Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The Organic Farming Certificate Program attracts new farmers, both civilians and military veterans, from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond for a full immersion in all aspects of organic agriculture in Pennsylvania for a growing season. While the national trends in agriculture are reflected in the mid-Atlantic region, including an aging population of principal farm operators, dwindling mid-size farms, and lagging sales for cropland products, the region is also home to a lively and growing organic segment. In fact, while sales of organic products across the country increased about 30% between 2012 and 2017, in Pennsylvania the increase was a staggering eight-fold--from $78.5 million in 2012 to over $700 million in 2017. Nearly twothirds of organic farmers in the state report that farming is their primary income, while less than half of non-organicPennsylvania farmers say the same. This boom is buoyed by the region's maturing organic infrastructure, including longstanding organic education organizations such as: Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture; Pennsylvania Certified Organic; the Northeast Organic Farming Association; and Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. This infrastructure has supported more than 500 new organic farm enterprises between 2012 and 2017 in Pennsylvania, marking an astonishing 70% increase in organic farms across the state in just five years. These new organic farms are often run by younger first-generation farmers. They benefit from an organic price premium earned through direct market access to the major metropolitan centers of Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. In addition, the region's southern border is home to Purdue's behemoth chicken operations. Purdue is seeking to source more organic soy and corn feed regionally, further incentivizing the transition to organic across the Mid-Atlantic. The allure of organic farming as a technical, physical, self-reliant and healing occupation is appealing to veterans--as one program participant said, "After the military, this is the only move that ever made sense." All veteran cohorts continue to suffer from high unemployment rates and PTSD, both of which can be partially addressed by veteran farmer programs. While the OFCP was the first in the region to support veterans transitioning to organic agriculture, there are now two more. However, both Heroic Foods in NY, and Arcadia's Veteran Farmer Training in VA, operate on small farms that are not certified organic, using apprenticeship and workshop models that are not as immersive or cohesive as the Organic Farming Certificate Program. While there are now roughly 250 veteran focused farmer training opportunities in the country, only a handful teach organic growing methods. Of these, many, such as Archi's Institute in California and Veterans to Farmers in Colorado, employ hydroponic growing techniques; these soil-less growing systems are highly controversial in the organic community. The program at Rodale Institute (Rodale) is grounded in soil-based organic systems that enable farm resilience in the face of climate change. This model leverages the deep historical roots of the country's oldest organic research and education center to offer a comprehensive program that prepares the next generation of farmers, including military veterans, to meet the ever-rising demand for soil-based, domestic, organic farm products. Changes/Problems:As in previous reports, aligning the reporting windows of the grant with the growing season would ease the collection and understanding of the data collected over that time window. Windows that overlap different growing seasons leads to potential confusion about how to accurately report results. Also, becoming a farmer can take years, and the success of the studentsin later cycles, may not be accurately captured within the limited grant reporting windows. i.e. a studentin the 2024 cohort, will not be able to be successfully farming by the grant report window end date of 8/31/2024, especially if our training program does not end until early November, though they may become a successful, independent farmer in late 2024 or early 2025, their information and success cannot quickly and accurately be reported for that report.One of the challengs of the program was the problem of assisting and helping veterans struggling with PTSD. We had a presentation during the first month of training making the veterans aware of this FREE resource available to them, and over the years several veterans have succesfully utilized this service. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned in previous reports, there were dedicated hours in each week for multiple educational and hands-on training opportunities. There were approximately 16 hours dedicated to education and 24 hours dedicated to hands-on work at the farm each week. There were approximately 140+ specific educational events in the form of lectures, field lectures, presentations, and field trips for the 2024cohort from early March through the end of August. The presentations were from Rodale staff (including PhDresearch scientists), along with agriculture professionals from Penn State Extension and other universities, as well as presentations from USDA officials (veterans, NRCS, Rural, etc.). Additionally, presentations from Kitchen Table Consultants (farm based accouting/crop & livestock costing tools), Market Maker, Cohen Clinic (veterans health services), Small Business Association (SBA), Small Business Development Cetner (SBDC) along with the numerous field trips provided extensive information and insight into agricultural operations for the beginning farmers. Some of these presentations occurred during the last quarter of the RIFT/VFTP program (September/October). The grant also allowed veterans not participating in the VFTP to gain access to educational materials through our Rodale Virtual Campus at a 75% discount off of the listed price. An additional grant that Rodale Institute received, allowed us to make these courses FREE for all participants from April - December of 2024, and possibly continuing in 2025 as well. