Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audience for the IMPACT program for this reporting period was five Indigenous/Native American beginning farmers in New Mexico. These farmers are tribal members of Isleta Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, and Zuni Pueblo. These farmers are considered beginning farmers because they are within their first 10 years of farming operations. One farmer was recruited by a participant of last year's phase of the IMPACT project, three farmers were recruited through other programs at the Center of Southwest Culture, and one farmer was recruited through word of mouth. These participants and locations were chosen because Pueblo/tribal communities in New Mexico have historically shown consistent social, economic, and education disadvantages (NM Kids Count Data, 2023; U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Additionally, Native American farmers are underrepresented in local organic markets. By targeting Indigenous farmers who farm within their tribal communities, we attempt to improve nutrition access in these areas and improve the likelihood of success in introducing more Indigenous farmers to local markets. Changes/Problems:In our previous project year, we had great difficulty with engagement in the program. Farmers struggled to attend workshops and did not keep up with evaluation surveys. Through our project review period, we determined that this year it would be best to provide our workshops in person, offering farmers an opportunity to meet one another in person to share in discussions and network. Through CSC general funding, we purchased gas cards for each farmer for each workshop they attended in person to help cover the burden of travel expenses. We found that each farmer was highly enthusiastic about attending workshops in person, they were more engaged in person, and those who were not able to attend in person reported that they wished they had been present so they could share more in the discussions. Having farmers meet in person also gave us an opportunity to give them physical surveys to complete, and completing these surveys was a requirement in order to receive their stipends. All farmers were highly motivated to both participate this year and to contribute their feedback to our evaluative surveys. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Each participant farmer reported learning new business or marketing skills through the program. All have either learned new skills or built on their existing knowledge in these areas, surveys showing a 100% increase in knowledge. As for the Center of Southwest Culture staff, the process of planning and implementing the IMPACT program has allowed senior program managers to identify areas to continue building their project management skills. As such, at least one program manager with direct leadership in the IMPACT project has undertaken a University of New Mexico (UNM) Continuing Education course on Public Speaking, bolstering our staff's ability to speak publicly about this project to larger audiences. Through our recruitment efforts, Center of Southwest Culture staff attended several community fairs and conferences which allowed each staff member involved in the IMPACT program to further develop their public speaking and networking skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Center of Southwest Culture has not yet disseminated results to current participants or communities of interest. We intend to present evaluation results and gather further individual feedback from farmers in order to inform annual results. Our intention is also to use feedback to make necessary changes to the program for the next cohort of participants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have made positive progress and met the short-term requirements for each stated goal within the first two program years. In the coming program year, the Center of Southwest Culture intends to implement the following tasks or priorities to complete or support our originally stated goals: Aggregate evaluations and conduct final annual evaluations for each participant farmer. Use farmer feedback to make necessary changes to workshop material, schedule of training, communication methods/tools, etc. Support current farmers to identify a year three cohort and offer ways for current farmers to keep invested in the program. Conduct follow-up check-ins with farmers during years two and three. Work with our contracted marketing expert to build on this year's training curriculum and identify areas of improvement. Assist farmers in developing logos. Ensure that farmers enroll in food safety training for New Mexico Grown.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments under Goal 1: Each of the five participating farmers have been educated on the New Mexico Grown Program and application requirements. One farmer has already received their Tier 1 and Tier 2 training and is ready to complete a New Mexico Grown application. The other four farmers were waiting for new training dates to become available before they could continue in this process. New dates have now been posted for the new year and farmers will be able to attend the food safety training at that time and begin their application process. Accomplishments under Goal 2: Each participant farmer has received training on the topics of product diversification through value-added production, and the requirements for selling value-added products to local markets. Topics under this training include types of value-added products, where to sell them, prerequisites for selling value-added products, how to diversify cropping for value-added production, and value-added services. All five farmers have reported a desire to incorporate value-added production and services into their farming operations, four out of five expressing interest in developing farm stands to sell value-added products, and three out of five expressing interest in offering value-added services on their farms such as pumpkin patches and educational opportunities for youth. Accomplishments under Goal 3: Each participant farmer has received training on basic marketing and branding practices, examples, and accessible tools and software. The training was delivered over one hour-long workshop covering topics such as creating vision statements and value propositions, creating visual branding, creating branding taglines, embracing software and social media, and conducting a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis of business opportunities. As of the end of this reporting period, three out of five of our project participants have begun thinking about their logo designs. Additionally, at the beginning of this project period, we assisted one farmer from last year's cohort in completing a logo design. One farmer from this year's cohort already designed his own logo he would like to use, and another farmer was delayed in choosing a farm name. All logo development with a graphic designer will take place in early 2025. Accomplishments under Goal 4: Four out of five participating farmers have completed all marketing training and have participated meaningfully in individual consultations with a contracted marketing expert to develop their 3-5 page executive business plan summary. Each farmer was asked to complete a profile of their business before the consultation including their farming background, business goals, current data on their crops and growing operations, etc. These summaries will be completed and ready for distribution to farmers for use during future business opportunities. One farmer was unable to make it to his meeting for his individual consultation but it has been rescheduled so this will be completed at the very beginning of our next performance period. Accomplishments under Goal 5: Each participant has received a $200 stipend after completion of workshops and consultations and after they have completed post-workshop surveys, for a total of at least $800 per program year. Farmers are encouraged to apply this stipend towards purchasing tools or resources relating to the training material. For example, a one-year subscription to design software like Canva ($119/yr), or basic subscriptions to marketing tools like Mailchimp or Constant Contact ($156/yr) to begin growing their marketing presence. Farmers are also encouraged to begin investing in food safety tools and infrastructure now to be prepared to enter local markets in compliance with food safety standards set by the NM Grown program. For example, putting their stipends towards building cold storages, washbasins, or food-grade cleaning products.
