Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Audience Emphasis - Military Veterans, Active Duty Military, and Their Families We worked with members of all branches of service including, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. From 9/1/2020 to 8/31/2024, we served five cohorts of our Veteran Farmer Reserve (Sept-Dec of 2020; Jan-Dec in 2021, 2022, and 2023); and Jan-Aug 2024. From 9/1/2020 to 8/31/2024, we served five cohorts of our Veteran Farm Fellowship (Sept-Nov of 2020; Mar-Nov of 2021, 2022, and 2023); and Mar-Aug 2024 From 9/1/2020 to 8/31/2024, we served five cohorts of our Veteran Farm Incubator (Sept-Dec of 2020; Jan-Dec of 2021, 2022, and 2023); and Jan-Aug 2024. The number of participants reached is broken down below: Veteran Farmer Reserve: 125 Participants 2020 Cohort: 21 2021 Cohort: 21 2022 Cohort: 23 2023 Cohort: 32 2024 Cohort: 28 Veteran Farm Fellowship: 17 Participants 2020 Cohort: 3 2021 Cohort: 2 2022 Cohort: 4 2023 Cohort: 6 2024 Cohort: 2 Veteran Farm Incubator: 25 Participants 2020 Cohort: 6 2021 Cohort: 7 - 3 New, 4 Returning 2022 Cohort: 8 - 5 New, 3 Returning 2023 Cohort: 10 - 5 New, 5 Returning 2024 Cohort: 11 - 6 New, 5 Returning Technical Assistance, Support and Additional Workshops: We reached an additional 135 veterans and family members through direct programming at Arcadia. We provided Technical Assistance, support, and additional production and business training to 120 graduates of our program. Our partners at VSU hosted a Veteran Farmer Field Day in May, 2022 with 100 attendees. They provided other veteran-focused workshops and programs throughout 2021 and 2022, but have not reported numbers for those programs or billed Arcadia for the purposes of this grant. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 Pandemic affected the delivery of some aspects of the program, but we have been able to achieve most of our project goals and deliverables. As previously reported, Virginia State University was unable to implement their part of the project in year one, and was not fully engaged in the project. They conducted a field day during the second year of the project and hosted some workshops as identified in our work plan, but never provided any supporting information or billed for the work performed. We consulted with NIFA staff and removed them as an active partner and reallocated their funds to the other project collaborators and received a 1 year no-cost extension to the grant. This change decreased our reach with Veterans in agriculture that are not already directly engaged in our program. We had seen some impact of Covid on program participation, but applications to the program returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and have remained steady. That said, recruitment for our 2022 Fellowship was weak, and we were unable to hire any full-time Farm Fellows. We cobbled together a group of four part-time Fellows, but modified the program in 2023 to accommodate more part-time and partial-season Fellowships. This had the added benefit of better accommodating Skill Bridge and Career Skill Program participants from the DOD. We have made some modifications to the delivery of the Business Training components of our program. We had been conducting 10 separate online sessions throughout the year, but our instructors and students both requested that we change the format and we've changed the format to two in-person weekends during the year, with educational videos and homework assignments that students complete between the two in-person sessions. This format has been well received, and has allowed us to create more opportunities to connect program alumni with current program participants because the alumni often return for business support suring those weekends. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Technical Assistance and Support for Working Veteran Farmers We offered a series of workshops on Arcadia Farm in from 2020 through 2024 to support graduates of our program and other veterans in Agriculture. We conducted 4 Orchard trainings covering orchard planning, planting and establishment, and maintenance. 6 workshops on soil fertility and fertigation. Three workshops on Composting. Three workshops on food safety. We opened our tractor training workshops to past graduates and veterans who have not participated in our program. We offered three Chainsaw Safety and Operation Workshops. Poppy Davis, Winona Doris, and Shane LaBrake provided Business and Equipment technical assistance through scheduled consultations to graduates of our program. Our staff provided ongoing advice and consultation to program graduates including land assessment, marketing and business support (important during the pandemic), production support, ongoing mentorship, and networking assistance. We supported several Incubator Farmers and Graduates as they applied for FSA Loans and various NRCD and FSA programs. Summary of Training and Support: Reserve Program Training Weekends: 48 weekends, 96 days We conducted 47 Farm Field Trips Beekeeping Training for Fellows: 22 sessions Tractor Training Weekend Workshops: 12 weekend workshops Land Access Training: 4 workshops, consisting of a total of 13 sessions. Attendance to Future Harvest CASA Conference: 26 attendees Additional In-person training at Arcadia Farm: 21 classes/workshops Additional Online Training: 9 training sessions Incubator Farm Support: 500 Hours Additional Technical Assistance and Support: 200 Hours In addition to the identified Training Weekends and Workshops, we employed, and provided training to Farm Fellows for over 13,000 hours. This is significant, and is not easily identified in most reporting systems. In addition to the training offered by Arcadia, we supported outside training for participants in the program. We have paid for participants in the program to attend over 18 different conferences, workshops, and trainings. We continue to share information, resources, and opportunities with graduates of our program to support their farming efforts. We hired a graduate of our 2021 program, Sam Stern, a Navy Veteran, as Farm Co-Manager from 2022 through 2023 until he left after purchasing his own farm. We have hired Ephesia Sutton, an Army Veteran who was a Farm Fellow in 2024, to be Assistant Farm Manager starting in 2025. