Source: MAIN STREET PROJECT, THE submitted to
SUCCESS FOR FARMERS OF COLOR THROUGH URBAN AND RURAL PARTNERSHIPS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1021156
Grant No.
2019-49400-30460
Cumulative Award Amt.
$189,389.00
Proposal No.
2019-03575
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2019
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2021
Grant Year
2019
Program Code
[BFRDA]- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Standard
Recipient Organization
MAIN STREET PROJECT, THE
105 4TH ST E STE 213
NORTHFIELD,MN 550572047
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
People of color who want to farm need production and business planning education, training and technical assistance in order to build their own wealth and health as well as the vitality of their communities. Those beginning farmers of color need assistance that recognizes historical trauma these communities have faced as well as their current economic challenges. They need to be front and center in the development of this assistance, and they need it delivered by members of their own communities. They also need opportunities to connect with and learn from the variety of other beginning farmers and beginning farmer programs in the region.With this project, organizations that serve primarily farmers of color in specific urban and rural areas of Minnesota will provide year-long trainings, workshops and field days, one-on-one technical assistance and more. These organizations will collaborate with and learn from each other and improve their programming because of the partnership. Because of the education, training and technical assistance provided through this project, 31 beginning farmers will start and an addition 29 beginning farmers will improve poultry, perennial crops and/or fruit and vegetable small businesses. The goal of this project: People of color in Minnesota develop and sustain profitable poultry, fruit and vegetable and perennial crop businesses.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
9036030302020%
9026099000120%
1253220310010%
6016299302010%
6026010302010%
2162299302010%
2062299302010%
1022299302010%
Knowledge Area
902 - Administration of Projects and Programs; 601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 602 - Business Management, Finance, and Taxation; 206 - Basic Plant Biology; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 125 - Agroforestry; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
3220 - Meat-type chicken, live animal; 2299 - Miscellaneous and new crops, general/other; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6010 - Individuals; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
0001 - Administration; 3020 - Education; 3100 - Management;
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to enhance the sustainability of beginning farmers and ranchers through education, training, mentoring and outreach programs that enhance self- employment in farming opportunities.The project goal is to help primarily people of color develop and sustain profitable poultry, fruit and vegetable and perennial crop businesses.The objectives are::1)Because of the education, training and technical assistance provided through this project, 31 beginning farmers will start new poultry, perennial crops and/or fruit and vegetable small businesses;2) Because of the education, training and technical assistance provided through this project, 29 beginning farmers will improve the profitability and efficiency of their existing poultry, perennial crops and/or fruit and vegetable small businesses.The project goal and objectives will be achieved during the project duration of this NIFA grant.
Project Methods
Methods used to deliver on this grant will include:1)formal classroom education,2)hands-on education, trainings and experiential learning on farm;3)one-on-one consulting between trainers/experts and beginning farmers;4)one-on-one and group exchange of teaching methods, organizing best practices and technical information between the grant partners;5) workshops both in class and on-farm;6)field days, where the partners open their farms and share with the general public;7)sharing of curriculum through website modules;8)secured media coverage and social media9)videos online of production practices.An Independent Evaluator, Linda Bosma, of Bosma Consulting, will assist Main Street Project in evaluating this grant's achievements. She will advise on the development of specific written survey and oral interview instruments. She also will assist Main Street Project in evaluating the results and making improvements in programming based on evaluations.More specifically, to evaluate our success in increasing beginning farmers' knowledge or skills, Main Street Project, Red Barn Farm, Urban Ventures and Appetite for Change will track the number of participants in their education, training and technical assistance programs. Participants will fill out pre- and post-tests that explore their self-reported knowledge and skill level on production, marketing and business planning and how much (on a five-point scale) that their knowledge and skill levels changed as a result of the trainings. The tests will ask for specific feedback on how those knowledge and skill levels changed. The pre- and post-tests will be provided in Spanish, Somali and Hmong, when needed.To evaluate the number of new farm startups, Main Street Project and Appetite for Change will track the number of trainees to start new farms through one-on-one surveys and interviews.To evaluate whether beginning farmers improve the profitability and efficiency of their existing poultry, perennial crops and/or fruit and vegetable small businesses, grant partners will interview the existing farmers in their networks, one-on-one, to ascertain whether we met our targets.To evaluate whether potential future farmers and farmer supporters report increased knowledge of fruit and vegetable, Main Street Project will administer pre- and post-tests to attendees at workshops and field days.Key milestones and indicators of success will be of the partners meet the objectives, outputs and outcomes specified above and in the Project Narrative, and if the partners continue to work together to advance beginning farmers of color after the completion of this project.