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results for this program are shared through our Communications Team at Rodale Institute. The takes the forms of newsletters, stories about the veteran studentsand non-veteran students,email blasts, and social media posts. Additionally, information for land access and job opportunitites areshared through our closed Facebook group for Rodale Institute alumni. The Rodale Institute Field Day on 7/19/24 hosted the USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, along with the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Russel Redding. Secretary Vilsack learned first-hand about our RIFT/VFTP programs and Secretary Redding has been at Rodale numerous times over the past several years. Additionally, the project director, was a live radio guest on the veteran focused radio program KRFE 95.9 FM/AM 580 on 10/1/24, broadcast out of Lubbock County, Texas. Also, the Rodale Institute hosted a table at the Farmer Veteran Coalition (USDA AgVets receipeint) conference in Kansas City from 10/27-10/20, 2024, and several current veterans were able to attend, courtesy of funding from the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Lastly, PA State Representative, Jamie Barton, highlighted additonal commonwealth funding to suppor the VFTP in 2025 and beyond on a special Veterans Day press event held at the Rodale Institute on 11/11/24. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The grant reporting window for this project includes information from 9/1/2023 to 8/31/2024. There will also be some additional information related to the 2024 cohort which concludes their training on 11/1/2024. This will include information from the end of our 2023 Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program and Veteran Farmer Training Program (VFTP), as well as the bulk of the 2024 RIFT/VFTP program season. The Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program is a hands-on educational internshipwhere beginning farmers learn about organic agriculture. The course is designed as a 35-weekprogram beginning in early March and ending in early November, with a short season option(generally between 8-18 weeks) for some veterans in the Veteran Farmer Training Program(VFTP). Overall, the VFTP is a subset of the RIFT program. This program is designed as awell-rounded educational and instructional experience for the interns as they begin their journeyinto the world of organic agriculture. In the short reporting window for our 2023 RIFT group (9/1/23-11/1/23), there were 11 participants during the reporting window beginning on 9/1/2023. Five of these were veteran students from the VFTP and the remaining six were non-veteran students. Throughout the duration of the 2023 growing season there was 15 total participants involving seven veterans (2 short season, 5 full season) involved in the VFTP, two 2nd Year Fellows (one of which was a veteran), and six non-veteran RIFT students. As in the previous season, therewas a 40/60 breakdown in the typical week with 16 hours (40%) dedicated to educational activities and 24 hours (60%) dedicated to hands-on work in the field, harvesting, processing area, packing animal chores, etc.The 2023 season was the first season in several years where we had no dropouts from the veteran or non-veteran students. The 2023 cohort proved to be a strong, resilient group of beginning farmers with several of them securing permanent employment at Rodale Institute, and several others beginning their agricultural journeys across the country and world. The reporting window captures the majority of our 2024 RIFT season (3/4/24-8/31/24). This is the second season we began referring to our trainees as "students," instead of using the term "intern." This cohort had 17 total students; including nine veteran students, six non-veteran students, and two 2nd Year Fellows (plus one additional 2nd Year Fellow veteran who partially assisted during the month of March 2024). Two of the 2024 veteran students were short season participants, spending parts of May-June and May-September, before returning to their homes. This season continued the enhancement of our education/work breakdown of 40/60 similar to the 2022/2023 seasons. This format has 16 hours (40%) of the week dedicated to educational activities and 24 hours (60%) set aside for hands on work at the farm. Two veteran students did not complete the program; one veteran removed due to HR violations in early April, and one veteran voluntarily withdrew in early May. There were also additional veterans slotted to attend who did not arrive due to securing alternative employment, and the other veteran had physical limitations related to a car accident approximately 1-month prior to their scheduled start date. Building upon our previous partnerships in 2022-2023, this year (2024) saw us strengthen our relationship with Kansas Wesleyan University (Salina, Kansas), who are establishing a program, called Heartland RIFT, and based on a similar model to our RIFT program. Two of our RIFT/VFTP alumni are slotted to lead the Heartland RIFT program, which will begin accepting students in 2025. Additionally, there are further discussions with Northampton Community College (NCC located primarily in Northampton County, PA) for developing a possible student exchange program, as well as exploring the potential option of providing NCC credits to the Rodale Institute RIFT/VFTP students. Three veteran students from the 2024 cohort and two students from the 2023 cohort (including the KWU Heartland RIFT program lead) attended the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) conference in October 2024, along with the Rodale Institute Veteran Programs Manager. The FVC organization used their USDA AgVets grant to help support the attendance of the 2024 Rodale Institute veteran students. 