Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience: African American Immigrant producers Limited resource producers Small farms Specialty crop producers Urban producers Women Programming was designed to reach people who have less than 10 years experience farming. Changes/Problems: Our regional peer groups are slightly behind progress due to the start of working around COVID and the challenges virtual programming brings to making connections and building peer support. Another partner has struggled to keep their event coordinator position filled throughout the last year. PFI had a staff change which also led to some slower progress in the Labor4Learing cohorts, the in-person business planning workshop, and wrapping up training evaluations. Creating business plans for our limited-resource farmers is behind due to COVID restrictions at the beginning of the project. In the Spring of 2023, the lead staffer for this project transitioned out of this role for PFI. Responsibilities related to this project shifted to new staff members who supported the Beginning Farmer Team while the role of BF Viability Coordinator was being fulfilled. Our new Beginning Farmer Viability Coordinator was hired in March of 2024. Together, the PFI supporting staff continued to support through the rest of the program. The initial results and feedback from this program have underscored the importance of building a resilient business and it has also reflected the growing need to support long-term, secure land access for beginning farmers.We also recognized the importance of networking and connecting through our meet-up and in-person events, and the complexity of supporting beginning farmers in unique categories.Online events were not always as well attended as we had hoped.When we hosted events targeting specific Beginning Farmer audiences- 0-3, 3-5, 5-10 we also found that farmers would self-select a different tract based on their needs.We anticipated future programming would align with content that is -likely- well suited for a farmer who has 5-10 years of experience, but we anticipate aspiring farmers -and- farmers who have more than five years of experience are likely to attend.This did not impact our evaluation results as we also collected the number of years of farming in our programming. We have also learned the important lesson that the number of years of experience does not always align with the learning experiences of each farmer.Therefore, PFI started approaching our tactics through a funnel that mirrors the early, middle, and late stages of needs (broad education events down to specific, tailored 1:1 approaches). We felt as if this approach could meet every farmer where they were at.? What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Practical Farmers of Iowa used our contacts with 300+ outreach sources to promote the activities in this project. News releases were shared with state and local contacts along with the growing opportunities to reach our audience through social media. All partners during these events reached out to their social network and email lists to encourage attendance. Regarding professional development, each participant was able to tailor their learning outcomes to the topics of interest. These topics varied from learning customer service skills to learning new methods of crop production. Each participant was able to formulate three learning outcomes with specifications on how to complete the skill and what would be needed to be successful. When the participants createda learning outcome, a targeted completion date wasidentifiedto keep the learning pathway on track. Through these learning outcomes, participants were able to gain insight and experience on individually focused targets which expanded their personal and professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Over the course of the project, PFI leveraged its communications and marketing machine to ensure the communities of interest for this project were reached. Media releases, flyers, field day guides, annual conference brochures, press releases, and earned media items were our main way to ensure awareness of the programming we offered.Specifically, more than 15 items were shared through various media channels including print, online, and social media.Throughout this project, we also leveraged the farmer networks of partner organizations to broaden our reach and decentralize the support of the beginning farmers we served. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We have finalized our milestones for this project.We fell short by 74 participants to reach objective 1. Train, educate and inform 1,198 aspiring farmers through the Explore Farming series. This series will provide business planning for decision-making, farmer-to-farmer training, and farmer-to-farmer peer support tailored to aspiring farmers.To reach 1124 attendees, PFI staff carried out the following tactics: 3 in-person business planning workshops specifically for limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers--Three workshops were held for this targeted audience during the Iowa Farmers of Color conference 2023 (115) 3 in-person business planning workshops (1/year) estimated 60 attendees--We finished this milestone with a workshop at the Beginning Farmer Retreat in 2024: Farm Business Plan: What's Most Important (45) with total attendance of 69. 