 8-9th, a presentation on high-tunnel production and a hands-on workshop on high-tunnel Construction was offered at the "Farmers, Ranchers and Landowners Workshop" in Mission and Palmview, Texas, in association with the Minority Landowner Magazine & USDA-NRCS. On June 23rd, a presentation was given to new and beginning farmers in Corpus Christi on the topic of Soil Remineralization in collaboration with GROW South Texas a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in Corpus Christi, Texas. On June 26th, a workshop in Organic Strawberry Production was offered in Balch Springs, Texas. On August 2nd, a class in soil amendments was offered to a group of new and beginning farmers in Harker Heights, Texas, in association with their Parks and Recreation Department. On August 9th, a class on sweet potato production was given at Gardopia Gardens in San Antonio, Texas. On August 13-14th, our collaborator NCAT presented at the Small Producers Conference at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. On August 23rd, a class in regenerative Farming was given at GROW South Texas' Local Food Producers Workshop. In Corpus Christi, Texas. On August 25th, a presentation was given to a group of mostly female veterans in Liberty, TX about how to use beginning-farmer resources of NCAT's ATTRA programat the Salute to Strong Texas Women workshop at the Langetree Resort and Eco-center in Liberty, Texas. On August 29th, a Hands-on training in High-Tunnel construction and production was given in Laredo, Texas at the Laredo Community College where beginning and potential farmers took part in the whole construction process. During this year, we continued working closely with a local Hospital and Farmers on finding ways to expand, improve, and continue their Farm-to-Work program. This type of program allows local farmers to have a secure market for their products and to be more financially stable. Seven local farmers participated this year supplying some of their products. During the last months of this project year, farmers started to analyze the possibility of working as a collective entity and currently are working on forming an agricultural cooperative soon. Activities during this year included teaching, mentoring, assessing, and surveying. One of our main focus during this project was to provide high quality and personalized one-on-one meetings and on-site visits to beginning farmers and ranchers. During the last year of this project, 1,061 participants gained important knowledge through a one-on one visit or by attending one of our workshops and presentations. 188 participants started to farm with the majority at a small-scale level, 182 entered new markets, and 609 improved their production practices. From the participants that were served this year, 485 military veterans attended group trainings or presentations and 43 received one-on-one technical assistance. 113 Military Veterans and 514 potential or beginning farmers enrolled in the NCAT online course "Getting Started in Farming: An Introduction to Farm Business Planning". 46 workshops and presentations were given across south Texas targeting Hispanic and Military Veteran beginning farmers, and 23 were given in the Central Texas region including topics such as: Introduction to Beekeeping, Opportunities in Organic Farming, Small Farm Equipment, High Tunnel Production and Construction, Benefits of using Compost and Compost tea, Soil Quality and Soil Fertility Improvement, Welding, Transplant Production, Farm Tractor 101, Drip Irrigation systems, Novelty tools for small scale farmers, Seasonal Planting Schedule, Vermicomposting, Organic Pest Control, Benefits of Cover Crops, Marketing Strategies, Plant diseases, Weed Control, Harvest and Post-Harvest Management. Over 2,000 publications related to sustainable farming were distributed by our partner organization "NCAT" at different training events throughout the state of Texas, and these events were largely attended by veterans and Hispanic farmers. Accomplishments Our program proudly supported with advice, training, and labor force, a participant that within the last year he was granted an FSA microloan, qualified for a High Tunnel through the NRCS EQIP Program and was awarded the Texas Young Farmer Grant. With this support, he and his family expanded their urban production operation and entered a new and more secure market for his products. Partnerships Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc. South Texas Alliance of Young Farmers. NRCS
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted audiences that were served by this project include beginning farmers and ranchers that are limited-resource Hispanics and Military Veterans in an 84-county South-West Texas region that includes 40 USDA StrikeForce counties-- counties with exceptional levels of poverty. Hispanic producers in this region are often immigrant and first-generation farm workers. Texas has the second largest farm worker population in the nation, an estimated 361,411 seasonal and migrant farm workers, with the largest populations in the Rio Grande Valley, and the second largest number residing in the Winter Garden area. [2] Both of these areas are included in this project's service area. This project's South Texas service area also has the highest number and greatest concentration of Hispanic farmers and ranchers in the U.S; San Antonio is the largest city in this project's service area and has three military bases that provide a very large number of new, transitioning Veterans each year. Educational methodologies included: 1) Training offered in English and Spanish, to socially disadvantaged and limited-resource beginning farmers and ranchers at more distant locations that were more challenging to support; 2) The provision of training to beginning farmers in a farm incubator with training events on a variety of subjects related to ; 3) The development and use of demonstration sites using different farming techniques; 4) The provision of one on one technical assistance to ensure the successful adoption of techniques reviewed during training events; 5) Hands-on training events in rural areas in collaboration with non-profit organizations, a Non-governmental organization and a community based organization. