Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The "Beginning Farmer Veterans Growing Skills on the Land and Cultivating a Network of Support in 5 Western Washington Counties" serves military veterans who are prospective or beginning farmers. In addition to military veterans, we also served Active Duty military members who are interested in farming when they exit the military. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Throughout this project there have been dozens of workshops focusing on agricultural skills and resources, Military and Veteran resources and services, and community engagement events. Veterans have been able to successfully start farm businesses as well as grow and enhance their existing businesses. We have been able to start connecting established farmers and farm businesses with our growing network of beginning farmers, beyond our regional (5 county) focus, statewide. Beginning Veteran Farmers are gaining the skills and confidence to become engaged, active, and productive members of their communities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results are still being compiled and analyzed. Some relevant data has been disseminated / shared locally as well as through our partner organizations via online and in-person presentations, Q&A forums,and speaking at appropriate and applicable regional conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
NOTE: Our last progress report covered year one. Per Grant Management Specialist's instructions, this report covers our final year (9/1/2021-8/31/2022). GOAL 1 Objective 1a GRuB's Victory Farm program provides two types of workshops to beginning Veteran farmers (BFV): beginning Veteran resource and farmer and gardener workshops and beekeeping certification. GRuB's weekly one hour Veteran resource and beginning farmer and gardener workshops were offered throughout this project. There were an average of 10 participants a week and 80% were active duty or military Veterans. We held a total of 51.5 hours of workshops and training and served 316 Veterans. Throughout our journey of this project we learned, grew, and adapted. One adaptation included responding to the large interest in beekeeping by Veterans. We provided four beekeeping certification courses to beginning Veteran farmers this past year in partnership with the WA Beekeepers Association and Woods Bee Company. Between July 2021 and August 2022, 50 Veteran students became certified Beginning Beekeepers and 39 graduated to become Apprentice Beekeepers. Objective 1b In April, 10 BFVs engaged on the VETC farm. They learned how to and helped set-up an apiary site on the farm and and 6 attended a 4-hour workshop where they learned how to identify native and pollinator friendly plants around the apiary site and how to identify and safely remove poison hemlock (noxious weed). They identified as: 5 male, 5 female, 1 black, 9 caucasion, 1 Navy, 1 Air Force, 1 Marines, 2 Active Duty Army (prospective farmer Veterans), ages 30-60, 5 Veterans with a service connected & VA disability rating. In May, 18 Veterans attended an in-person beekeeping workshop at VETC. May was unseasonably wet and cool. We continued preparing the apiary site and installed 16 outdoor and 2 indoor beehives for training and honey production. In preparation, we had a workshop (offsite) on pallet building and constructed 6+ commercial apiary pallets and 2 hive-benches. With our covered space, we were able to conduct a workshop during the rain and still teach and perform basic hive checks and maintenance on 2 hives. In June, 20 Veterans and active duty military attended VETC's two day conservation and education expo (16 hrs). Topics included: beekeeping workshops and equipment demonstrations, biochar equipment demonstration and workshop, raised bed gardening planting workshop, seed bomb workshop, conservation walk & talk, native plant identification walk and talk, and a WDVA Suicide Prevention program discussion. We shared the following resources/connections with workshop attendees: WDVA, E4E, WSU, FVC-WA. One BFV at VETC who is certified as an apprentice beekeeper wants to incorporate bees into his farm business. He is leasing a plot at the Veterans Farm in Orting with WDVA and plans on helping with the bees there! 100% of all VETC participants participated in a survey and all reported an increase in knowledge and skills in farming and all reported improved outlooks for future farming operations. Objective 1c This objective was accomplished in our 2020-21 activities and reported on in our 2020-21 report. Since then, per our project amendment, we are no longer partnering with WDVA on this project because the lead for BFRDP at WDVA left his position. We are continuing to partner with WDVA informally through connecting with the Veterans at their Veterans Farm in Orting. GOAL 2 Objective 2a We successfully identified a network of 60+ agencies and organizations focused on the holistic success of BFVs throughout Washington state and a list of national level Veteran support and farmer training organizations. We also identified 25 unique farm businesses and supportive organizations interested in mentoring BFVs. We identified these beginning farmer mentors through our "2022 Farmer Mentor Survey" that was shared through our community network and throughout our partner organizations. 