Source: GLEANING NETWORK OF TEXAS, THE submitted to
ENSURING MORE FARM SUCCESS IN NORTH TEXAS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1029308
Grant No.
2022-49400-38206
Cumulative Award Amt.
$408,945.00
Proposal No.
2022-05621
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2022
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[BFRDA]- Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Standard
Recipient Organization
GLEANING NETWORK OF TEXAS, THE
3866 HIGHGROVE DR
DALLAS,TX 752203752
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Ensuring More Farm Success in North Texas continues to build on the success of two previous years of educational programming for beginning farmers in North Texas and expands to a 3-year strategy. The project continues to leverage existing tools, knowledge, and resources to help new and beginning farmers start or improve farm operations resulting in profitable farms at whatever scale the farmer wants. Through a 9-month, seven-topic guided process that uses existing printed and online resources, new and beginning farmers will develop their whole farm plan. The process will take them through major decision-making, marketing, production planning, and financial planning, all within a supportive cohort environment. Other new and beginning farmers will be able to attend in-person and virtual learning events that coincide with the cohort topics. The project will also continue to build on the farmer gatherings started in 2022. Continuing to spearhead this project are the two organizations in the area who emphasize farmer training in North Texas: GROW North Texas (GNTX) and Farmers Assisting Returning Military (F.A.R.M.). We have added Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community Based Organization (TSFR/CBO) and two new farmers to the collaboration as well.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
60160303020100%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of Ensuring More Farm Success is to provide new and beginning farmers with tools, knowledge, and resources to start or improve their farm operation resulting in profitable farms at whatever scale they desire. From this goal, the following Objectives and Outcomes have been identified.Objective 1: Provide a structured process of discernment and development for a cohort of participants each year of the project that will result in a completed whole farm business plan for each participant.Objective 2: Offer topical in-person workshops that coincide with topics covered in the cohort guided processObjective 3: Continue developing farming community connections through social and informational gatherings, online resources, and communication avenues.
Project Methods
The approach for Ensuring More Farm Success involves leveraging existing resources to provide continued and more involved education and training for beginning farmers in North Texas. This project builds on our previous Farm Success programmingThe structured cohort will be a 9-month, seven-topic guided process that walks participants through the major decisions and development areas that lay a foundation for a successful farm operation, focusing on fruit and vegetable production. The process is guided by the book Start Your Farm: The Authoritative Guide to Becoming a Sustainable 21st Century Farmer by Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk. Some may want to debate the "authoritative" part of the title, but the book does provide a format for walking through major decisions and planning of farm development. The structure of the book lends itself to small group discussion, even providing question prompts for the reader at the end of each chapter. Using Start Your Farm alongside several other books about direct-marketing, sustainable agriculture (listed below) as well as the Texas Food Education Discovery Network (TXFED) online education, we have assembled a set of six topics that participants will work through in group settings and independently until they have all of the parts of a farm plan that can be assembled into a full business plan.Six people will be selected for each cohort based on interest and ability to meet the expectations of the structured process. The group will meet monthly, either in-person or virtually, with the project team with a mid-month open discussion virtual meet-up. Cohort participants will be expected to complete homework in between the monthly meetings and will have one of the Co-PDs, either Hyiat El-Jundi or Susie Marshall, as their point person for questions or additional consultation during the 9 month period. They will also be expected to attend the other workshops as well as two of the farmer gatherings. Cohort participants will receive a stipend of $500 per month for their participation.The cohort groups will spend time at the beginning of the process to get to know each other and to develop shared expectations for cohort behavior. This will be a participatory process so that the group expectations are ones that each participant can abide by. These expectations and understandings will support group cohesion, ease some uncertainty in working with unfamiliar people, and create a positive atmosphere.Cohort members, especially the initial cohort, will serve as a built in formative evaluation mechanism. Their experience and feedback will guide the refinement and improvement of the cohort process and experience. We have also considered the option to offer the cohort process as a self-study option as well, but we are unsure how we would manage and support those participating in this way. If there is interest in a self-study option, we will figure out how to manage and evaluate it.The project will host a total of 24 workshops for new and beginning farmers across the 3-year grant project. Twenty-one of the workshops will be offered at times concurrent with the cohort topics. So, when the cohort is working on production planning, a workshop will be offered to the broader beginning farmer community on the same topic. Throughout the three years, the approach to the topic will be slightly different in order to broaden the information and resources shared.The 2023 Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (TOFGA) Annual Conference will be held in January of 2023 in Mesquite, TX which is on the east side of Dallas. Ensuring More Farm Success will host a 1-day beginning farmer event on the Saturday prior to the TOFGA conference which will start the following day. The event will be held at Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space where GNTX has its farm project. This location is just 15 minutes from the conference site and allows plenty of space for workshops inside and out. The project team will work with the TOFGA conference team on