6 virtual business planning workshops (2/year) estimated 120 attendees--The getting started farming 6 part series was finished in year 3. (97) 6 hands-on field days (2/year) estimated 120 attendees--2 field days held: Hands-On Field Day at Garden Oasis Farm (15) & Hands-On Poultry Processing at Mad Acre Farms (20) with total attendance of 203. 18 employment placings through Labor4Learning program estimated 6 participants/year (41) 48 regional meet-ups (held quarterly in 4 regions, 16/year) estimated 960 attendees--558 total participants attended the regional meet-ups. 3 Labor4Learning cohorts (1/year) estimated 18 participants --Held 4 cohorts that worked with 41 participants. 2 case studies profiling aspiring farmers as they explore business start-up--Two articles profiled aspiring farmers. We surpassed our estimated attendance for objective 2. by 855. Train, educate and inform 360 start-up farmers (0 to 5 years experience) through the Establish Farming series. This series will provide business planning for decision-making, farmer-to-farmer training, and farmer-to-farmer peer support tailored to start-up farmers. 3 overnight retreats (1/year) estimated 90 participants--We supported and attended the Young Farmers Coalition overnight retreat: Basal Grazing Clinic Sponsorship and Booth (17) with total attendance 174. 3 in-person workshops (1/year) estimated 60 participants--Our last workshop was Organizing your Business: Legal Entities and Operating Agreements (47) resulting in 143 total attendance. 6 virtual workshops (2/year) estimated 120 participants--We finished with Two-day virtual boot camp held with (22) and total attendance of 94. Expert views of 36 completed business plans--We finished 22 business plans reviewed by a mix of committee members and PFI staff to reach 36 total. 9 mentoring discussion groups (3/year) estimated 90 participants---We finished the five meet ups (35) to reach 90 participants. 21 small-group mentor visits (7/year) estimated 36 participants---We finished 8 total mentor visits reaching 58 participants and a total 90 participants. 36 1:1 mentor visits (12/year) estimated 36 participants---We finished 25 additional 1:1 mentor visits occurred from 2023 through the end of the no-cost extension with a total of 36 participants. 3 mentor readiness training sessions (1/year) estimated 60 participants--10 Individual mentor readiness training occurred over the phone or in small groups reaching 10 mentors during this period and 20 total over the grant period. 6 getting started field days (2/year) estimated 90 participants--We completed the last two field days: Getting Started with Chestnuts (49); Equitable Land Access and Culturally Relevant Vegetable Production at Feed Iowa First's Wanatee Farm(85) and ended with 472 total attendance. 6 getting started meet-up (2/year) estimated 60 participants---We completed the last four beginning farmer meet-ups at four farms: Social Luna Valley (29); Social at Geyer Farm (10); Social at Groundswell Cafe (6) and Social at Barreras Family Farm (10) to reach a total of 160 participants. 2 case studies profiling start-up farmers and profiling start-up farmers. We surpassed objective 3 by 94 participates. 3.Train, educate and inform 720 intermediate farmers (5 to 10 years experience) through the Enhance Your Farm series. This series will provide business planning for decision-making, farmer-to-farmer training, and farmer-to-farmer peer support tailored to intermediate farmers.? 3 in-person workshops (1/year) estimated 60 participants--We completed the last workshop in this series, "Accounting 101: Ways to Structure your Accounts" (47) with a total of 222 in attendance. 9 cohort check-ins (3/year) estimated 60 participants --We completed the last cohort check-ins (15) reaching a total of 24 attendees. 6 annual conference sessions (2/year) estimated 180 participants---We held the final two sessions of this series: Introduction to Value-Added Products (67) & Planting, Cultivating and Harvesting the Seeds of Urban Farming (65) with a total 231 in attendance. 24 producer meet-ups (8/year) estimated 480 participants---We held the last 9 (5 in-person & 4 virtual) meet-ups (118) reaching 337 participants. 2 case studies profiling intermediate farmers. We completed the last objective 4. Create, revise and share curriculum tool kit designed to help beginning farmer service providers nationwide support beginning farmers with education tailored to their beginning farmer stage: aspiring, start-up and intermediate. Share toolkit on farmanswers.org and with partners through a webinar introducing the tool kit with 16 attending, a workshop introducing the tool kit to 8 and a fullpublication including the case studies.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
https://practicalfarmers.org/2022/07/nourishing-community-through-local-meat/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
https://practicalfarmers.org/2021/06/multiple-approaches-to-mentorship/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
https://practicalfarmers.org/2022/01/starting-from-square-one/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