49 BFVs connected further with GRUB and developed a Mentor / Mentee relationship. We identified these BFVs through our "2022 Beginning Farmer Veteran Survey" that was shared through our community network and partner organizations. Additionally, 47 Veterans expressed interest in becoming beekeepers and/or incorporating bees into their existing farm businesses. These Beginning Beekeeper Veterans were identified through our "2022 Beekeepers Survey" that was shared in our community network and partner organizations. Of those 47 surveyed, 42 Veterans have certified as beginning beekeepers and 20 have continued on to become Apprentice level certified through The Washington State Beekeepers Association. Objective 2b We created a directory of organizations and programs that provide resources and support to WA farmer Veterans (mentioned above and in the Other Products section). However, the list has yet to be published. We anticipated sharing / publishing on the Farmer Veteran Coalition - Washington State Chapter's website. They no longer have an active website. We will make the list available at www.goodgrub.org as well as www.veterans-etc.org. GOAL 3 Objective 3a Through the "2022 BFV Survey" we collected data on: location, demographics, Military Veteran and VA disability status, education and certifications, employment status, agricultural/farming goals and interests, roadblocks as a farmer and Veteran, needs/wants as a beginning farmer and Veteran, and helpful resources. Forty seven BFVs responded to the survey. They represented 7 branches of the military. The majority served in the Army (55.3%), Air Force (19.1%), and Navy (19.1%). When asked to select all careers they were interested in pursuing, the most popular careers were market garden (60%), beekeeping (57.8%), conservation (46.7%), meat production (40%), cooperative farming (40%), education (40%), commercial farming (28.9%), and forestry (28.9%). Respondents represented 19 counties, with the majority in Pierce (21.3%) and Thurston Counties (17%). Objective 3b Through the"2022 Farmer Mentor Survey" we captured data including: Agriculture/Farm business name and location, Veteran connection(s), educational/experience level, and mentorship commitment capabilities. Twenty five Veteran farmers completed the survey. The majority of respondents served in the Army (31.3%) and Navy (25%). When asked what areas of agriculture they were involved in, the most represented areas were market garden (50%), commercial farming (43.8%), education (37.5%), beekeeping (31.3%), conservation (31.3%), and meat production (31.3%). These potential mentors represent 9 counties, with the vast majority in Thurston (43.8%) and Pierce (12.5%). Objective 3c? This project helped support the start of a 5+ year regional Mentor/Mentee program in Washington State, focused on BFVs. We are actively engaging and guiding Veterans seeking to transition into agriculture through direct mentoring, coaching, and connecting with resources and training. We select Veterans annually and work with each to help navigate through the complexities of starting, maintaining, and growing an agricultural enterprise. We're building on the unique strengths of our partner network to minimize duplication of services. We're identifying, connecting with, and helping to make available existing agricultural, Veteran supportive business and financial training programs and resource materials, as well as to assisting Veterans in accessing financial benefits and training available to Veterans and the farming community. Through our beekeeping certification and mentorship program, 42 Veterans are certified beginning beekeepers and 20 have continued on to become Apprentice level certified through The Washington State Beekeepers Association. We are beginning the Journeyman level certification course this fall with the Master course following in the fall of 2023. We will continue to offer beginning level courses throughout the year.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The "Beginning Farmer Veterans Growing Skills on the Land and Cultivating a Network of Support in 5 Western Washington Counties" serves military veterans who are prospective or beginning farmers. Changes/Problems:We have had many unexpected challenges in addition to COVID-19 this past year, which have postponed and/or required reconfiguring for some aspects of this project. These challenges have included a change in leadership at the Veterans Farm in Orting and the leader of VETC experiencing and needing time to recover from a serious medical condition. We are grateful for the one year extension and excited to continue and finish this project! The leadership change at the Veterans Farm in Orting was a recent development and we are in the midst of informing and planning with the new leadership. We will be in contact with our USDA NIFA grant contact shortly to discuss any proposed changes/developments. In addition, we replaced the "Field-to-Fork '' programming planned at VETC with the beekeeping training and supports, which was more amenable to COVID-19 adaptations, and met needs and opportunities among our veteran community. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?IN PERSON TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT We have engaged a total of 23 beginning farmer veterans with in-person training/professional development combined in all programs: 10 on GRuB's Victory Farm, 3 at Veterans Ecological Trades Collective (VETC), and 10 at the Washington Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA)'s Veterans Farm at Orting. At GRuB, this included hands-on workshops and work parties where veterans learned basic farming/gardening skills, such as weeding, planting, watering, planning, harvesting, and beekeeping. At VETC, more experienced beginning farmer veterans gained space for hands-on learning and to experiment with different farming methods with the guidance of the experienced veteran farmer who leads this site. They participated in an orientation, grew pumpkins, experimented with in-ground farming techniques and learned about animal care, composting, and conservation as a sustainable farming practice. The planned Permaculture Design Course was postponed due to illness and COVID-19, and will take place in 2022. At the Veterans Farm in Orting, 7 beginning veteran farmers are leasing land and actively farming with the guidance of the experienced veteran farmer who leads this site. In addition, 3 other beginning farmers are engaged on this site through Veterans Conservation Corps internships and/or supporting the primary lessors of the land. These beginning veteran farmers participated in farming workshops on cover cropping, cultural competency, and irrigation. In addition, they engaged in supportive veteran specific workshops to support them in successful transition to civilian life and employment. These included Battle Mind to Home mind, LEARN (Suicide prevention), Peer corps training, and motivational interviewing. ONLINE TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT In total, this project hosted approximately 56 beginning veteran farmers in online training/professional development. At GRuB, we offered 29 (weekly) 1hr, skills-based, garden and farm-centric workshops. These workshops directly support veterans' move into farming through education, networking, resource sharing, and community engagement. An average of 11 veterans attended each workshop and several were regular attendees. Workshops covered a variety of topics that provide a comprehensive training in beginning farming/gardening; such as planning, planting, weeding, watering, pest management, composting, and harvesting. Through an exciting new addition to the program, GRuB offered a "beginning beekeeper" and "apprentice beekeeper" certification program in partnership with the Washington State Beekeepers Association. We have currently certified 15 military veterans, their family members and their service providers as "beginning beekeepers". The purpose of the Beginning Beekeeping Course is to introduce military veterans to the basics of hobbyist and commercial beekeeping before investing time, energy, and money in setting up an apiary (one or more hives). Through a five week course students have videos to watch, reading assignments, tests, and five 1-hour online (Zoom) classes. All this culminates in a "Beginning Beekeeper" certification, and membership in the Washington State Beekeepers Association. Veterans interested in pursuing further beekeeping certifications are invited to attend our "Apprentice Beekeeper" certification program. This is the next certification requirement for those veterans interested in the 5 years process of becoming a Washington State certified "Master Beekeepers". In addition, GRuB offers a weekly veterans "council group" or "talk circle". These "talk circles" are a military community healing practice where we talk about our experiences. If you are in the military family and struggling to be seen for all that you are carrying then we offer a rally point. We meet weekly (online) to share what needs to be held by our community, hold space for our fellow service members and have each other's back throughout our healing journey. Spaces like these are fundamental in the "holistic" mentoring and support of our community of veteran farmers. At VETC, due to illness and COVID-19, limited programming has occurred on site and no online programming has been completed. We have plans for 2022! See the "What do you plan to do for the next reporting period..." section for more information. The beginning veteran farmers at the Veterans Farm in Orting were connected to online business training through Enterprise for Equity, Cultivating Success and Arm to Farm. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?For outreach for professional development and training oportunities on the three sites, we use a vaiety of methods, such as word of mouth, advertising at the JBLM military base, org and vet specific social media groups, and networking with a wide variety of other veterans service organizations. In terms of disseminating information regarding the six year plan and survey results, we have not completed this work and will be sharing the results in 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?GOAL 1: We plan to continue to provide in-person and online professional development and training at GRuB's Victory Farm, VETC, and the Veteran Farm in Orting. At GRuB, we plan to continue our new beekeeping certification courses for beginning farmer veterans and online workshops. VETC will be hosting the Permaculture Design Course that was postponed and will continue to engage veterans at the VETC farm. The Veterans Farm in Orting will continue to lease land to beginning farmer veterans and all programs will continue to connect farmers to additional resources to help support their launch into successful farming business! GOAL 2: We plan to further develop the region's network of programs serving veteran farmers through virtual and in-person "Farm-Mentor" events focused on increasing synergy and collaboration among regional partners serving farmer veterans. We will cross-promote programming and share farmer veteran mentor/mentee opportunities throughout our partner databases and directories. GOAL 3: We will be compiling survey results from beginning farmer veterans and potential mentors this winter, and reviewing results together with farmers and regional partners at a series of meetings in ealy 2022 to create a six year plan. We are particularly excited about the emergent plans around engaging veterans in beekeeping training, mentoring, and networking, and the synergy among organizations working on this project.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
GOAL 1 TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT In-Person We have engaged 23 beginning farmer veterans with in-person training/professional development: 10 on GRuB's Victory Farm, 3 at Veterans Ecological Trades Collective (VETC), and 10 at the Washington Department of Veteran Affairs (WDVA)'s Veterans Farm at Orting. At GRuB, this included hands-on workshops and work parties where veterans learned basic farming/gardening skills. At VETC, more experienced beginning farmer veterans gained space for hands-on learning and to experiment with different farming methods with the guidance of the veteran farmer who leads this site. They participated in an orientation, grew pumpkins, experimented with in-ground farming techniques and learned animal care, composting, and conservation as a sustainable farming practice. The Permaculture Design Course was postponed due to illness and COVID-19, and will take place in 2022. At the Veterans Farm in Orting, 7 beginning veteran farmers are leasing land and actively farming with the guidance of the experienced veteran farmer who leads this site. In addition, 3 beginning farmers are engaged on this site through Veterans Conservation Corps internships and/or supporting the primary lessors of the land. All participated in farming workshops on cover cropping, cultural competency, and irrigation. In addition, they engaged in veteran specific workshops to support them in successful transition to civilian life and employment. These included Battle Mind to Home mind, LEARN (Suicide prevention), Peer corps training, and motivational interviewing. Online In total, this project hosted approximately 56 beginning veteran farmers online. At GRuB, we offered 29, 1hr, skills-based, garden and farm-centric workshops. These workshops directly support veterans' in moving into farming through education, networking, resource sharing, and community engagement. An average of 11 veterans attended each workshop and several were regular attendees. Workshops covered a variety of topics in beginning farming/gardening; such as planning, planting & weeding. GRuB also offered a "beginning beekeeper" and "apprentice beekeeper" certification program in partnership with the Washington State Beekeepers Association. We have certified 15 military veterans, their family members and service providers as "beginning beekeepers". The purpose of the Beginning Beekeeping Course is to introduce military veterans to the basics of hobbyist and commercial beekeeping before investing time, energy, and money in setting up an apiary. The course results in a "Beginning Beekeeper" certification, and membership in the Washington State Beekeepers Association.Veterans interested in pursuing beekeeping further, can attend our "Apprentice Beekeeper" certification program and continue the 5 year process to become Master Beekeepers. GRuB also offers weekly veterans "talk