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Lexington, KY January 25-28, 2017 (Cruz Salinas) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Since this is not a NIFA-funded research project, research results are not being dissemintaed to communities of interest. However, materials produced to promote the program or recruit beginning farmers for training events are distributed in targeted local places. Another source for dissemination and promotion of educational events is the facebook page: www.facebook/begfarmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During thethird and finalyear of this project, wewill continueadvertising ourprogram's services through social media, local television and local organizations targeting mainly Hispanic and military veterans in the regionthat are interested in starting to farm. We will continuesearching marketing opportunities and presenting them to our beginning farmer and rancher participants. We will include new topics to our workshops and will concentrate on hands-on training for our participants.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the second year of this project, in collaboration with our partner organizations, we continued our efforts to reach out to Military Veterans by strengthening relationships with other veteran-serving organizations such as: Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Hood Army Base, Fort Sam Houston Base, San Benito Outreach Center, Farmer-Veteran Coalition, the Wounded Warrior Project, Texas Veterans' Commission, and Texas Veterans' Land Board. Our partner organization, NCAT, was able to initiate an ongoing relationship with AgrAbility, a project focusing on enhancing the quality of life of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities and that includes a veterans and beginning farmers component. Through these meetings, NCAT was able to coordinate with the AgrAbility partners including Capital Farm Credit, Farmer Veteran-Coalition, General Land Office, and Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and the planning of workshops in College Station, Dallas and other locations. During these meetings our project was introduced and educational materials related to sustainable agriculture were shared with the other organizations. As a result of these meetings, the first AgrAbility Workshops for Veterans were presented in Harker Heights, Texas through a collaboration with Harker Heights Parks and Recreation Department. In order to address the practical element of our training, we developed a production plot at the Veterans Outreach Center in San Benito, Texas where participants have access to a small piece of land with drip irrigation where they can apply what it is learned at the training meetings. Throughout this reporting period, NCAT worked to make substantial improvements to the web-based training course and there are plans to include some Texas-based case studies in the upcoming months. The South-West Texas Strikeforce Initiative for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers continued to work closely with the "Proyecto Desarrollo Humano" a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in Peñitas, Texas, providing weekly technical assistance and hands-on workshops to a collaborative group of low-income Hispanic women on small-scale farming techniques and marketing. This past year, with the support of Texas A&M University Public Health Program in the Rio Grande Valley, we were able to integrate into this project new and efficient production practices, such as mulched pathways and a renovation of the drip irrigation system. Our Beginning Farmer program at this location experienced an increase in the number of participants during this year, and the production spaces are almost at full capacity. We continued collaborating with the Holistic Outreach Practical Education (HOPE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Harlingen, Texas offering a series of presentations to potential and beginning farmers focusing on efficient organic production practices and marketing techniques that apply to local farmers markets or CSA's. We continued working closely with a local Hospital on finding ways to improve and continue their Farm-to-Work program where eleven local farmers participated providing some of their products to the program during last season. Activities during this year included teaching, mentoring, facilitating, assessing, and surveying. Services included 196 one-on-one visits with individual beginning farmers and ranchers to provide technical assistance, and counseling. During the second year of this project 746 participants gained important knowledge, 53 started to farm, 64 entered new markets and 71 improved their production practices. From the participants that were served this year, 96 military veterans attended group trainings and 8 received one-on-one training. Highlighted Outputs Informational and promotional materials regarding our program were distributed at four Transition Assistance Program (TAP) events during the month of December at Fort Sam Houston. In late December, access to TAP events was granted for Lackland and Randolph military bases in San Antonio through the end of June. NCAT's web-based training, Getting Started in Farming: An Introduction to Farm Business Planning, was promoted at the National Small Farm Conference on Sept 21-23rd, 2017, At the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners' Association (TOFGA) Conference on January 12-15, 2017, and Southern Sustainable Agricultural Working Group Conference on January 25-26, 2017. Substantial improvements were made to the course and during this reporting period 499 people from throughout the country registered to participate in the course. A print advertisement was designed to promote the course that included an innovative QR feature that would take anyone who scans it directly to the course. This advertisement will be used to promote the course in local newspapers. A postcard version has also been developed and distributed at NCAT conference booths. In collaboration with AgrAbility, training workshops were held in the Harker Heights area with the support of the Harker Heights Parks and Recreation Department. Also during two AgrAbility Battleground to Breaking Ground events in Adkins and Dallas, Texas, veterans gained important knowledge and learned about our programs and capacity. More than 300 informational publications about our project were distributed directly to veterans attending these two events. During the second year of the project we continued to provide group and individual trainings on High Tunnel Construction and Production in the Rio Grande Valley Area. Five group trainings were provided and information was given on assistance available from the NRCS EQIP program to new farmers. Advice on how to improve and grow was provided to a local hospital that implemented the first farm-to-work program in the Rio Grande Valley Area. The program is now in its third year, with eleven local farmers participating. 