https://practicalfarmers.org/2021/10/growing-community/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
https://practicalfarmers.org/2024/07/oh-for-a-bees-experience/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
https://rvs.umn.edu/Uploads/EducationalMaterials/27c12f22-2560-4a20-a034-a23befd03ee7..pdf
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience: African American Immigrant producers Limited resource producers Small farms Specialty crop producers Urban producers Women To expand our reach, we have also supported Iowa Valley RC&D, Healthy Harvest of Northern Iowa, Golden Hills RC&D, and Northern Iowa Food and Farm to amplify this project events through their farmer networks. Those partner organizations held19in-person and virtual events in year 3 and through the no-cost extension and48total over the course of the grant. We have summarized findings from this group in one case study and will finalize the findings for this audience in the final report. Changes/Problems:Challenges: In the Spring of 2023, the lead staffer for this project transitioned out of this role for PFI. Responsibilities related to this project shifted to new staff members who supported the Beginning Farmer Team while the role of BF Viability Coordinator was being filled. Our new Beginning Farmer Viability Coordinator was hired in March 2024. Together, the PFI supporting staff will continue to support the final compile the final wrap-ups for this program. These changes, plus a signficant amount of programing added with supplemental funds, resulted in the need to file a no-cost extention in the summerof 2023. Some of the tactics initally employed have been altered to better suit our audience. For instance, we recognized some of the large group meetings to connect beginning farmers with experienced farmers were better suited for more one on one meetings to support the success of the beginning farmers business-very similar to our one on one busines coaching implementation, with these one on ones focused on consultations tailored to identifying next steps along the way. As we approach the end of our three-year grant project plus the no-cost extension which extends through Aug 2024, we have reviewed the milestones of this project and will report on the delivery of our programing events, meetings, webinars, and cohorts through Feb 24. Our cohort programs, SIP, L4L, and Business Coaching will continue through Aug 2024 with farmers finishing their individual projects. We have compiled evaluations from this project and will analyze and report on our findings in the final report. Here, we outline the tactics deployed and the project progress. Snapshots of some of the program reveal more than 80% of beginning farmers reported they were likely to make changes based on what they learned through our programing, and more than 75% report they are likely to continue connections with the people they met at our events. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Here is the list of opportunites for development in 2023. This list represnts field days, mentor visits, webinars all focused on helping beginning farmers improve their businessess. This is not a comprehensive list for the project. It does not include events from 2022 or 2021. Meetings 8/18/2023: Cedar Rapids, IA -- Number of Attendees 6 8/20/2023: Solon, IA -- Number of Attendees 35 8/22/2023: Amana, IA -- Number of Attendees 7 8/27/2023: Decorah, IA -- Number of Attendees 8 8/27/2023: Ventura, IA -- Number of Attendees 50 8/29/2023: Knoxville, IA -- Number of Attendees 9 9/5/2023: Solon, IA -- Number of Attendees 5 9/15/2023: Chariton, IA -- Number of Attendees 16 9/16/2023: Blair, NE -- Number of Attendees 10 9/16/2023: Blair, NE -- Number of Attendees 6 9/22/2023: Malvern , IA -- Number of Attendees 15 9/22/2023: St Ansgar, IA -- Number of Attendees 5 10/9/2023: Mechanicsville, IA -- Number of Attendees 4 10/20/2023: Honey Creek, IA -- Number of Attendees 12 11/4/2023: Iowa City , IA -- Number of Attendees 6 12/15/2023: McCleland, IA -- Number of Attendees 6 9/20/2023: Williams, IA -- Number of Attendees 6 1/19/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 40 2/21/2023: Decorah, IA -- Number of Attendees 24 2/25/2023: Red Oak, IA -- Number of Attendees 18 6/10/2023: Cresent , IA -- Number of Attendees 10 6/24/2023: Decorah, IA -- Number of Attendees 29 7/8/2023: Newton, IA -- Number of Attendees 19 7/21/2023: Oxford, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 7/23/2023: Atlantic, IA -- Number of Attendees 48 7/23/2023: Forrest City , IA -- Number of Attendees 50 7/25/2023: Central City , IA -- Number of Attendees 7 7/31/2023: Earlam, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 11/6/2023: Iowa City , IA -- Number of Attendees 11 12/20/2023: Iowa City , IA -- Number of Attendees 6 1/20/2024: Des Moines , IA -- Number of Attendees 13 1/25/2024: Council Bluffs, IA -- Number of Attendees 12 1/26/2024: Decorah, IA -- Number of Attendees 18 1/31/2024: Logan, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 2/19/2024: Guttenberg, IA -- Number of Attendees 12 8/19/2023: Cedar Rapids, IA -- Number of Attendees 31 8/15/2023: Amana, IA -- Number of Attendees 5 8/15/2023: Wapello, IA -- Number of Attendees 9 8/4/2023: Des Moines , IA -- Number of Attendees 7 1/19/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 