specific design and promotion. The project budget allows additional funds for any event expenses or additional presenters. In the two subsequent project years, we will collaborate with TOFGA to ensure that at least 1-2 workshops aimed at beginning farmers are part of the conference program in 2024 and 2025.The project will continue the farmer gatherings that began with the 2021 project award and formalize the burgeoning beginning farmer and rancher network. The known stress of farming, the various difficulties of the pandemic, and other division in our society all point to the need for positive connections with each other in our world. This community building was originally conceived with the idea that farmers, especially beginning farmers need to feel connected to resources, technical assistance, and other people who are doing the same thing in the world that they are. We realize, though, that we have an opportunity to offer space for relationships among farmers who might not otherwise know each other but who all believe in growing good food and caring for the land. Creating spaces for positive interactions and support seems important in the world right now. From a practical beginning farmer education and training perspective, a North Texas network of beginning farmers and ranchers will provide a more structured way to communicate and share resources an educational events. The gatherings will occur in-person as much as possible, but some virtual gatherings will provide an option for farmers who cannot get to the in-person events consistently. The format will be patterned after a local nonprofit leadership network called It's Lonely At The Top. Gatherings will have an educational topic to bring people together - a resource, a publication, or similar - but will offer peer support time- asking questions of other attendees about a problem or complaining about a difficult customer and of course just social time. The project team will create a private Facebook group for the network managed by the project team and an email list where resources can be easily shared and questions asked. Cohort members and other participants will be eligible to receive conference registration and travel stipend to attend the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association Annual Conference each year of the project.

Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience: The area targeted for this project includes a section of Texas in an approximate 100-120 mile radius from the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area. The area is mixed geographically with both urban and rural populations. The project's target audience encompasses many farms who already sell direct to consumer but have been farming less than 10 years. Consistently, workshop attendees include those who are anywhere between planning to farm and three years of farming. Both veterans and people of color in Dallas comprise the majority of those interested in farming. The audience will be primarily composed of those growing fruits and vegetables for direct to consumer sales. Changes/Problems:The project has not encountered any major problems or roadblocks. We look forward to year 3 and developing a project to follow this one. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provides a cohort opportunity for new andbeginning farmers which consists of monthly meetings, reading from books about professional market farming, and webinars that cohort members attend. Additionally, the webinars and workshops offered are open to the public, so any farmer who is interested in the topic can join and gain more knowledge and training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have not yet been disseminated as the project has one more year to complete. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next reporting period, we will continue working the project plan. A third cohort will be led through the planned activities as well as offering the planned webinars. Each year, the project team has made improvements to the cohort experience as well as updating the webinar topic offerings.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the second year of this grant, the project team designed an application and determined criteria for prospective cohort participants. The team selected and worked with six producers who agreed to participate in the farmer cohort, receive additional technical assistance, meet monthly, complete assigned readings and attend webinars that coincided with the cohort reading topics. In exchange, the producers received a $500/mo stipend. This meets the goals of Objective 1. We built upon what we accomplished in year one, and the second year was successful. Three of the producers were veterans to ensure the equitable inclusion of our partner Farmers Assisting Returning Military's audience. One producer dropped out a couple months shy of completion due to personal matters. Webinar and meeting attendance improved overall, but we learned that even with signed agreements, and clear expectations for attendance and assignment completion we need to tie participating in the cohort meeting, attending webinars, and completing assignments to stipend payment because some producers did not complete assignments and readings. In addition to the meetings, webinars and assignments, we also implemented participation in a bi-weekly farmers market. Market attendance was not required but was strongly encouraged. Each of the webinars offered were well attended, exceeding our expected numbers. The average ratio of registrants to attendees remained at about 30%. We believe this variation happens because people know they can have the recording link emailed to them after the webinar whether they attend or not. This is a function of the pandemic making webinar recordings the standard. Project Objectives 2 & 3 were met for this program year through the above mentioned workshops and webinars. We are continuing to build community with our producers and facilitate ways for them to connect and know each other. The following producerstory is a result of this BFRDP project: A local grower, who we will call Ms. B has attended several GNTX webinars and workshops and recently received technical assistance from a GROW North Texas team member. Ms. B has expressed that since attending these webinars and workshops that she has expanded her growing capacity and has added additional crops to her practice. She has also installed irrigation throughout her property and has started her business plan and marketing strategy. She has incorporated her farm business and is in the process of establishing her brand in her local community. She has also started propagating and may introduce this as a "value added" product in the future.