41 workshops and presentations were given across the Rio Grande Valley targeting Hispanic and Military Veteran beginning and potential farmers, including topics such as: Introduction to Organic Farming, Small Farm Equipment, High Tunnel Production, Compost and Compost tea, Soil Quality and Soil Fertility Improvement, Welding, Transplant Production, Farm Tractor 101, Drip Irrigation systems, Implements for small scale farmers, Fall planting Schedule, Spring Planting Schedule, Vermicomposting, Organic Pest Control, Benefits of Cover Crops, Essential Tools for Small Scale Farmers, Marketing Strategies, How to take a soil sample, Plant diseases, Weed Control, Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture and Harvest and Post-Harvest Management. Accomplishments Over 1,000 publications related to sustainable farming were distributed by our partner NCAT at different training events throughout the state of Texas, largely attended by veterans. We were able to provide advice to a local hospital providing the first Farm-to-Work program in the Rio Grande Valley Area. The program was continued for a second year with eleven participating farmers. Out of the participants attending our High Tunnel Training, four local farmers were able to construct their own high tunnel at their farms using the financial assistance of the NRCS EQIP program. At the newly developed production plots at San Benito Veterans Outreach Center, hands-on training was provided to the local community including veterans. Partnerships Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc. South Texas Alliance of Young Farmers
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Targeted audiences that were served by this project include beginning farmers and ranchers that are limited-resource Hispanics and Military Veterans in an 84-county South-West Texas region that includes 40 USDA StrikeForce counties--counties with exceptional levels of poverty. Hispanic producers in this region are often immigrant and first-generation farm workers. Texas has the second largest farm worker population in the nation, an estimated 361,411 seasonal and migrant farm workers, with the largest populations in the Rio Grande Valley, and the second largest number residing in the Winter Garden area. [2] Both of these areas are included in this project's service area. This project's South Texas service area also has the highest number and greatest concentration of Hispanic farmers and ranchers in the U.S; San Antonio is the largest city in this project's service area and has three military bases that provide a very large number of new, transitioning Veterans each year. Educational methodologies included: 1) Training offered in English and Spanish, to socially disadvantaged and limited-resource beginning farmers and ranchers at more distant locations that were more challenging to support; 2) The provision of training to beginning farmers in a farm incubator with training events on a variety of subjects related to ; 3) The development and use of demonstration sites using different farming techniques; 4) The provision of one on one technical assistance to ensure the successful adoption of techniques reviewed during training events; 5) Hands-on training events in rural areas in collaboration with non-profit organizations, a Non-governmental organization and a community based organization. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Mobile, AL, January 14-17, 2015 (Cruz Salinas) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Since this is not a NIFA-funded research project, research results are not being dissemintaed to communities of interest. However, materials produced to promote the program or recruit beginning farmers for training events are distributed in targeted local places. Another source for dissemination and promotion of educational events is the facebook page: www.facebook/begfarmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the second year of this project, we plan to increase advertisement of the program's services through social media, local television and local organizations targeting mainly Hispanic and military veterans that are interested in starting to farm. We will continue exploring marketing opportunities and presenting them to our beginning farmer and rancher participants. We will increase the number of hands-on trainings and we will continue to support the local "Farm to Work" program with the expectation of cultivating this sector of the market for future beginning farmers.