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared information from the program with our project partners and our network. We have shared the recordings and materials from our program with this network as well. We have participated in annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Conferences from 2021 through 2023. In 2023, we hosted a field trip to our Farm to share the program with the participants of the conference. At the FVC and other farming conferences, we have shared information about the program in panel discussions and presentations. We have also shared information with other organizations who provide veteran-focused, land-based beginner farmer training. We have worked with other nonprofits and individuals who are considering starting their own programs and have networked with other Ag Vets grantees to share information about our program and to introduce possible participants. Tiffany Drape, our Evaluation Consultant, has presented findings from our program in aggregation with other training programs she has evaluated. Matt Mulder, Project Director participated on a steering committee on a federally funded project to develop online modules for food safety training. The program has also been featured on local and national television and has been reported in numerous print publications. The farm has been visited by members of the House Agriculture Committee, The Agriculture Secretary in Virginia, and multiple USDA and DOD staff. In 2024, in partnership with the American Farmland Trust, we created a video about veterans in agriculture that looked at current participants of our programs and a few graduates. This video is available on our Youtube channels and our website and has been shared by AFT. We continue to work with other organizations to organize broader Veteran-Focused programming in the Washington, DC Area. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Each Grant year of this program spans two training cohorts of the Veteran Farmer Reserve, Veteran Farm Fellowship, and Veteran Farm Incubator. During this grant period, we worked with five cohorts of the program, including the last 4 months of the 2020 cohort, the full years of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 cohorts, and the first 8 months of the 2024 cohort. 2020-2024 Veteran Farmer Program Veteran Farmer Reserve: We worked with 160 Veterans, Active Duty Military, and their immediate family members from all branches of service in our three main training tracks while providing ongoing support and technical assistance to graduates of the programs and other veterans in agriculture. During the grant, we had 125 Participants in the Veteran Farmer Reserve who completed the majority of the program. We generally start the year with 10-20% more participants than are recorded in the program, as many sign up for the program, but do not ultimately attend the program, or do so for part of the year. We have an additional 70+ of these individuals who we continue to communicate with through our mailing lists and program offerings. We discovered toward the end of the 2022 training year that several people only participated asynchronously in the program. They would watch recordings of training sessions and farm visit videos and access handouts and materials, but did not interact directly with our staff or trainers. We realized this after two different individuals thanked us for the information and training during the year. We have been working to support this type of participation while recognizing the challenges with accurately identifying those participants. Each cohort participated in 12 monthly training weekends with a mix of online and in-person training, farm field trips, and supplemental readings, videos, and on-farm online workshops. All participants received business training with Poppy Davis and Winona Doris consisting of a 10 part course with in-person and online sessions and supplemental videos and homework. Participants completed the Business Health/Business Readiness Assessment tool and developed business and professional development plans that they shared with the other participants in the program at the end of the training year. All participants were provided with Tractor Training with Shane Labrake, and an optional chainsaw workshop was available to participants on a first-come, first-serve basis dues to only having 10 spots available each session for safety and training efficiency. Each Cohort received Land Access Training with the American Farmland Trust during the training year. The Reservists provided feedback on the Reserve Program during the December training weekend of each cohort and complete evaluations throughout the year. Program feedback has been very positive. Participants have reported an increase in farming knowledge and that the program improved their ability to pursue their plans to farm. Over 40% Reserve Program participants have started to farm within 3 years of completing the program, while another 30% continue to pursue their farm plans while looking for land or continuing training. Several Reserve Program graduates have become Farm Fellows, and we hired one member of the of the 2021 as co-manager of our Farm from 2022-2023 before he moved on to buy his own farm. We have worked with participants from over 23 states and our graduates are farming in 20 states and territories and three countries outside the US. Veteran Farm Fellowship: We worked with 17 Veteran Farm Fellows through full- and part-time positions on our farm teams throughout the grant period. We also worked with five Skill Bridge and Career Skills Program (CSP) participants who worked with Arcadia for 3-6 months but were paid by the Department of Defense as part of their transition out of service. 6 Fellows utilized VA OTJ GI Bill funding to received additional pay while working for Arcadia. We adapted the program to accommodate part-season apprenticeships, which also made the Skill Bridge and CSP programs possible. A number of Farm Fellows have started Incubator Farms, and we recently hired a 2024 Fellow as Assistant Farm Manager starting in 2025. Veteran Farm Incubator: We hosted 25 Incubator Farmers during the grant period representing 17 farm businesses including produce, flowers, seeds, ornamentals, bees, and educational programming. The Incubator Farmers receive additional mentorship, training, and marketing support from Arcadia while they participate in the program. A number of program participants have formed partnerships on the Incubator Farm, which helps with balancing ongoing careers and personal demands with the transition to farming. One Farm Fellow has formed a Farm Cooperative that is gathering food from farmers across the DMV and distributing to communities in need. Five Incubator Farmers from this grant period have purchased their own farms, while several still search for their own land. We have found that our program has been successful at helping to launch and support veterans as they enter new careers in agriculture and launch their own farms. As land in the Greater DC area is expensive, a number of participants have started to farm in other parts of the country and in other countries. We continue to adapt our program to meet a wider audience and continue to explore opportunities to suppor the replication of our model.