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audience for the IMPACT program is five Indigenous/Native American beginning farmers in New Mexico. These farmers are tribal members of Isleta Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, and Zuni Pueblo. These farmers are considered beginning farmers because they are within their first 10 years of farming operations. Additionally, each participant is in their 40s or younger. These participants and locations were chosen because Pueblo/tribal communities in New Mexico have historically shown consistent social, economic, and education disadvantages (NM Kids Count Data, 2023; U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Additionally, Native American farmers are underrepresented in local organic markets. By targeting Indigenous farmers who farm within their tribal communities, we attempt to improve nutrition access in these areas and improve the likelihood of success in introducing more Indigenous farmers to local markets. Changes/Problems: Our biggest challenge this year was supporting farmers who failed to attend workshops and keep up with evaluations. One of the five farmers we began with was only able to complete a portion of workshops andwill likely need to pick up with the program again next year. Another farmer experienced a series of personal events that precluded him from completing the final individual consultation. While we have planned for both farmers to complete these steps in the first quarter of the coming year, our team has identified the need for protocols for identifying and supporting potential dropout participants early on. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Most participant farmers have reported learning new business or marketing skills through the program. Most have either learned new skills or built on their existing knowledge in these areas. As for the Center of Southwest Culture staff, the process of planning and implementing the IMPACT program has allowed senior program managers to identify areas to continue building their project management skills. As such, at least one program manager with direct leadership in the IMPACT project has identified an opportunity through the University of New Mexico Continued Education to take courses on project management approaches and tools. Through our recruitment efforts, Center of Southwest Culture staff attended several community fairs and conferences which allowed each staff member involved in the IMPACT program to further develop their public speaking and networking skills. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Center of Southwest Culture has not yet disseminated results to current participants or communities of interest. We intend to present evaluation results and gather further individual feedback from farmers in order to inform annual results. Our intention is also to use feedback to make necessary changes to the program for the next cohort of participants.? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have made positive progress and met the short-term requirements for each stated goal within the first program year. In the coming program year, the Center of Southwest Culture intends to implement the following tasks or priorities to complete or support our originally stated goals: Aggregate evaluations and conduct final annual evaluations for each participant farmer. Use farmer feedback to make necessary changes to workshop material, schedule of training, communication methods/tools, etc. Work individually with farmers who are behind in the program to complete all workshops and the final business planning consultation. Develop a protocol to work with farmers who we identify as at risk of dropping out of the program or falling behind. Support current farmers to identify a year two cohort and offer ways for current farmers to keep invested in the program. Conduct follow-up check-ins with farmers during years two and three. Work with our contracted marketing expert to build on this year's training curriculum and identify areas of improvement.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments under Goal 1: Each of the five participating farmers completed Tier 1 and Tier 2 food safety training and completed the required risk assessment necessary to qualify for approved supplier status under the New Mexico Grown Program. Each farmer is eligible to apply for approved supplier status and is currently working on building their operational capacity to be able to sell through the program. Accomplishments under Goal 2: Each participant farmer has received training on the topics of product diversification through value-added production, and the requirements for selling value-added products to local markets. Topics under this training include types of value-added products, where to sell them, prerequisites for selling value-added products, drought-resistant crops as value-added products, and finally how to create value-added medicinal and culinary products. At least one participant farmer has reported creating and developing recipes for value-added baked goods as a result of the training. Accomplishments under Goal 3: Four of five farmers have received training on basic marketing and branding practices, examples, and accessible tools and software. The training was delivered over two-hour-long workshops covering topics such as creating vision statements and value positions, creating visual branding, creating branding taglines, embracing software and social media, and conducting a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis of business opportunities. One farmer has worked with our contracted graphic artists to develop a logo based on their designs and artwork. One farmer has agreed to begin working with our contracted artist to develop their logo, and the remaining farmers either already have logos of their design or have not yet decided to begin consultations. CSC will continue to organize consultation time and handle the costs of graphic artist services to complete this goal. Accomplishments under Goal 4: Three of five farmers have completed all marketing training and have participated meaningfully in individual consultations with a contracted marketing expert to develop their 3-5 page executive business plan summary. Each farmer was asked to complete a profile of their business before the consultation including their farming background, business goals, current data on their crops and growing operations, etc. These summaries will be completed and ready for distribution to farmers for use during future business opportunities. Two of the current farmers have had personal barriers that have prevented them from participating in individual consultations. These farmers will complete this remaining step in Q1 of 2024 to catch up with the progression of the program. Accomplishments under Goal 5: Each participant has received a $200 stipend after completion of workshops and consultations and after they have completed post-workshop surveys, for a total of at least $800 per program year. Farmers are encouraged to apply this stipend towards purchasing tools or resources relating to the training material. For example, a one-year subscription to design software like Canva ($119/yr), or basic subscriptions to marketing tools like Mailchimp or Constant Contact ($156/yr) to begin growing their marketing presence. Farmers are also encouraged to begin investing in food safety tools and infrastructure now to be prepared to enter local markets in compliance with food safety standards set by the NM Grown program. For example, putting their stipends towards building cold storages, washbasins, or food-grade cleaning products.
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