2024 Cohort(this includes some additional information from 9/1/24 until the cohort concludes on 11/1/24) Isaac Poole, veteran, short-season program, returned home to Colorado and is raising chickens, and planting garlic Warlinda Walker, veteran, has an existing farm in the Philippines, will be transitioning to organic operations Rob Younkins (veteran) & Sam Featherman, established Knockenhauer Farms, and are selling mushrooms at the employee CSA, and local farmers markets Nick Henry, veteran, selected as a 2nd Year Fellow for the 2025 RIFT cohort Garrett Tidler, selected as a 2nd Year Fellow for the 2025 RIFT cohort Kristie Polito, secured land access in upstate NY, already planted garlic this fall Daniel Belt, veteran, short-season program, closing on a farm in southern Missouri Sydney Foreman, hired for an agricultural position at The Farm in Okefenokee, located in Folkston, GA There were a total of 57 unique participants in the program, exceeding the goal of 45.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The Organic Farming Certificate Program attracts new farmers, both civilians and military veterans, from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond for a full immersion in all aspects of organic agriculture in Pennsylvania for a growing season. While the national trends in agriculture are reflected in the mid-Atlantic region, including an aging population of principal farm operators, dwindling mid-size farms, and lagging sales for cropland products, the region is also home to a lively and growing organic segment. In fact, while sales of organic products across the country increased about 30% between 2012 and 2017, in Pennsylvania the increase was a staggering eight-fold--from $78.5 million in 2012 to over $700 million in 2017. Nearly twothirds of organic farmers in the state report that farming is their primary income, while less than half of non-organic Pennsylvania farmers say the same. This boom is buoyed by the region's maturing organic infrastructure, including longstanding organic education organizations such as: Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture; Pennsylvania Certified Organic; the Northeast Organic Farming Association; and Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. This infrastructure has supported more than 500 new organic farm enterprises between 2012 and 2017in Pennsylvania, marking an astonishing 70% increase in organic farms across the state in just five years. These new organic farms are often run by younger first-generation farmers. They benefit from an organic price premium earned through direct market access to the major metropolitan centers of Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. In addition, the region's southern border is home to Purdue's behemoth chicken operations. Purdue is seeking to source more organic soy and corn feed regionally, further incentivizing the transition to organic across the Mid-Atlantic. The allure of organic farming as a technical, physical, self-reliant and healing occupation is appealing to veterans--as one program participant said, "After the military, this is the only move that ever made sense." All veteran cohorts continue to suffer from high unemployment rates and PTSD, both of which can be partially addressed by veteran farmer programs. While the OFCP was the first in the region to support veterans transitioning to organic agriculture, there are now two more. However, both Heroic Foods in NY, and Arcadia's Veteran Farmer Training in VA, operate on small farms that are not certified organic, using apprenticeship and workshop models that are not as immersive or cohesive as the Organic Farming Certificate Program. While there are now roughly 250 veteran focused farmer training opportunities in the country, only a handful teach organic growing methods. Of these, many, such as Archi's Institute in California and Veterans to Farmers in Colorado, employ hydroponic growing techniques; these soil-less growing systems are highly controversial in the organic community. The program at Rodale Institute (Rodale) is grounded in soil-based organic systems that enable farm resilience in the face of climate change. This model leverages the deep historical roots of the country's oldestorganic research and education center to offer a comprehensive program that prepares the next generation of farmers, including military veterans, to meet the ever-rising demand for soil-based, domestic, organic farm products. Changes/Problems:One of the challengs of the program was the problem of assisting and helping veterans struggling with PTSD. We had a presentation during thefirst week of training making the veterans aware of this FREE resource available to them, and over the years several veterans have succesfully utilized this service.Also, aligning the reporting windows of the grant with the growing season would ease the collection and understanding of thedata collected over that time window. Windows that overlap different growing seasons leads to potential confusion about howto accurately report results. Also, becoming a farmer can take years, and the success of the interns in later cycles, may not be accurately captured within the limited grant reporting windows. i.e. an intern in the 2024 cohort, will not be able to be successfully