circles", a military community healing practice where we talk about our experiences. We share what needs to be held by our community. Spaces like these are fundamental in the "holistic" mentoring and support of our community of veteran farmers. At VETC, due to illness and COVID-19, limited programming has occurred on site and no online programming has been completed. See the "What do you plan to do for the next reporting period..." section for more information. The beginning veteran farmers at the Veterans Farm in Orting were connected to online business training through Enterprise for Equity, Cultivating Success and Arm to Farm. NETWORKING/RESOURCES All partnersshare resource opportunities with all of our veteran participants.12 veterans attended a virtual "Resources & vet support org" info session.5 veterans were referred to Enterprise for Equity and enrolled in at least one of their business training programs. One of those veterans is now a farmer, business owner and active leader of their community. GRuB actively engages with and refers veterans to the WDVA for assistance in VA related claim support. We also refer veterans and family members to their wide range of mental health service providers and trainers that they have connected with throughout the state. The veteran farmers at the Veterans Farm in Orting were connected to online business training through Enterprise for Equity, Cultivating Success and Arm to Arm. DEMOGRAPHICS GRuB: Demographic information was not collected in the online gardening/farming workshops, as these low-barrier, no registration required workshops for our beginning veteran farmers and their families. Demographic information was collected for the beekeeping certification courses. These included veterans ages 24-57, 5 male, 6 female, 10 white/caucasion, 1 Asian American, 8 military veterans, and 3 active duty. VETC: All were caucasion, in their 30's and army veterans. Veterans Farm at Orting: 9 veterans and one active duty military member, 2 female and 7 male. Goal 2 DIRECTORY GRuB and the WDVA have been collaborating, networking and developing a list of a network of programs and opportunities serving beginning farmer veterans. These include business and financial education support, agricultural soil training, vegetable health monitoring, animal husbandry, land access resources, business development and other veteran support services, such as suicide prevention and motivational interviewing. We are discovering, developing and defining a wide network of local and regional partners, programs and caregivers to holistically hold veterans and their families.We are shifting our original plan of more in-person and paper handbills/directories due to impacts of COVID-19 and are working to assess the best avenue for simply and effectively sharing these resources with the broader veteran community. So far, this will include convening all partners, mentors and support organizations, in a January meeting, to set priorities for the final content and publishing of the regional online directory.The WA chapter of the Farmer Veteran Coalition has offered us use of their web platform to support this directory. Goal 3 ASSESSING SUPPORT NEEDS GRuB has implemented a "Beginning Beekeeper" course survey to help in assessing the goals, resource and support needs of the new veteran beekeepers in our region. We have had 22 course graduates, (11 veterans) complete our survey. We've also conducted individual and informal listening sessions with farmer veterans.Out at the VETC site, they have made contact with 20+ veterans who are ready to take their upcoming Permaculture Design course and did a survey which gathered 17 responses to assess needs & interests in farming using permaculture design principals. MENTORSHIP PLAN Preliminary work is being done in assessing the mentor/mentee relationship with the Washington State Beekeepers Association, Hives for Hero's (national veteran beekeeping org.) and our certified veteran beekeepers.We are partnering with the Farmer Veteran Coalition to further broaden the scope and scale at which we can support and mentor beginning farmer veterans through combining forces with their Shepherd's project.We are in the midst of planning our next steps in regards to Goal 2. Please see the "Major Changes" section for additional information. 6 YEAR PLAN All of the work up until now and the continued networking will help to continue to generate a buzz around this project which in turn brings in new partners with expanded resources to help support veteran run farm businesses.We are working specifically on planning for a sustainable program supporting beginning farmer veterans interested in beekeeping either as a hobby, business or beneficial addition to their existing farm operation, and believe that the emerging plans around this initiative will strengthen relationships among farmer veterans, and be complementary with a variety of farm businesses.
Publications
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