Publications


    Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The audience for this project is small and urban farms using organic and regenerative methods and selling direct to consumer in the North Texas area, with the base geography being the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. These producers do not have formal educational opportunties within a reasonable distance that provide information specifically for growing fruits and vegetables or raising livestock, selling direct to consumer, and amending North Texas soils. This project reaches them through informal learning and community building, in-person and online. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Result 1. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "So You Think You Want to Farm?". Producer action: Understand, Topic: Business and strategic planning Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 11 Result 2. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "NRCS Soil Survey". Producer action: Understand; Topic: Soil management Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 13 Result 3. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "Start Right with Your Farm Business". Producer action: Understand; Topic: Personal and business liability Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 17 Result 4. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the workshop for beginning farmers January 2023. Producer action:Understand; Topic: Business and strategic planning Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 7 Result 5. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "Farm Record Keeping for Profit". Producer action: Understand; Topic: Financial records and analysis Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 19 Result 6. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "Agritourism & Other Income Streams". Producer action: ,Understand; Topic: Local, regional, and direct marketing Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 16 Result 7. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "Planning for Fall & Winter Crops". Producer action:Understand; Topic: Urban farming Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 20 Result 8. At least 80% of participants will report learning information about starting a farm after attending the webinar "Production Planning for Profit". Producer action:Understand; Topic: Vegetables Estimated Number: 12, Actual Number: 18 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Webinars are recorded and posted on Vimeo. The recording link is also available to those who registered for the event, regardeless of whether they attended the event or not. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project team will continue with project activities as planned. Years 2 & 3 are outlined for repeating the same plan of work with corrections and improvements made.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? First Year Summary: The Ensuring More Farm Success in North Texas project's first year continues to build on the success of two previous years of educational programming for beginning farmers in North Texas. The project leveraged existing tools, knowledge, and resources to help new and beginning farmers start or improve farm operations resulting in profitable farms at whatever scale the farmer wants. Through a 9-month, seven-topic guided process that uses existing printed and online resources, 6 new and beginning farmers got to know each other, engaged in discussion and further learning on 7 different topics related to successful farming. Other new and beginning farmers will be able to attended in-person and virtual learning events that coincided with the cohort topics. The area targeted for this project includes a section of Texas in an approximate 100-120 mile radius from the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area and served 120 farmers and ranchers. First Year Progress Notes from Staff: In the first year of this grant, the project team worked with the initial six producers who agreed to participate in the farmer cohort, receiving additional technical assistance, meeting monthly, and completing readings. In exchange, the producers received a $500/mo stipend. We also offered webinars that coincided with the cohort reading topics. Overall, this first year was successful. We did learn, however, that the expectations for attendance and assignment completion were not as specific as they needed to be and that we need to tie participating in the cohort meeting, attending webinars, and completing assignments to stipend payment. One producer dropped out early and one had intermittent participation. Before the end of this grant year, we completed the application for the second cohort and released that to our audience. We agreed that 1/2 the cohort (3 people) would be veterans to ensure their equitable inclusion of our partner Farmers Assisting Returning Military's audience. All eight webinars offered were well attended, exceeding our expected numbers. The average ratio of registrants to attendees remained at about 30%. We believe this variation happens because people know they can have the recording link emailed to them after the webinar whether they attend or not. This is a function of the pandemic making webinar recordings the standard. First Year Numbers: Total participants: 127 Started Farming: 3-yr Project Target - 20, Actual - 6 Helped prepare to start farming: 3-yr Project Target - 55, Actual - 20 Improved farming success: 3-yr ProjectTarget - 275, Actual - 100

    Publications