52 1/19/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 54 2/13/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 2/14/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 15 2/14/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 40 2/14/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 40 2/13/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 2/13/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 15 2/13/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 40 2/13/2023: Ames, IA -- Number of Attendees 40 Webinars 1/12/2023: Number of Attendees 12 1/26/2023: Number of Attendees 18 2/7/2023: Number of Attendees 5 2/16/2023: Number of Attendees 12 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We continue to work with other partner organizations to share best practices and to gather informal feedback. Our Objective 4: Create, revise and share a curriculum tool kit designed to help beginning farmer service providers nationwide support beginning farmers with education tailored to their beginning farmer stage: aspiring, start-up and intermediate involves a formal plan to share this information. The tool kit is not yet complete, but will be finished--in spite of the change in staff--by the end of our no cost exention in Aug 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 4: As we adapt and and prepare it to be shared with other organizations and on farmanswers.org, we anticipate this will be uploaded and ready to share by the end of the no-cost extension. However, additional challenges have slowed the course of this tactic. We anticipate sharing this tool kit with beginning farmers and partnering organizations by Aug 2024. Final Report: As we approach the end of our three-year grant project plus the no-cost extension which extends through Aug 2024, we have reviewed the milestones of this project and will report on the delivery of our programing events, meetings, webinars, and cohorts through Feb 24. Ourcohort programs, SIP, L4L, and Business Coaching will continue through Aug 2024 with farmers finishing their individual projects. We have compiled evaluations from this project and will analyze and report on our findings in the final report.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
All events to date include 112 meetings and 41 webinars.Online attendance, including all online programing such as Getting Started Farming, Exploring Farming and SIP cohort meetings had a total attendance record of 648. As we review our objectives, we can report: Objective 1: Train, educate and inform 1,198 aspiring farmers through the Explore Farming series. This series will provide business planning for decision-making, farmer-to-farmer training, and farmer-to-farmer peer support tailored to aspiring farmers. Our principal tactic to accomplish this goal is through two programs: the Explore Farming Series and Labor4Learning. To support aspiring farmers, those who haven't yet started farming, in determining their future farming goals and wishes, our Explore Farming Series focuses on helping participants determine their vision, assess readiness, and create an actionable plan to reach their farming goals, while our Labor4Learning program helps beginning farmers get paid, on-the-job training with experienced farmers. Throughout the Explore Farming Series we held 41 in person events in 2022, 43 events in 2023 and 110total over the entire grant period, including the no cost-extension in 2024, which will be included in the final report. A total of 2585 farmers attended these events. Examples of events we held included: Pasture Egg 101, Hands On Tools, Hands on Sheep Sheering, Virtual Fencing, and Beginning Farmer Meet and Greets. Through our Labor4Learning program, where we match farmer mentors and aspiring farmers to share labor and knowledge, we have been able to help 40aspiring farmers to date learn from 69 mentor farmers (2020-2023). A full evaluation of the effectiveness of this program in driving aspiring farmer outcomes will be provided in the final months of the extension. To expand our reach, we have also supported Iowa Valley RC&D, Healthy Harvest of Northern Iowa, Golden Hills RC&D, and Northern Iowa Food and Farm to amplify this project through their farmer networks. Those partner organizations held19in-person and virtual events in year 3 and through the no-cost extension and48total over the course of the grant. We have summarized findings from this group in one case study and will finalize the findings for this audience in the final report. Objective 2: Train, educate and inform 360 start-up farmers (0 to 5 years experience) through the Establish Farming series. To accomplish these milestones, we developed and launched our Establish Farming series and Savings Incentive Program that targets farmers with business planning for decision-making, farmer-to-farmer training, and farmer-to-farmer peer support. The Savings Incentive Program in year three enrolled 15 farmer participants in the 2024 cohort and supported 31farmers in cohort 2022 and 2023. Programming for this audience focused on the "start-up" phase of their farming business included: attending 2 farm visits in their first year to build out their farmer network and hear about different business structures, attend 4 PFI events