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Audience Emphasis - Military Veterans, Active Duty Military, and Their Families From 9/1/2022to 8/31/2023, we served two cohorts of our Veteran Farmer Reserve - Sept-Dec of 2022 and Jan-Aug 2023 From 9/1/2022to 8/31/2023, we served two cohorts of our Veteran Farm Fellowship - Sept-Nov of 2022 and Mar-Aug 2023 From 9/1/2022to 8/31/2023, we served two cohortsof our Veteran Farm Incubator Sept-Dec of 2022and Jan-Aug 2023. The number of participants reached is broken down below: Veteran Farmer Reserve: 55 Participants 2022 Cohort: 23 2023 Cohort: 32 Veteran Farm Fellowship: 10Participants 2022 Cohort: 4 2023 Cohort: 6 Veteran Farm Incubator: 13Participants 2022 Cohort: 8 - 5 New, 3 Returning 2023 Cohort: 10 - 5 New, 5 Returning Technical Assistance, Support and Additional Workshops: We reached an additional 35veterans and family members through direct programming at Arcadia. We provided Technical Assistance, support, and additional production and business training to 28graduates of our program. Changes/Problems:Both of our Farm Co-Managers notified us during the season that they would be leaving at the end of the season as they each had purchased their own farms and wanted to start their own farm businesses outside of the DCarea. One of these Farmers, Sam Stern, was a graduate of our program, so while this is a challenge to the program, it is a success as well. Arcadia will hire new Farm Managers for the 2024 season to help lead the program. We will also rely on past farmers who have worked with our team as consultants to support the new program. We have received a USDA UAIP grant to build a Community Farm space adjacent to our production and incubator farms. This will ehlp to bring electricity onto our farm site, but will also provide opportunities to support Veterans entering farming on smaller plots. We expect to launch the Community Farm in 2024, and will offer 4x8 ad 4x16 foot raised beds for their use. We've made some minor tweaks to the program as mentioned earlier, but aside from the no-cost extension and the removal of VSU and re-allocation of their funds, we do not have any other major changes to the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We offered a number of workshops on Arcadia Farm in 2022 and 2023 to support graduates of our program and other veterans in Agriculture. We conducted 1 Orchard training covering orchard planning, planting and establishment, and maintenance. 4 workshops on soil fertility and fertigation. One workshop on Composting. A workshop on food safety. In June 2023, we opened the Tractor Training weekends to past graduates and veterans who have not participated in our program. Poppy Davis, Winona Doris, and Shane LaBrake continued to provide Business and Equipment technical assistance through consultations to graduates of our program. Our staff provided ongoing advice and consultation to program graduates including land assessment, marketing and business support, production support, ongoing mentorship, and networking assistance. Summary of Training and Support: Reserve Program Training Weekends: 12 weekends, 24 days Beekeeping Training for Fellows: 10 sessions Attendance to Future Harvest CASA Conference in 2022: 9 attendees Additional In-person training at Arcadia Farm: 5 classes/workshops Additional Online Training: 4 training sessions Incubator Farm Support: 130 Hours Additional Technical Assistance and Support: 56 Hours In addition to the identified Training Weekends and Workshops, we employed, and provided training to Farm Fellows for over 3,700 hours. This is significant, and is not easily identified in most reporting systems. In addition to the training offered by Arcadia, we supported outside training for participants in the program, including sending program participants to workshops, conferences, and externship opportunities with local farmers. Additional Online Training: 9 training sessions Incubator Farm Support: 500 Hours Additional Technical Assistance and Support: 200 Hours In addition to the identified Training Weekends and Workshops, we employed, and provided training to Farm Fellows for over 13,000 hours. This is significant, and is not easily identified in most reporting systems. In addition to the training offered by Arcadia, we supported outside training for participants in the program. We have paid for participants in the program to attend over 18 different conferences, workshops, and trainings. We continue to share information, resources, and opportunities with graduates of our program to support their farming efforts. We hired a graduate of our 2021 program, Sam Stern, a Navy Veteran, as Farm Co-Manager from 2022 through 2023 until he left after purchasing his own farm. We have hired Ephesia Sutton, an Army Veteran who was a Farm Fellow in 2024, to be Assistant Farm Manager starting in 2025. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared information from the program with our project partners and our network. We have shared the recordings and materials from our program with this network as well. We participated in the annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference in 2023, which was held in the DC area. This allowed us to host a field trip to our Farm to share the program with the participants of the conference. The program was well received and opened a number of doors for discussion about collaboration. We sat on a panel at the FVC conferences and participated in a number of other conferences where we discussed the program and shared our successes and challenges. We have also shared information with other organizations who provide veteran-focused, land-based beginner farmer training. We have worked with other nonprofits and individuals who are considering starting their own programs and have networked with other Ag Vets grantees to share information about our program and to introduce possible participants. Tiffany Drape, our Evaluation Consultant, has presented findings from our program in aggregation with other training programs she has evaluated. Matt Mulder, Project Director participated on a steering committee on a federally funded project to develop online modules for food safety training. The program has also been featured on local and national television and has been reported in numerous print publications. We continue to work with other organizations to organize broader Veteran-Focused programming in the Washington, DC Area. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work with the project partners to provide the project programming. We are working to expand recruitment for the program and continuing to pursue additional support for the program and to build the network of program graduates and participants. We adjusted the recruiting and schedule of the Farm Fellowship for 2023 and plan to continue that for 2024. We are modiying our Business training to better serve our participants and will investigate offering additional follow-up business training to program graduates who are looking to revisit these topics now that they are farming. We will continue to offer a hybrid delivery model for the program, as we have found some benefit to offering the program on Zoom to participants who are not local, and the benefits of recording the program are great. We will continue to offer in-person programming as well for farm visits and hands-on training. We continue to explore the possibility of offering various models of the Reserve and Fellowship programs. We believe there may be some interest in a fully virtual Reserve-style program, and are exploring what that may look like. We will continue to offer part-season Fellowship opportunities as well as more part-time opportunities. We are finding that the pool of candidates for a full-time, full-season Fellowship are relatively small, and many people with that much time available would rather join the Incubator Farm. We plan to continue to offer the full range of programming in 2024 as we reach the end of the grant with the 1 year no-cost extension.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The third year of thisprojectspans two training cohorts (2022& 2023) of the Veteran Farmer Reserve, Veteran Farm Fellowship, and Veteran Farm Incubator. This report will include information pertaining to the last third (4 months) of the 2022 Cohorts and the First 2 thirds (8 months) of 2023. Veteran Farmer Reserve: We worked with 78 Veterans, Active Duty Military, and their immediate family members from all branches of service in our three main training tracks while providing ongoing support and technical assistance to graduates of the programs and other veterans in agriculture. In 2022-2023, we had 55 Participants in the Veteran Farmer Reserve. The reservists participated in 12 monthly training weekends with a mix of online and in-person training, farm field trips, and supplemental readings, videos, and on-farm online workshops. All participants received business training with Poppy Davis and Winona Doris consisting of a 10 part course with in-person and online sessions and supplemental videos and homework. Participants completed the Business Health/Business Readiness Assessment tool and developed business and professional development plans that they shared with the other participants in the program at the end of the training year. All participants had access to Tractor Training with Shane Labrake. The group was divided over two two weekends in June so that each participant had more one-on-one training time. We offered an optional chainsaw workshop for 9 participants in the fall of 2022. The American Farmland Trust offered a 3-session Land Access Training Program, with two online sessions and a day of in-person training. Veteran Farm Fellowship: We worked with 10 Veteran Farm Fellows through full- and part-time positions on our farm teams throughout year three of the grant. We also worked with 3 Skill Bridge and Career Skills Program (CSP) participants who worked with Arcadia for 3-6 months but were paid by the Department of Defense as part of their transition out of service. We adapted the program to accommodate part-season apprenticeships, which also made the Skill Bridge and CSP programs possible. Veteran Farm Incubator: We worked with 13 Incubator Farmers during the third year of the grant representing 9 farm businesses. These businesses included produce, flowers, seeds, ornamentals, bees, and educational programming. The Incubator Farmers receive additional mentorship, training, and marketing support from Arcadia staff and graduates. One Farm Fellow was able to certify his plot as Certified Naturally Grown. He has brought several younger farmers in as his apprentices and is working to form a cooperative with other farmers of color in the DC area. We collected feedback and conducted evaluation of the programs throughout the year and with alumni of the program. 40-50% of program graduates start farming within a few years of completing the program, while 65-75% are either farming or continuing to pursue their farm plans. We find that the biggest barrier is access to land with general finances being the second barrier. We continue to help participants find ways to slowly work into farming, and have had some success with participants participating in the incubator farm or starting with ssmall-scale operations at their homes.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Audience Emphasis - Military Veterans From 9/1/2021to 8/30/2022, we served two cohorts of our Veteran Farmer Reserve(Sept-Dec of 2021; Jan-Aug of 2022), 2 Cohorts of our Veteran Farm Fellowship (Sept-Nov of 2021; Mar-Aug of 2022), and 2 seasons of our Veteran Farm Incubator (Sept-Dec of 2021; Jan-Aug of 2022). The number of participants reached is broken down below: Veteran Farmer Reserve: 2021Cohort: 21 2023Cohort: 23 Veteran Farm Fellowship: 2021Cohort: 2 2022Cohort: 4 Veteran Farm Incubator: 2020 Cohort: 7 2021 Cohort: 8 Technical Assistance, Support and Additional Workshops: We reached an additional 23 veterans and family members through direct programming at Arcadia. We provided Technical Assistance, support, and additional production and business training to the 100+ graduates of our program. Our partners at VSU hosted a Veteran Farmer Field Day in May, 2022 with around 100 attendees. They provided other veteran-focused workshops and programs throughout 2021 and 2022, but have not reported numbers for those programs or billed Arcadia for the purposes of this grant. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 Pandemic affected the delivery of some aspects of the program, but we have been able to achieve most of our project goals and deliverables. The number of veterans we can serve who are not graduates of our program is down somewhat due the challenges associated with planning for, and scheduling, in-person workshops. Virginia State University was unable to implement their part of the project in year one and has not been able to get fully engaged since then. We have removed them as an active partner and hope to reallocate their funds to our exisitng project collaborators to implement during an additional 12 months of the project after receiving a no-cost extension of the grant. We had seen some impact of Covid on program participation, but applications for the 2023 program were starting to rise to pre-pandemic levels. That said, recruitment for our 2022 Fellowship was weak, and we were unable to hire any full-time Farm Fellows. We cobbled together a group of four part-time Fellows, but hopw to raise that number by modifying the program to be more accomodating to participants' schedules. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Technical Assistance and Support for Working Veteran Farmers We offered a number of workshops on Arcadia Farm in 2021and 2022to support graduates of our program and other veterans in Agriculture. We conducted 2Orchard trainings covering orchard planning, planting and establishment, and maintenance. 2 workshops on soil fertility and fertigation. One workshop on Composting. Aworkshop on food safety.In June 2022, we opened our Tractor Training weekends to past graduates and veterans who have not participated in our program. Poppy Davis and Shane LaBrake provided Business and Equipment technical assistance through scheduled consultations to graduates of our program. Our staff provided ongoing advice and consultation to program graduates including land assessment, marketing and business support (important during the pandemic), production support, ongoing mentorship, and networking assistance. Summary of Traiing and Support: Reserve Program Training Weekends: 12 weekends, 24 days Beekeeping Training for Fellows: 12 sessions Attendance to Future Harvest CASA Conference in 2022: 8attendees Additional In-person training at Arcadia Farm: 6classes/workshops Additional Online Training: 3training sessions Incubator Farm Support: 120Hours Additional Technical Assistance and Support: 55Hours In addition to the identified Training Weekends and Workshops, we employed, and provided training to Farm Fellows for over 1,500 hours. This is significant, and is not easily identified in most reporting systems. In addition to the training offered by Arcadia, we supported outside training for participants in the program. We also hired a graduate of our 2021 program as Farm Co-Manager to help lead our program. Sam Stern is a Navy Veteran and has put a great deal of thought helping us shape the program to continue to serve our audience. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared information from the program with our project partners and our network. We have shared the recordings and materials from our program with this network as well. We participate in the annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference. In Fall 2021, our Farm Managers attended the conference in person and participated in a panel discussion about veteran-focused, land-based beginner farmer training. Matt Mulder and Sam Stern attended the November FVC Conference in November 2022. We have worked with other nonprofits and individuals who are considering starting their own programs and have networked with other Ag Vets grantees to share information about our program and to introduce possible participants. Tiffany Drape, our Evaluation Consultant, has comepleted an eveluation of our 2022 cohort that we can share with others hoping to replicate or learn from our program. .Matt Mulder, Project Director participated on a steering committee on a federally funded project to develop online modules for food safety training. The program has also been featured on local and national television and has been reported in numerous print publications. In 2021-2022, the farm was visited by members of the House Agriculture Committee, The Agriculture Secretary in Virginia, and multiple USDA and DOD staff. We have been asked to host a field trip to out farm for the 2023 Farmer Veteran Coalition conference in washington, DC. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work with the project partners to provide the project programming. We are working to expand recruitment for the program and continuing to pursue additional support for the program and to build the network of program graduates and participants. We adjusted the recruiting and schedule of the Farm Fellowship for 2023 and have received more interest in the positions that are available. We are modiying our Business training to better serve our participants and will investigate offering additional follow-up business training to program graduates who are looking to revisit these topics now that they are farming. We will continue to offer a hybrid delivery model for the program, as we have found some benefit to offering the program on Zoom to participants who are not local, and the benefits of recording the program are great. We will continue to offer in-person programming as well for farm visits and hands-on training, but are limiting classroom training to online offerings. We continue toexplorethe possibility of offering various models of the Reserve and Fellowship programs. We believe there may be some interest in a fully virtual Reserve-style program, and are exploring what that may look like. We are also considering offering shorter Fellowship opportunities as well as more part-time opportunities. We are finding that the pool of candidates for a full-time, full-season Fellowship are relatively small, and many people with that much time available would rather join the Incubator Farm. We plan to request a no-cost extension to fully spend the grant funds on the project. We are working with NCAT Armed to Farm to plan a Veteran focused conference in the Washington, DC area in 2024. And will bring a large number of our program participants and graduates to the Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference in November 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The first year of this project period spans two training cohorts (2021 & 2022) of the Veteran Farmer Reserve, Veteran Farm Fellowship, and Veteran Farm Incubator. This report will include information pertaining to the last third (4 months) of the 2021 Cohorts and the First 2 thirds (8 months) of 2022. 2021 and 2022 Veteran Farmer Program Reserve Program The 2021 Class of the Veteran Farmer Reserve consisted of 21 participants (plus the two Farm Fellows) representing all 4 branches of the military. The 2022 Class of the Veteran Farmer Reserve consisted of 23 participants representing all 4 branches of the military. Both cohorts participated in a hybrid training model with Zoom online training mixed with in-person, outdoor sessions. Both Reserve cohorts participated in the full business training program with Business Trainers Poppy Davis and Winona Doris with 10 training modules/sessions offered through the year culminating with a final session in November focused on completing the Business Health/Business Readiness Assessment tool and discussing the next steps for individual learning and development. Each year of the Reserve program consisted of 12 training weekends, including farm visits, business and marketing training, production training, Tractor and Equipment training, and training with the American Farmland Trust for land access, acquisition, and tenure. The participants finished the year by presenting their business or educational plans at the final session in December. The Reservists provided feedback on the Reserve Program during the December training weekend. Program feedback was positive. All reported an