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Main Street Project's bilingual fruit and vegetable and poultry programming has reached rural Latinx immigrants in Southeast Minnesota. 100 percent of those served by Main Street Project's fruit and vegetable programming are people of color. 90 percent of these fruit and vegetable farmers will are Latinx immigrants and 10 percent East African immigrants. For Main Street Project's poultry-centered regenerative agriculture trainings, 80 percent of trainees reached are Latinx immigrants, 10 percent East African immigrants and 10 percent of Caucasian ancestry. Appetite for Change continues to serve farmers of color in North Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. 80 percent of its farmers are African American, 10 percent East African 10 percent Hmong descent. Urban Ventures continues to serve low-income audiences from central Minneapolis of the following constiuencies: 44 percent Latinx, 22 percent East African, 15 percent African American and 15 percent Caucasian. The Red Barn Farm (UMN Landscape Arboretum) has begun to train its first cohort of farm apprentices. Changes/Problems:As with all of your grantees, COVID was a major challenge during the grant period. As a result, we did not hold meetings indoors but used the Main Street Project (now called Sharing Our Roots) Farm to hold events and required masks. Many of the refugees and immigrants in our population were profoundly affected by the pandemic, includings the loss of loved ones. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Workshops/field days held on: Orchard planning: 10 attendees Farm resilience: 40 Hoop construction: 5 Food safety: 3 Botanical production: 8 Garlic harvesting: 12 Beginning farming in a commons-based system (two sessions): 140 Farm safety (three sessions): 45 Perennial poultry production (five sessions): 10 16opportunities for training 273 attendees How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through social media, through blog posts and through email lists. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Because of the education, training and technical assistance provided through this project, 74 beginning farmers started new poultry, perennial crops and fruit and vegetable small businesses. 2. Because of the education, training and technical assistance provided through this project, 17 beginning farmers improved the profita bility and efficiency of their existing poultry, perennial crops and fruit and vegetable small businesses.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Target Audiences: Main Street Project's bilingual fruit and vegetable and poultry programming has reached rural Latinx immigrants in Southeast Minnesota. 100 percent of those served by Main Street Project's fruit and vegetable programming are people of color. 90 percent of these fruit and vegetable farmers will are Latinx immigrants and 10 percent East African immigrants. For Main Street Project's poultry-centered regenerative agriculture trainings, 80 percent of trainees reached are Latinx immigrants, 10 percent East African immigrants and 10 percent of Caucasian ancestry. Appetite for Change continues to serve farmers of color in North Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. 80 percent of its farmers are African American, 10 percent East African 10 percent Hmong descent. Urban Ventures continues to serve low-income audiences from central Minneapolis of the following constiuencies: 44 percent Latinx, 22 percent East African, 15 percent African American and 15 percent Caucasian. The Red Barn Farm (UMN Landscape Arboretum) has begun to train its first cohort of farm apprentices. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 virus has forced a significant alteration in plans for providing hands-on experience in raising poultry through group or community flocks during the 2020 season. This practical training will be moved to 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In the first quarter of 2020, 4 training sessions on the regenerative model of poultry production and small farm management were provided to different audiences: 1) PFI (Practical Farmers of Iowa) annual conference workshop presentation (40 participants); 2) 8-hr Agripreneur Training (Part 1) in Spanish (8 Latinx participants); 3) 8-hr Agripreneur Training in English (9 East African, Thai, Latinx participants, White); 4) 4-hr Agripreneur Training to BFRDP urbanpartners (6 participants) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Outreach has focused on recruitment for training up to this point, and has been done through Latinx and African community connectors. Business start-up training is under development with the Latino Economic Development Center. Training opportunities and results (when achieved) will be communicated through website, outreach coordinators, and partners. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will be done to further explore markets and land access and financing options that are crucial to positioning beginning farmers for production opportunities. Trainees will be engaged as soon as possible in practical poultry and business management experience.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Significant progress has been made by all partners in training and professional development for target audience. Urban Ventures: They are planning for design, building and training of their chicken coop in connection with MSP. They have completed their paddock, and the work has been approved by the necessary city departments.They plan on purchasing 200 chickens that will be distributed via their low housing income network and also out of the greenway farm. Main Street Project and Urban Ventures plan to host a chicken production workshop this fall.They would use their $10K drawdown to achieve these things. We will also be continuing to monitor any exchanges around food distribution and connecting to their Lakeville site. MN Landscape Arboretum (Red Barn Farm): They have successfully staffed up their training program. They are still hoping for upwards to three training exchanges this fall, which Tim Wilson would help lead.

    Publications