farming by the grant report window end date of 8/31/2024, especially if our training program does not end until early November, though they may become a successful, independent farmer in late 2024 or early 2025, their information and success cannot quickly and accurately be reported for that report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned above, there were dedicated hours in each week for multiple educational and hands-on training opportunities. There were approximately 16 hours dedicated to education and 24 hours dedicated to hands-on work at the farm each week. There were approximately 130+ specific educational events in the form of lectures, field lectures, presentations, and field trips for the 2023cohort from early March through the end of August. The presentations were from Rodale staff (including PhD research scientists), along with agriculture professionals from Penn State Extension and other universities, as well aspresentations from USDA officials (veterans, NRCS, Rural, etc.). Additionally, presentations from Kitchen Table Consultants (farm based accouting/crop & livestock costing tools), Market Maker, Barn2Door, Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV program at St. Joseph's University), Cohen Clinic (veterans health services), along with the numerous field trips provided extensive information and insight into agricultural operations for the beginning farmers. The grantalso allowed veterans not participating in the VFTP to gain access to educational materials through our Rodale Virtual Campus at a 75% discount off of the listed price. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results for this program are shared through our Communications Team at Rodale Institute. The takes the forms ofnewsletters, storiesabout the veteran interns and non-veteran interns, email blasts, and social media posts. Additionally,information is shared through our closed Facebook group for Rodale Institute alumni. There were also some recent presscoverings through NBC, with details included for the 2023 annual report. In September 2022, US Senator Robert Casey (PA) attended a pressevent held at the Rodale Institute, and recognized the veterans participating in the Veteran Farmer Training Program. Also, the governor of Pennsylvania, Joshua Shapiro, attended the Rodale Institute Field Day event on 7/21/2023, with specific focus on the RIFT/VFTP programs where the governor personally spoke with several students, along with the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting period (9/1/23-8/31/24) will involve wrapping up the 2023RIFT cohort experience. The fall of 2023 will also include continued recruiting and student selection interviews for the 2024cohort. We received feedback from our 3rd Party Evaluator, Gary Bess Associates, which will be added to our 2023 RVS report, which assisted us with capturing the relevant information and demographic data of the program. We will also enhance outreach for educational content through our Rodale Virtual Campus and make veterans aware of thediscounts available to them to participate in the Virtual Campus course offerings. With the final 2024 cohort, we will reach our goals of having 45 interns/students enrolled in the RIFT/VFTP throughout the grant window, and we are currently at 42 interns/students.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The grant reporting window for this project includes information from 9/1/2022to 8/31/2023. This will include information from the end of our 2022Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program and Veteran Farmer Training Program (VFTP), as well as the bulk of the 2023RIFT/VFTP program season. The Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program is a hands-on educational internship where beginning farmers learn about organic agriculture. The course is designed as a 35-week program beginning in early March and ending in early November, with a short season option (generally between 8-18 weeks) for some veterans in the Veteran Farmer Training Program (VFTP). Overall, the VFTP is a subset of the RIFT program. This program is designed as a well-rounded educational and instructional experience for the interns as they begin their journey into the world of organic agriculture. In the short reporting window for our 2022 RIFT group (9/1/22-11/4/22), there were 11participants during the reporting window beginning on 9/1/2022. Threeof these were veteran interns from the VFTP and the remaining eightwere interns. Throughout the duration of the 2022growing season there was 20total participants and nineveterans involved in the VFTP. For this season, there was a 40/60 breakdown in the typical week with 16hours (40%) dedicated to educational activities and 24hours (60%) dedicated to hands-on work in the field, processing area, animal chores, etc. Thisreporting window captures the majority of our 2023RIFT season (3/6/23-8/31/23). Beginning with the 2023 cohort Rodale Institute began calling our farmer training participants "students" instead of "interns" to reflect the amount of education the participants are receiving.The2023 cohort had 13students, including sevenveteran students along with six students. Additionally, there weretwo 2nd Year Fellows, with one of the Fellows being a military veteran. This season also continuedour education/work breakdown of 40/60, with 16 hours (40%) of the week dedicated to educational activities and 24 hours (60%) set aside for hands on work at the farm. The year 2023also saw us expand our country-wide partnerships with progresswith Springfield Community Gardens in the Ozark region of Missouri, with them sending out a farm manager for one week to observe the RIFT/VFTP program. Additionally, Rodale Institute signed an MOU with Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU) in Salina, KSto expand a RIFT version of the program for their university.We strengthened our existing partnerships with some regional partners (and partners on the grant) such as The Seed Farm, where the Rodale Institute Master Trainer, Dan Kemper, remains on the Advisory Committee there to assist current and future beginning farmers. We also worked with Kutztown University (KU) to integratefuture KU students into our current and future RIFT program.The mostrecent potential partnership is with Heroic Gardens. This organization proudly supports veteranswith assistance in landscaping, edible landscaping, and small-scale gardens within urban environments. As in prior years, we are continuing our work with the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), to help establish further connections with the veteran-farmer community. This is accomplished through direct support from FVC to support the veterans currently in our progam, along with quarterly meetings with FVC leadership to adjust to our program needs.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The Organic Farming Certificate Program attracts new farmers, both civilians and military veterans, from the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond for a full immersion in all aspects of organic agriculture in Pennsylvania for a growing season. While the national trends in agriculture are reflected in the mid-Atlantic region, including an aging population of principal farm operators, dwindling mid-size farms, and lagging sales for cropland products,the region is also home to a lively and growing organic segment. In fact, while sales of organic products across the country increased about 30% between 2012 and 2017, in Pennsylvania the increase was a staggering eight-fold--from $78.5 million in 2012 to over $700 million in 2017.Nearly two-thirds of organic farmers in the state report that farming is their primary income, while less than half of non-organic Pennsylvania farmers say the same.This boom is buoyed by the region's maturing organic infrastructure, including longstanding organic education organizations such as: Rodale Institute, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture; Pennsylvania Certified Organic; the Northeast Organic Farming Association; and Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training. This infrastructure has supported more than 500 new organic farm enterprises between 2012 and 2017 in Pennsylvania, marking an astonishing 70% increase in organic farms across the state in just five years.These new organic farms are often run by younger first-generation farmers.They benefit from an organic price premium earned through direct market access to the major metropolitan centers of Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City. In addition, the region's southern border is home to Purdue's behemoth chicken operations. Purdue is seeking to source more organic soy and corn feed regionally, further incentivizing the transition to organic across the Mid-Atlantic.The allure of organic farming as a technical, physical, self-reliant and healing occupation is appealing to veterans--as one program participant said, "After the military, this is the only move that ever made sense." All veteran cohorts continue to suffer from high unemployment rates and PTSD, both of which can be partially addressed by veteran farmer programs.While the OFCP was the first in the region to support veterans transitioning to organic agriculture, there are now two more. However, both Heroic Foods in NY, and Arcadia's Veteran Farmer Training in VA, operate on small farms that are not certified organic, using apprenticeship and workshop models that are not as immersive or cohesive as the Organic Farming Certificate Program. While there are now roughly 250 veteran focused farmer training opportunities in the country,only a handful teach organic growing methods. Of these, many, such as Archi's Institute in California and Veterans to Farmers in Colorado, employ hydroponic growing techniques; these soil-less growing systems are highly controversial in the organic community.The program at Rodale Institute (Rodale) is grounded in soil-based organic systems that enable farm resilience in the face of climate change. This model leverages the deep historical roots of the country's oldest 3 organic research and education center to offer a comprehensive program that prepares the next generation of farmers, including military veterans, to meet the ever-rising demand for soil-based, domestic, organic farm products. Changes/Problems:One of the challengs of the program was the problemof veterans struggling withPTSD. We had a presentation during the first week of training making the veterans aware of this FREE resource available to them, however one of the veterans left directly due to PTSD related issues. Other veterans dealt with this issue as well and were able to participate successfully in the program. Another veteran lost child care care, when aphysical injury back home resulted in the loss of childcare for his family, forcing the veteran to return home about 10 weeks before his planned departure. Also, aligning the reporting windows of the grant with the growing season would ease the collection and understanding of the data collected over that time window. Windows that overlap different growing seasons leads to potential confusion about how to accurately report results. Also, becoming a farmer can take years, and the success of the interns in later cycles, may not be accurately captured within the limited grant reporting windows. i.e. an intern in the 2024 cohort, will not be able to be successfully farming by the grant report window end date of 8/31/2024, especially if our training program does not end until early November, though they may become a successful, independent farmer in late 2024 or early 2025, their information and success cannot be reported for that report. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned above, there were dedicated hours in each week for multiple educational and hands-on training opportunities. There were approximately 16 hours dedicated to education and 24 hours dedicated to hands-on work atthe farm each week. There were approximately 90+ specific educational events in the form of lectures, field lectures, presentations, and field trips for the 2022 cohort from early March through the end of August. The presentations were from Rodale staff (including PhD research scientists), along with agriculture professionals from Penn State Extension, as well as presentations from USDA officials (veterans, NRCS, Rural, etc.). Additionally, presentations from Kitchen Table Consultants (farm based accouting/crop & livestock costing tools), Market Maker, Barn2Door, Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV program at St. Joseph's University), along with the numerous field trips provided extensive information and insight into agricultural operations for the beginning farmers. Our program also allowed veterans not participating in the VFTP to gain access to educational materials through our Rodale Virtual Campus at a 75% discount off of the listed price. --KTC --Virtual Campus 75% scholarships How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results for this program are shared through our Communications Team at Rodale Institute. The takes the forms of newsletters, stories about the veteran internsand non-veteran interns, email blasts, and social media posts. Additionally, information is shared through our closed Facebook group for Rodale Institute alumni. There were also some recent press coverings through NBC, with details included for the 2023 annual report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting period (9/1/22-8/31/23) will involve wrapping up the 2022 RIFT cohort experience. The fall will also includecontinued recruiting and interviews for the 2023 cohort. We are in the final stages of coordinating with our 3rd Party Evaluator, Gary Bess Associates,to assist us with capturing the relevant information and demographic data of the program. We will also enhance outreach for educational content through our Rodale Virtual Campus and make veterans aware of the discounts available to them to participate in the Virtual Campus course offerings.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The grant reporting window for this project includes information from 9/1/2021 to 8/31/2022. This will include information from the end of our 2021 Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program and Veteran Farmer Training Program (VFTP), as well as the bulk of the 2022 RIFT/VFTP program season. The Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program is a hands-on educational internship where beginning farmers learn about organic agriculture. The course is designed as a 35-week program beginning in early March and ending in early November, with a short season option (generally between 8-18 weeks) for some veterans in the Veteran Farmer Training Program (VFTP). Overall, the VFTP is a subset of the RIFT program. This program is designed as a well-rounded educational and instructional experience for the interns as they begin their journey into the world of organic agriculture. In the short reporting window for our 2021 RIFT group (9/1/21-11/5/21), there were10 participants during the reporting window beginning on 9/1/2021. Four of these were veteran internsfrom the VFTP and the remaining 6 were interns. Throughout the duration of the 2021 growing season there was 16 total participants and 10 veterans involved in the VFTP. For this season, therewas a 30/70breakdown in the typical week with 12 hours (30%) dedicated to educational activities and 28 hours (70%) dedicated to hands-on work in the field, processing area, animal chores, etc. The reporting window captures the majority of our 2022 RIFT season (3/7/22-8/31/22). This cohort had 20 interns, including nine veteran interns, two 2nd Year Fellows, and the remaining nine interns rounding out the group. Several of the original full season interns left the program early to take up agricultural related positions. These positions included Tribal Conservation District Manager in eastern Oregon, assisting a waygu beef operation in North Carolina, an urban farm in Philadelphia at Farmer Jawn, and a small- scale independent farm called We the Farmers. This season also some an enhancement of our education/work breakdown of 40/60, with 16 hours (40%) of the week dedicated to educational activities and 24 hours (60%) set aside for hands on work at the farm. We also had one veteran participate in an internship at our partner, Pocono Organics for approximately 4 months. The year 2022 also saw us expand our country-wide partnerships with progress made towards finalizing an agreement with White Oak Pastures in Georgia to address livestock training in an organic environment. Additionally, we are in the early stages of partnering with Springfield Community Gardens in the Ozark region of Missouri, which focuses on small scale/micro. We strengthened our existing partnerships with some regional partners such as The Seed Farm, where the Rodale Institute Master Trainer, Dan Kemper, is on the Advisory Committee there to assist current and future beginning farmers. We also worked with Carversville Farm Foundation in Mechanicsville, PA to provide additional livestock training for some of our interns as well as sharing our educational content with their interns.
Publications
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