increase in farming knowledge and that the program improved their ability to pursue their plans to farm. 60% of the Reserve program participants have started to farm, while the remaining 40% continue to plan for their futures in agriculture. One graduate from 2021 became a Farm Fellow in 2022. We hired another member of the 2021 class to become a co-manager of our Farm in 2022. Farm Fellowship We had 6 participants in the Veteran Farm Fellowship: 2 in 2021 and 4 in 2022. All 4 in 2022 were part-time, and we had some challenges filling the positions. The 2021 Farm Fellows both completed their training in November. They were mentored by Arcadia's two Farmer Co-Managers. Both of the Fellows started the program working full-time but reduced their hours to part-time in the fall. One Fellow started to work part-time on his own farm venture, while the other needed to adjust due to pandemic-related family needs. Both are currently farming. One on an incubator plot at Arcadia and the other in an independent farm business partnership. The Fellows were trained in beekeeping from a Veteran who is an experienced beekeeper and Incubator Farmer. In 2022, we had challenges filling the Fellowship. Several applicants were accepted and withdrew before the season started. We hired 4 different veterans and family members as part-time Farm Fellows, and are planning to add more flexibility to the program schedule for Fellows in 2023. Veteran Farm Incubator We had 7 Incubator Farmers in 2021 and 8 in 2022. Three participants were in both years, which means we worked with 12 unique farmers in the program. 11 were graduates of the Veteran Farmer Program and one is an Air Force veteran who moved to the area. Several of the Incubator farmers formed partnerships, so the Incubator Farm included 9 different businesses in 2021-2022. The incubator farmers were mentored by our farm staff and team and received business technical assistance from Poppy Davis. We also provided additional training opportunities through the Reserve Program and onsite training opportunities in orchard management, composting, food safety, beekeeping, and various production topics including holistic management, foliar feeding, and soil science. American Farmland Trust The American Farmland Trust worked with Arcadia to provide Land Access Training and to research the best tools available for the veteran community for land acquisition support from the Federal Government. AFT conducted research during year 1 of the grant to identify the best opportunities for loan programs to support the purchase of a farm property Veterans. They developed a 4 page guide that they shared with the Veteran Farmer Program in October 2021, and continue to refine it to make it available to other Veterans who are determining their approach to seeking loans. AFT also provided 3 training to the current participants and graduates of the Veteran Farmer Program around Land Access, Acquisition, Assessment, and Tenure. The first session was an online evening workshop attended by 16 current and past VFP participants. The second session was a hybrid training weekend with one day of virtual training (24 attendees) and a second day of in-person training (12 attendees) on our farm. The third session was conducted as part of our October Reserve training weekend and included a short module about Land Access, a presentation of the loan research, and presentations and discussion with FSA staff, Farm Credit, and AFT (18 participants). All of the sessions were recorded and shared with our larger mailing list and continue to be available to watch online. Evaluation tools have indicated that the program content was well received and valuable. Another set of trainings was offered in 2022, but occurred after the end of Year 2 of the grant. Virginia State University hosted a Veteran Farmer Field Day in May, 2022 with around 100 attendees. They provided other veteran-focused workshops and programs throughout 2021 and 2022. However, they have not submitted any reporting and only one small bill to Arcadia as part of this grant, so we are unable to continue the partnership as described in our project.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Audience Emphasis -Military Veterans From 9/1/2020 to 8/30/2021, we served two cohorts of our Veteran Farmer Reserve(Sept-Dec of 2020; Jan-Aug of 2021), 2 Cohorts of our Veteran Farm Fellowship (Sept-Nov of 2020; Mar-Aug of 2021), and 2 seasons of our Veteran Farm Incubator (Sept-Dec of 2020; Jan-Aug of 2021). The number of participants reached is broken down below: Veteran Farmer Reserve: 2020 Cohort: 21 2021 Cohort: 21 Veteran Farm Fellowship: 2020 Cohort: 3 2021 Cohort: 2 Veteran Farm Incubator: 2020 Cohort: 6 2021 Cohort: 7 Technical Assistance, Supportand Additional Workshops:We've provided Technical Assitance and Support to over 100 other Veterans who are graduates of our program or are veterans in agriculture who have connected with ous directly. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected some delivery o f services, but in general, we have been able to achieve most of our project goals and deliverables. The number of veterans who are not graduates of our program is down somewhat due the challenges associated with planning for, and scheduling, in-person workshops. We have been trying to organize an alumni reunion gathering with graduates of our program and current participants so that we can continue to build a network of support and mentorship for veterans in agriculture. However, we have not been able to schedule this gathering due to pandemic concerns and bring everyone together for a weekend. We are currently planning to offer this program in Spring/Summer 2023. The pandemic also prevented us from offering the full in-person session that we had planned for the AFT Land Access training weekend. Some AFT staff travelled to Alexandria VA for the program, however, Covid numbers were rising and we were uncomfortable gathering everyone in the conference room we had reserved for the first day of the weekend. We decided to offer the first day as a virtual session, and had a good turnout. The in-person session offered on day 2, despite being outdoors, only drew half the number of attendees as the first day. We are planning to offer another in-person session October 2022, and know that some participants may not attend, but we will record the sessions to share with anyone who cannot attend in-person. We are seeing some impact of Covid on program participation. While participation has been pretty consistent, we have seen some reduction in applications for the Reserve and Fellowship program when compared to pre-pandemic years. The Fellowship has been the most impacted, and we are working to determine some alternative models for delivery as well as expanding on our recruitment strategies. The biggest challenge