per year to network with other farmers, and have 3 one on one meeting with their farmer mentor to write their own business plan. The cohort number is based on anticipated graduation date with the cohorts enrolled in the program in the years 2020, 2021 and 2023. We also hosted the Beginning Farmer Summit and provided programming for several audiences in 2023. The sessions focused on targeting Beginning Farmers 0-5 years, Beginning Farmers 6-10 years, Landowners, and Land Seekers with a series of workshops focused on those needs. In 2024, the Beginning Farmer Retreat focused on business planning basics with a series of workshops which included lawyers and business coaches as well as retiring farmers. In December and January, we held the Establish Farming workshop series, giving participants the tools to develop a farm plan and make business decisions about their farm. Lastly, we summarized the learnings for this audience in two case studies and published them. Objective 3: Train, educate and inform 720 intermediate farmers (5 to 10 years' experience) through the Enhance Your Farm series. To accomplish this milestone, we developed and deployed our Enhance Farming Series and our most advanced business program, the Farm Business Coaching. The advanced business farmers attended in year three and received Farm Business Coaching total over the three years of this grant. This stage of farming needs the greatest amount of individualized business support and therefore we started the Farm Business Coaching program to support farmers in years 5-10 with their business challenges. Fourteen farmers participated in the program from June 2022 to March 2024. Following the kick-off meeting, farmers were matched up to their business coach for individualized support. The first phase included assessing their financial situation and determining business goals and challenges. The second phase included pairing farmers with an opportunity coach to pursue the goals or address the challenges they identified in the first phase. As of Feb 2024, some farmers are nearly done with phase two and others are just starting. At the Beginning Farmer Summit we held workshops for these intermediate farmers, as well. These sessions included Enterprise Budgeting for Decision Making, Fundamentals to a Marketing Plan, Getting Ready for Land, and Setting Goals and Taking the Next Steps for Landowners. We hosted production focused meetups to encourage collaboration and support among these farmers including 12 fruit and vegetable in-person meet-ups in February and March and 12grazing group meet ups held in-person, primarily in the fall months. We also leveraged our beginning farmer business development advisory committee to continue shaping the delivery of this program. Lastly, we featured a case study profiling an intermediate farmer in our Practical Farmer magazine. Objective 4: Create, revise and share a curriculum tool kit designed to help beginning farmer service providers nationwide support beginning farmers with education tailored to their beginning farmer stage: aspiring, start-up and intermediate. We have received feedback from participants on our workshop series--which is the foundation for this tool kit, and we are working on revisions for the final year. This feedback will help craft the curriculum tool kit in ways that are most effective for beginning farmers. As we adapt and and prepare it to be shared with other organizations and on farmanswers.org, we anticipate this will be uploaded and ready to share by the end of the no-cost extension. However, additional challenges have slowed the course of this tactic. We anticipate sharing this tool kit with beginning farmers and partnering organizations by Aug 2024. Challenges:In the Spring of 2023, the lead staffer for this project transitioned out of this role for PFI. Responsibilities related to this project shifted to new staff members who supported the Beginning Farmer Team while the role of BF Viability Coordinator was being filled. Our new Beginning Farmer Viability Coordinator was hired in March 2024. Together, the PFI supporting staff will continue to support the final compile the final wrap-ups for this program.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
2023 article in the PFI Autumn magazine.
Thinking Globally, Growing Locally by Rachel Burke
https://practicalfarmers.org/2023/10/thinking-globally-growing-locally/
"Its a sunny day at the Global Food Project gardens in Iowa City, Iowa, and Emmanuel Gauthier Mfuankatu is showing off the plot of land where, for the past two years, he has been raising food following Congolese traditions. Here, I am learning, and I am teaching, using my body and being in the natural world, Emmanuel says. "
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
2023 article in the PFI Winter magazine.
Finding Clarity by Amos Johnson
"For seven years, Dayna had been working full-time on vegetable farms. The grueling work had led her into a physical and mental downward spiral. My body and brain were falling apart, Dayna recalls. Grinding herself down into burnout, she simply kept doing what got her there in the first place. I was sticking with it out of stubbornness, and ego, and just a lack of perspective.
Until a class on Holistic Management made her pause."
