Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:For the 2021-2022 Entrepreneurial Small Farmers of Southern Illiois, we recruited 12 beginning and diverse farmers (and their partners, if applicable) to the program and have retained 11. These farms are located across 6 counties and represented by a total of 15 beginning farmers (including partners). The class makeup includes 6 women, 2 BIPOC farmers, 2 service veterans, and also 2 LGBTQ farmers. (while serving LGBTQ farmers was not a goal in our original proposal, we discovered that there was a need among this population in our region and that they face similar challenges to other underserved populations. The farmers in the program are also diverse in their entrepreneurial farming operations: One honey bee/flower farmer (BIPOC woman - service veteran) One second-vocation farmer moving from renting their land out for row crops to building their own, more diversified farm with goats, sheep, bees, blueberries and ideas for possible agrotourism (white male - service veteran) One farmer transitioning a portion of her family's Century Farm from conventional row crops to a diversified operation that includes agritourism events with alpacas, chickens (meat & eggs), kune-kune pigs, and goats (white female) One single father on a small farm with goats, chickens, ducks, and vegetable stand with his children. Exploring agritourism enterprises such as a pumpkin patch and sunflowers or zinna field (white male) One small farm has planted fruit trees and lost them, prompting a reevaluation of their farm plan. Current enterprise is layer chickens, and she is exploring replanting trees, growing medicinal herbs, and establishing agritourism campsites (white female) Farm with artisan blacksmiths wanting to plant nut trees and host campers or AirBnB, and host professional blacksmithing workshops too. (white male & partner) Small scale farmer who has grown and supplied others with produce, and is now expanding by adding brambles and fruit trees. Their aim is farmers market or sell produce at work or roadside stand (white male) Small farm transitioning from hay to agroforestry with hazelnuts and possibly chestnuts. They are growing hot peppers this year for cottage food products and exploring adding ducks to the mix. (white males - LGBTQ) New farmer was allocated a 2-acre plot from their family century farm, and became interested in agroforestry chestnuts and permaculture berries and vegetables. In the early years of their business, they are generating income through cottage food with honey sweetened chocolates (white female) Working on leased land, a beginning farmer is growing a trial of soybean varieties for the end goal of tempeh/tofu production and also exploring a longer term farm plan that includes grape production (white female) Beginning farmer learning to grow hemp for fiber received permission to grow a small trial plot on another farmer's land, but has not been able to navigate the hemp licensing so still no planting done. (black male) As of August 31, 2022, 9 farms are actively producing crops or livestock and 2 are still in planning stages. Three farmers are currently impacting the community through direct sales at farmers markets, farm stands, and a local food hub. Changes/Problems:Trainees are expected to attend Field Days hosted by the Southern Illinois Farming Alliance. We have successfully held 3 field days so far this year, but unfortunately we have also had to cancel 2 due to extreme heat and inclement weather. We have 2 make-up field days planned in October and November 2021. We underestimated the amount of time and individual attention trainees would need with the facilitator to develop their farm plan and be matched with their farmer-mentors. It requires a highly individualized approach to help students to clarify their goals and plan for the development of their farm and their needs for a mentorship. The poor quality of rural internet access was an ongoing challenge for our facilitators, trainees, and speakers. We frequently found that low bandwidth caused technical problems that reduced the quality of instruction and interactions. For future sessions, we have arranged to use classroom space and ample Internet bandwidth at the Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? approximately 54 hours of instruction over 22 remote sessions approximately 12 hours of instruction and tours at on-farm class meetings one-on-one support with the facilitator and guidance on ongoing self-instruction 3 field days at local farms contact with 26 farmers and professionals with information/resources to support the development of their farm access to a compilation of the course materials to saved for future reference How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Updates have been included in Food Works monthly e-newsletter, "Field Notes", that reaches approximately 800 people, as well as a printed Program Update that is decimated at community events, and through an in-person presentation at the Southern Illinois Farming Alliance Annual Meeting describing the program development and cohort of trainees. Trainees that were in attendance at that meeting were introduced. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To finish accomplishing the goals, Food Works staff will: Complete individual meetings with trainees to finalize their farm plans. This is usually a one-on-one meeting and includes a tour of the trainee's farm. Pair trainees with mentors. This final component of the program follows the completion of the trainee's farm plan. Conduct 2 more on-farm field days through the Southern Illinois Farming Alliance. Review results of external evaluation and incorporate findings into the design and approach of the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