has been faced by our partners at Virginia State University. Due to a reduction in programming because of Covid, and some staff turnover in the management and contracts division, VSU did not initially allocate the staff positions that had been committed for this project and did not offer the full range of veteran-focused programming that had been proposed. We have since corrected the issue, but VSU did not provide billable services for this grant for the first 15 months of the grant. We have been in communication with them to address this issue, and are working to determine an updated scope of work, but it appears that they will not be able to bill for the full amount of the grant or offer the full number of proposed workshops/programs. We expect to reach out to NIFA staff to discuss any necessary changes to the budget and program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Technical Assistance and Support for Working Veteran Farmers We offered a number of workshops on Arcadia Farm in 2020 and 2021 to support graduates of our program and other veterans in Agriculture. We conducted 3 Orchard workshops covering orchard planning, planting and establishment, and maintenance. 2 workshops on soil fertility and fertigation. One workshop on Composting. And a workshop on food safety. In June 2021, we opened our Tractor Training weekends to past graduates and veterans who have not participated in our program. This was important since we were unable to offer the program in 2020. We provided Poppy Davis and Shane LaBrake provided Business and Equipment technical assistance through scheduled consultations to graduates of our program. Our staff provided ongoing advice and consultation to program graduates including land assessment, marketing and business support (important during the pandemic), production support, ongoing mentorship, and networking assistance. Due to unforeseen issues, Virginia State University offered a reduced number of workshops for Veterans in 2020-2021, and those that were offered were not directly supported by this grant as they did not bill the grant for any of their work. We continue to work with VSU to plan for the remainder of the grant period and ensure that they are fulfilling the proposed aspects of the grant. Summary of Traiing and Support: Reserve Program Training Weekends: 12 weekends, 24 days Beekeeping Training for Fellows: 12 sessions Attendance to Future Harvest CASA Conference in 2021: 10 attendees Additional In-person training at Arcadia Farm: 8 classes/workshops Additional Online Training: 4 training sessions Incubator Farm Support: 110 Hours Additional Technical Assistance and Support: 60 Hours In addition to the identified Training Weekends and Workshops, we employed, and provided training to Farm Fellows for over 3,500 hours. This is significant, and is not easily identified in most reporting systems. In addition to the training offered by Arcadia, we supported outside training for participants in the program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared information from the program with our project partners and our network. We have shared the recordings and materials from our program with this network as well. We participate in the annual Farmer Veteran Coalition Conference. In 2020, the program was virtual, but in 2021, our Farm Manager attended the conference in person and participated in a panel discussion about veteran-focused, land-based beginner farmer training. We have worked with other nonprofits and individuals who are considering starting their own programs and have networked with other Ag Vets grantees to share information about our program and to introduce possible participants. In 2021, Tiffany Drape, our Evaluation Consultant, presented the findings of her evaluation work with our program since 2017 at the National Evaluation Association Conference. Matt Mulder, Project Director participated on a steering committee on a federally funded project to develop online modules for food safety training. The program has also been featured on local and national television and has been reported in numerous print publications. In 2020-2021, the farm was visited by members of the House Agriculture Committee, The Governor of Virginia, and USDA Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work with the project partners to provide the project programming. We are working to expand recruitment for the program and continuing to pursue additional support for the program and to build the network of program graduates and participants. We are working with VSU to determine a plan to deliver the training programs a proposed with the grant but may need to modify the grant budget and deliverables if we are unable to increase to the extent necessary to meet the proposed goals. We are in discussion to provide a field day at their farm to the larger veteran community with the hope of bringing together a large group. We will continue to offer a hybrid delivery model for the program, as we have found some benefit to offering the program on Zoom to participants who are not local, and the benefits of recording the program are great. We will continue to offer in-person programming as well for farm visits and hands-on training, but are limiting classroom training to online offerings. We are exploring the possibility of offering various models of the Reserve and Fellowship programs. We believe there may be some interest in a fully virtual Reserve-style program, and are exploring what that may look like. We are also considering offering shorter Fellowship opportunities as well as more part-time opportunities. We are finding that the pool of candidates for a full-time, full-season Fellowship are relatively small, and many people with that much time available would rather join the Incubator Farm.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The first year of this project period spans two training cohorts (2020 & 2021) of the Veteran Farmer Reserve, Veteran Farm Fellowship, and Veteran Farm Incubator. This report will include information pertaining to the last third (4 months) of the 2020 Cohorts and the First 2 thirds (8 months) of 2021. 