https://practicalfarmers.org/2023/04/finding-clarity/
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience: Audience Emphasis African American Limited resource producers Small farms Specialty crop producers Women Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Total Meetings: 12 Total Meeting Participants: 251 Total Webinars: 23 Total Webinar Participants: 467 Total Website Visits: 0 Total Online Course Participants: 0 Meetings 8/1/2021: Iowa City, IA -- Number of Attendees 10 1/28/2021: Amana, IA -- Number of Attendees 8 8/21/2021: Elkport, IA -- Number of Attendees 11 8/8/2021: Fertile, IA -- Number of Attendees 56 6/30/2021: Remsen, IA -- Number of Attendees 6 7/13/2021: Bedford, IA -- Number of Attendees 8 10/8/2021: Cambridge, IA -- Number of Attendees 13 9/7/2021: Iowa City, IA -- Number of Attendees 16 8/15/2001: Mt. Vernon, IA -- Number of Attendees 16 10/9/2021: Logan, IA -- Number of Attendees 4 6/5/2021: Whittemore, IA -- Number of Attendees 100 7/18/2021: Castalia, IA -- Number of Attendees 3 Webinars 1/12/2021: Number of Attendees 15 1/23/2021: Number of Attendees 7 1/23/2021: Number of Attendees 29 1/26/2021: Number of Attendees 16 3/2/2021: Number of Attendees 12 1/5/2021: Number of Attendees 26 2/2/2021: Number of Attendees 22 2/19/2021: Number of Attendees 17 2/26/2021: Number of Attendees 27 3/5/2021: Number of Attendees 18 7/20/2021: Number of Attendees 5 3/12/2021: Number of Attendees 13 2/19/2021: Number of Attendees 18 3/22/2021: Number of Attendees 7 2/11/2021: Number of Attendees 6 4/16/2021: Number of Attendees 7 8/18/2021: Number of Attendees 8 8/3/2021: Number of Attendees 22 7/20/2021: Number of Attendees 26 8/10/2021: Number of Attendees 33 7/13/2021: Number of Attendees 37 12/12/2020: Number of Attendees 48 12/11/2020: Number of Attendees 48 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?2021 Virtual Annual Conference Promotion of conference session workshops to beginning farmers. 2021 Summer Event Guide Promotion of field day events to beginning farmers What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Events/Outreach: Major steps for this project revolve around planning events and program work. Most events are planned two - three months ahead, with outreach happening about one month prior. This includes events such as peer group gatherings, meet-ups, etc. Events that are part of a series such as field days and annual conference sessions are planned with more notice to encourage larger outreach. Field day planning begins in February with events taking place from May -October. Annual conference session planning starts in August and with the conference occurring in January. Savings Incentive Program: The Savings Incentive Program timeline begins in August with the opening of applications for potential participants. All applications are reviewed by a volunteer committee who selects up-to 12 farmers to enroll. The new SIP class begins their course-work each January. Throughout the entire two-year program, quarterly reviews are held to update progress and reflect on work. Labor4Learning: Trainers for the Labor4Learning program apply in November/December. The volunteer member committee reviews these applications and approves qualified trainers for open-positions. These positions are then promoted to aspiring farmers through extensive outreach through May. Once the positions are filled, program staff works with trainers and trainees to facilitate learning outcomes. Most positions conclude between August and September. Business Development workshops: Planning of the workshops begins in late summer with promotion starting in the fall. Then the workshops are held across the winter and combined with mentor discussion groups to support their business planning efforts with ground-truthed experience.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Result 1. Aspiring farmers will increase farm business and production knowledge. Producer action: Understand, Topic: Business and strategic planning When measured: Post-event Estimated Number: 94, Actual Number: 1 How verified: Self evaluation Result 2. Aspiring farmers will create a farm business plan and develop financial tracking documents. Producer action: Develop, Topic: Financial records and analysis When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 100, Actual Number: 1 How verified: self evaluation Result 3. Aspiring farmers will create relationships through this project that will help them start their businesses. Producer action: Develop, Topic: Interpersonal, family, and business relationships When measured: Post-event and post-program Estimated Number: 94, Actual Number: 1 How verified: self evaluation Result 4. Start-up farmers will learn how to develop a mentorship with an experienced farmer to develop a strong understanding of making decisions in a farm business. Producer action: Understand, Topic: Mentoring, apprenticeships, and internships When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 150, Actual Number: 4 How verified: self evaluations Result 5. Start-up farmers will create relationships through this project that will help them establish their businesses. Producer action: Develop, Topic: Interpersonal, family, and business relationships When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 96, Actual Number: 1 How verified: self evaluations Result 6. Start-up farmers will create a business plan that will guide them in establishing their farm business plan Producer action: Decide, Topic: Financial records and analysis When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 62, Actual Number: 2 How verified: self evaluations Result 7. Intermediate farmers identify areas of need and build an advisory team to support their farming business. Producer action: Develop, Topic: Interpersonal, family, and business relationships When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 38, Actual Number: 0 How verified: self evaluation Result 8. Intermediate farmers report having the ability to make decisions of scaling or adapt their business. Producer action: Understand, Topic: Business and strategic planning When measured: Post-program Estimated Number: 38, Actual Number: 0 How verified: self evaluations Result 9. Farmers will learn how to develop a mentorship with an experienced farmer and/or peers to develop a strong understanding of running a farm business and community Producer action: Develop, Topic: Interpersonal, family, and business relationships When measured: Post-event and post-program Estimated Number: 274, Actual Number: 2 How verified: self evaluation
Publications
|