Recipient Organization
California State University, Chico
400 West First Street, College of Agriculture MS-0310
Chico,CA 95929
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Over 90% of U.S. farms are classified as family farms and they account for more than 80% of agricultural production. Unfortunately, it is often stated that only 30% of family farms survive the transition to the second generation and only 10% make it to the third. While family farms play a significant role in the economic development of rural communities, they are often ill prepared for succession planning and are not successfully passed along to the next generation. This integrated, Education and Outreach/Extension, project is designed to address this issue head on and is well aligned with the USDA Strategic Goal to "Facilitate Rural Prosperity and Economic Development." The overall purpose of this project is to train future and current farm managers with the skills necessary to become more financially resilient as it relates to succession planning. This goal will be achieved by developing a new learning module to demonstrate how family farm businesses can become better prepared for succession planning. This innovative, multidisciplinary, learning module will be integrated into upper division courses in the agricultural business and animal science programs at multiple institutions. These materials will also be used to develop a new online and in-person outreach/extension program for local farmers and ranchers. Both students and producers will be trained with the critical tools that are needed for succession management decisions. By institutionalizing the new coursework materials into the curriculum, the project will have long-term impacts on educational capacity.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to train future and current farm managers with the skills necessary to become more financially resilient as it relates to succession planning. This will be achieved by developing a new learning module to demonstrate how family farm businesses can become better prepared for succession planning. This innovative, multidisciplinary, learning module will be integrated into upper division courses in the agricultural business and animal science programs at multiple institutions. These materials will also be used to develop a new online and in-person outreach/extension program for local farmers and ranchers. Both students and producers will be trained with the critical tools that are needed for succession management decisions. In order to achieve this goal, several objectives will be achieved within the educational and outreach/extension aspects of this project.The target objectives for the education program are:1. An observed increase in student learning related to farm succession as demonstrated by a 20% or more increase on pre/post-test and tracking the number of students who receive the new classroom training (approx. 225 per year).2. An observed increase in the number of faculty who learn to incorporate succession planning concepts into their agricultural curriculum (approx. 40). This impact will be assessed by identifying the number of faculty at CSUC and other CSU campuses that participate in project activities along with identifying the number of faculty that are exposed to the project material through professional presentations.The target Objectives for the outreach/extension program are:1. An observed increase in farmer/rancher understanding of farm estate and succession planning course content, demonstrated by 20% or more increase on pre/post-tests delivered at the new workshops. The number of farmers/ranchers that receive the new training will also be tracked.2. Improved preparation for the future transition of their family farm businesses. The impact of this objective will be assessed with a post workshop survey and we follow up with workshop participants to qualitatively document progress toward this objective.
Project Methods
The project will be administered by the Project Directors and benefits from a strong level of stakeholder involvement and support.This includes a partnership with faculty and staff from the RightRisk Education Team. The RightRisk Education Team has been developing extension materials and workshops to help teach farm and ranch management concepts for over 15 years. The group is made up of faculty and staff from the University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, and the University of Nebraska. The RightRisk Education Team will work with the Project Directors as consultants to help develop the new learning module and outreach/extension workshops. The RightRisk Education Team is a premier organization helping decision-makers throughout the world discover innovative and effective management solutions. Collectively, they have conducted educational programs in more than 30 U.S. states and five foreign countries, working with more than 7,000 farm and ranch families.Since this is not a research based project, the techniques that will be employed in this project are straightforward and primarily focus on making sure the project team is organized and communicating effectively, that the stakeholders are consulted to ensure the new course materials and workshops reflect industry needs, that the faculty members involved are committed to integrating the materials into their courses, and that the RightRisk Education Team is available for support on developing the new materials and assisting with the outreach workshops.Each of the proposed project activities is assigned at least one Project Team member. This management structure will ensure that the overall goals/outcomes of the project are completed on time. Successful completion of the outreach objectives depends on the timely completion of the proposed education objectives. Specifically, the development of the educational materials will need to be completed before we are able to integrate them into the Agricultural Business and Animal Science curriculum and organize the outreach workshops. However, the project team and timeline was determined with these challenges in mind and we are confident that we will have ample time.The data that will be collected to document "an observed increase in student learning related to farm succession as demonstrated by a 20% or more increase on pre/post-test" and "an observed increase in farmer/rancher understanding of farm estate and succession planning course content, demonstrated by 20% or more increase on pre/post-tests" will be collected at the beginning and conclusion of each module in upper division courses and producer workshops. Specifically, two methods of evaluation will occur in the student courses. First, a standardized test will be used to assess pre- and post- knowledge awareness of the material (i.e., knowledge of succession planning, knowledge of living trusts, wills, current regulation around estate taxes, etc.). Second, a case study will be used to evaluate student critical thinking and problem-solving ability around the topic of farm estate and succession planning. Final grade case studies will be analyzed with a comparison of means test. Knowledge gained during producer workshops will be assessed using a pre/post-test at the beginning and ending of the workshops, respectively. Test for both the undergraduate classes and workshops will be developed using standards developed by the National Institute for Learning Outcome Assessment. Data will be analyzed with a simple comparison of means test.The proposed project has been designed with several methods for communicating results to stakeholder and the public. Presentation at a professional conference will increase the number of agricultural teachers that can learn how to integrate succession planning into their curriculum and a presentation to the College of Agriculture Advisory Board will solicit additional industry feedback. The two training workshops with local producers will also serve as an opportunity to disseminate information about the project to these stakeholders. The project will be highlighted on the CSUC College of Agriculture webpage and ongoing classroom presentations to students should reach approximately 225 per year. In addition, CSUC and the College of Agriculture, in cooperation with the project team, have agreed to make public announcements and news releases regarding the project.The services of an external evaluator have been secured. The external evaluator will be provided with quarterly updates regarding all project activities and the annual and final reports identifying the progress on all the stated outcomes. The external evaluator will provide formal written reviews after the first year and at the conclusion of the project. The project team will respond to these reviews, incorporate any recommended project adjustments, and summarize the external review comments in the annual and final reports.The Project Directors and the College of Agriculture are all committed to the continuation and expansion of this project beyond the grant term. The new learning module will be institutionalized into the Agricultural Business and Animal Science programs. As such, this aspect of the project will continue to benefit a significant number of students well after the grant project ends and will ultimately impact thousands of students without the need for additional grant funding.