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the first year of operation in this project, we worked in collaboration with our partner organizations, a NGO, the National Center for Appropriate Technology and a CBO, the Texas Mexico Border Coalition, on accomplishing our project's main goals and objectives. During the first quarter (September-November), we had several planning meetings where we clarified our roles and responsibilities within the project and discussed our overall metric goals and the importance of using a reliant and efficient outcome tracking method for our projects. Also we worked with our staff on revising and developing Outcome Tracking Forms and Spreadsheets that could help us to have progress information readily available when it is needed. During this period, with the help of the Veterans Business Outreach Center at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, NCAT staff member and Veteran Justin Duncan was able to meet with military base officials in San Antonio, TX to discuss opportunities to present about our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers project, the services we offer and the opportunities for Veterans in Sustainable Agriculture. We worked on finding and connecting market opportunities for our program participant's, therefore we strongly collaborated in the planning and implementation of the first Farm to Work program in the region, where a local hospital agreed to purchase 50 weekly bags of fresh vegetables from local farmers to be distributed among the Hospital's Staff. During the first year of this program, ten farmers participated supplying their vegetable and fruit products and we consider it was a successful first season, since the Hospital decided to do the program for a second time. We continued working with a collaborative group of mostly women beginning farmers at the "Centro Desarrollo Humano" in Peñitas, Texas with their new and expanded growing area and providing training and technical assistance, Also during this year, the South-West Texas Strikeforce Initiative for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers collaborated with the Holistic Outreach Practical Education (HOPE) organization in Harlingen, Texas offering a series of presentations to potential and beginning Farmers focusing on efficient organic production practices and marketing techniques that apply to local farmers markets or CSA's. Activities during this year included Teaching, mentoring, facilitating, assessment and surveying. Services included 171 one on one visits with individual beginning farmers and ranchers to provide technical advice, counseling and hands-on trainings on efficient organic production. After one year into this project 316 participants gained important knowledge, 34 started to farm, 43 Entered new markets and 52 improved their production practices. 16 of the participants that were served were military veterans. Highlight Outputs A booth was offered at the Fort Bend Regional Vegetable Conference and reached out to veterans in attendance. Offered a booth at the CEC Environmental Summit in Houston, TX on March 24 and reached out to veterans in attendance. Offered a booth and presented at the 6th Annual Bi-States CEP Horticultural Conference in Texarkana, TX on March 31 and reached out to veterans in attendance. Offered a booth at the Hunger and Resilient Food Systems in the Rio Grande Valley Conference in Edinburg, TX on April 7 and reached out to potential beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Offered a booth at the Operation Hiring Our Heroes job fair in Arlington, TX on April 14 and reached out to veterans in attendance. An informational booth was offered and a presentation was given at the Battleground to Breaking Ground workshop in Elmendorf, TX on June 4, attended by 36 veterans. A PowerPoint presentation was developed to introduce veterans to our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program and the services we can offer. A Flyer promoting our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program was distributed at Transition Assistance Program (TAP) events in Central Texas. Our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers program and agricultural career options for Veterans were promoted at a local News segment in Central Texas on July 14, the segment was titled: "Farming Is a Productive Option for Transitioning Soldiers," and it was shown several times on television in Austin and San Antonio, Texas area. A booth promoting our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program and opportunities available for military Veterans in Sustainable Agriculture was offered at a career event at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas on August 11. A presentation on High Tunnel Production was given and the first Hands-On training on Building a High Tunnel in the area was offered on October 6-7th where 25 potential and Beginning Farmers attended, including Hispanic and Army Veterans and as a result of this training a beginning farmer and a new beginning farmer built their own high tunnels using information gained from the training. 37 Trainings and Presentations were given across the Rio Grande Valley targeting Hispanic and Military Veteran beginning and potential Farmers, including topics such as: Introduction to Organic Farming, Compost and Compost tea, Soil Quality and Soil Fertility Improvement, Transplant Production, Farm Tractor 101, Drip Irrigation systems, Implements for small scale farmers, Fall planting Schedule, Spring Planting Schedule, Vermicomposting, Organic Pest Control, Benefits of Cover Crops, Essential tools for small scale Farmers, Marketing Strategies, How to take a soil sample, Plant diseases, weed control, Opportunities in sustainable Agriculture and Harvest and Post-Harvest Management. Accomplishments The first Hands-On training on Building and Managing a High Tunnel was offered to Hispanic Beginning Farmers and military Veterans in the Rio Grande Valley. NCAT's web-based training--Getting Started in Farming: An Introduction to Farm Business Planning was promoted to veterans and other beginning farmers and ranchers among the State. Several Veterans Affairs offices at universities with agricultural programs were contacted to find opportunities to reach out and deliver to more Veterans in the State. With the collaboration of the South-West Texas Strikeforce Initiative for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, the first Farm to Work program in the region was implemented and directly benefited Beginning Farmers in selling their products. Access to a Military Base was granted to promote our Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Program and opportunities for Veterans in Sustainable Agriculture. Collaborated in the planning and development of 6 garden plots where members of the San Benito Veterans Outreach Center will learn to grow and market their agricultural products. Partnerships Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, Inc. Hidalgo County Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service.
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