As of August 31, 2021, eleven farms have completed the classroom and on-farm sessions of Farm Beginnings I, II, III, and IV, and have begun farm plans that incorporate the principles of holistic farm management, sustainable specialty crops, humane animal husbandry, and access to land and resources. The trainees are diverse in age, and the makeup of the cohort meets or exceeds the established recruiting goals by including 2 people of color, 6 women, and 2 veterans. Nine farms are actively farming and 2 are currently in planning stages. Nine of the 11 farms have received two $500 stipends to support their farm start up costs. One is still working toward completing their farm plan and 1 has elected to forgo the stipedns to make those funds avaialable for other trainees. Trainees report using these funds for the purchase of seeds, compost, electric net fencing, land lease and diesel fuel, cover crop & broadcaster, orchard & bramble starts, a used tractor, materials for a small greenhouse, bush hog & finish mower for pasture, and beehives. This has been crucial to helping these beginning farmers move forward to start farming activities.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:For the 2021-2022 Entrepreneurial Small Farmers of Southern Illiois, we recruited 12 beginning and diverse farmers (and their partners, if applicable) to the program and have retained 11. These farms are located across 6 counties and represented by a total of 15 beginning farmers (including partners). The class makeup is diverse in age and includes 6 women, 2 BIPOC farmers, 2 service Veterans, and also 2 LGBTQ farmers. (while serving LGBTQ farmers was not a goal in our original proposal, we discovered that there was a need among this population in our region and that they face similar challenges to other underserved populations. As of December 31, 2022, 10 farms are actively producing crops or livestock. The 11th farm has completed the application to produce hemp in 2023. Crop and livestock enterprises currently in production include: apiaries, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks (meat and eggs), alpacas (fiber, agritourism), berries, hazelnut orchard, soybeans. Three farmers are currently impacting the community through direct sales at farmers markets, farm stands, online, and through a local food hub. Changes/Problems:While we were able to complete the coursework as scheduled, we had to request a no-cost extension until December 31, 2023 to allow time for trainees to complete their final farm plans, for the facilitator to conduct one-on-one farm visits with each trainee, and to match trainees who wished a mentorship with appropriate mentors. These activities were concluded within the extended timeline, with 4 of the 11 trainees electing for mentorships. We underestimated the amount of time and individual attention trainees would need with the facilitator and in the future we will leave more space in the timeline to accommodate this individualized approach. Trainees are expected to attend Field Days hosted by the Southern Illinois Farming Alliance, however we were challenged in 2022 and had to cancel 4 of the 7 events that were scheduled due to extreme heat, inclement weather, and low registration. The poor quality of rural internet access was an ongoing challenge for our facilitators, trainees, and speakers. We frequently found that low bandwidth caused technical problems that reduced the quality of instruction and interactions. For the final virtual session in which a farmer speaker returned to present his experience on a research trip, we arranged to use classroom space and ample Internet bandwidth at the Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? approximately 56 hours of instruction over 23 remote sessions approximately 12 hours of instruction and tours at on-farm class meetings one-on-one support with the facilitator and guidance on ongoing self-instruction 3 field days at local farms contact with 26 farmers and professionals with information/resources to support the development of their farm access to a compilation of the course materials to saved for future reference one-on-one visit with facilitator at trainees' farm and consultation on farm plan one-on-one mentorship with an experienced farmer (estimated 10 hours) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Updates have been included in Food Works monthly e-newsletter, "Field Notes", that reaches approximately 800 people, as well as a printed Program Update that is disseminated at community events, and through an in-person presentation at the Southern Illinois Farming Alliance Annual Meeting describing the program development and cohort of trainees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Eleven diverse, entrepreneurial farms completed the classroom and on farm sessions of Farm Beginnings I, II, III, and IV and created farm plans that incorporate the principles of holistic farm management, sustainable specialty crops, humane animal husbandry, and access to land and resources. Specifically, the plans include: farm mission, farm background, personal vision and goals, key planning assumptions, SWOT analysis, marketing strategy, operations strategy, financial strategy and human resources plan. As of December 31, 2022, 10 farms are actively producing crops or livestock. The 11th farm has completed the application to produce hemp in 2023. Trainee farm plans incorporated diverse farming enterprises. Crop and livestock enterprises currently in production include: apiaries, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks (meat and eggs), alpacas (fiber, agritourism), berries, hazelnut orchard, soybeans. According to the external evaluation, 66.7% of trainees expect to start their business in 2023 and 33.3% plan to continue their business in 2023. 10 of the 11 farms have received two $500 stipends to help with farm start up costs (1 farm elected to forgo the stipends to make those funds availbe for other students). Trainees report using the funds for purchase of seeds, compost, electric net fencing, land lease and diesel fuel, cover crop & broadcaster, orchard & bramble starts, a used tractor, materials for a small greenhouse, bush hog & finish mower for pasture, and beehives. This was crucial to helping these beginning farmers move forward to start farming activities. Four farms elected to pursue mentorships and were matched with local farmers for approximately 10 hours of dedicated contact time. Anecdotally, some farmers report ongoing mentor/mentee relationships mentors beyond the program. The farmers we served were diverse in age, and the makeup of the cohort meets or exceeds the established recruiting goals by including 2 people of color, 6 women, and 2 veterans.
Publications
|