2020 Veteran Farmer Program Reserve Program The 2020 Class of the Veteran Farmer Reserve consisted of 21 participants representing all 4 branches of the military, with 14 veterans, 3 active duty, and 5 military spouses. The 2020 cohort started with in-person training early in the year, but switched to fully virtual programming in March due to the Covid Pandemic. We returned to a mix of in-person, outdoor programming in August with online classroom training via Zoom. The 2020 Reserve participated in the full business training program with Business Trainer Poppy Davis with 10 Zoom training modules offered through the year culminating with a final session in October focused on completing the Business Health/Business Readiness Assessment tool and discussing the next steps for individual learning and development. In the Fall of 2020, the Reservists participated 4 training weekends, including 9 farm visits, business and marketing, production training, an orchard planting, and ended with the participants presenting their business and/or educational plans at the final session in December. The Reservists also provided feedback on the Reserve Program. Program feedback was very positive, with all participants reporting an increase in farming knowledge and an increased comfort in moving forward with their farming careers. Of the 21 participants, 13 are now farming, while the other 8 continue to plan for their new farm businesses. Of those 8, 3 are developing plans for property they own, 2 are actively looking for a property, and 3 are focused on continuing their agriculture education. 2020 Farm Fellowship We had three Farm Fellows in 2020, and all three completed their year of training in December 2020. They were mentored by Arcadia's two Farmer Co-Managers. It was a challenging year with the pandemic, but the Fellows excelled and really appreciated the program. Two of the Fellows transitioned to the Incubator Program in 2021, while the other moved out of the area and found work with an agricultural technology business. 2020 Veteran Farm Incubator Six graduates of the Veteran Farmer Program participated in the Veteran Farm Incubator in 2020. Each of the Incubator Farmers operated their own business. Four of the businesses focused on fruits and vegetables, one was bees and hops, and the other combined a cut-flower and vegetable operation with agritourism to provide small-scale outdoor experiences during the pandemic. The incubator farmers were mentored by our farm staff and team, and received business technical assistance from Poppy Davis. We also provided additional training opportunities through the Reserve Program and onsite training opportunities in composting, food safety, beekeeping, orchard establishment, and various production topics. 2021 Veteran Farmer Program Reserve Program The 2021 Class of the Veteran Farmer Reserve consisted of 21 participants (plus the two Farm Fellows) representing all 4 branches of the military, with 16 veterans, 2 active duty, and 3 military spouses. The 2021 cohort participated in a hybrid training model with Zoom online training mixed with in-person, outdoor sessions. The 2021 Reserve participated in the full business training program with Business Trainers Poppy Davis and Winona Doris with 10 training modules/sessions offered through the year culminating with a final session in November focused on completing the Business Health/Business Readiness Assessment tool and discussing the next steps for individual learning and development. The Reservists participated 12 training weekends, including 13 farm visits, business and marketing training, production training, Tractor and Equipment training, and training with the American Farmland Trust for land access, acquisition, and tenure. The participants finished with year by presenting their business or educational plans at the final session in December. The Reservists provided feedback on the Reserve Program during the December training weekend. Program feedback was positive. All reported an increase in farming knowledge and that the program improved their ability to pursue their plans to farm. Of the 21 participants, 14 are now farming, while the other 7 continue to plan for their new farm businesses. Of those 7, 1 is developing plans for a property he owns, 2 are actively looking for a property, and 4 are continuing their agriculture education. Farm Fellowship We had two Farm Fellows in 2021, both completed their training in November. They were mentored by Arcadia's two Farmer Co-Managers. Both of the Fellows started the program working full-time but reduced their hours to part-time in the Fall. One Fellow started to work part-time on his own farm venture, while the other needed to adjust due to pandemic-related family needs. Both are currently farming. One on an incubator plot at Arcadia and the other in an independent farm business partnership. The Fellows were trained in beekeeping from a Veteran who is an experienced beekeeper and Incubator Farmer. Veteran Farm Incubator We had seven Incubator Farmers in 2021 (4 returning, 3 new). Six were graduates of the Veteran Farmer Program and one is an Air Force veteran who moved to the area. Each of the Incubator Farmers operated their own enterprise. Four of the businesses focused on fruits and vegetables, two were bee operations, and the other was cut-flowers and vegetables. The incubator farmers were mentored by our farm staff and team and received business technical assistance from Poppy Davis. We also provided additional training opportunities through the Reserve Program and onsite training opportunities in orchard management, composting, food safety, beekeeping, and various production topics including holistic management, foliar feeding, and soil science. American Farmland Trust The American Farmland Trust worked with Arcadia staff during the first year of the program to plan for direct Land Access Training and to research the best tools available for the veteran community for land acquisition support from the Federal Government. AFT conducted research during the year with FSA, the VA, and other agricultural support groups to identify the best opportunities for loan programs to support the purchase of a farm property Veterans. They developed a 4 page guide that they shared with the Veteran Farmer Program in October 2021, and continue to refine it to make it available to other Veterans who are determining their approach to seeking loans. AFT also provided 3 training to the current participants and graduates of the Veteran Farmer Program around Land Access, Acquisition, Assessment, and Tenure. The first session was an online evening workshop attended by 16 current and past VFP participants. The second session was a hybrid training weekend with one day of virtual training (24 attendees) and a second day of in-person training (12 attendees) on our farm. The third session was conducted as part of our October Reserve training weekend and included a short module about Land Access, a presentation of the loan research, and presentations and discussion with FSA staff, Farm Credit, and AFT (18 participants). All of the sessions were recorded and shared with our larger mailing list and continue to be available to watch online. Evaluation tools have indicated that the program content was important to the participants and the workshops were well received and helped the participants to make more-informed decisions about land access. We continue to work with AFT to conduct training through the rest of the grant period.
Publications
|
|