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INVESTIGATOR: Holmes, G.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
HOLMES COUNTY FOOD HUB
163 HEAD START RD
GOODMAN, MISSISSIPPI 39079

FARM TO SCHOOL ACADEMY FOR BEGINNING FARMERS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Theproject is designed to enhance food security by providing beginning farmers with the knowledge, skills and tools needed to facilitate Farm to School market opportunities. Theproject is a standard BFRDP project and a new application. The one year developmentalproject addresses the following priority topics: 1) diversification and marketing strategies, 2) entrepreneurship and business training, 3) basic crop farming practices. The target audience for the project is limited resource, beginning farmers, and 100% of the project budget is allocated to address the needs of this audience. Farm-to-School Academy for Beginning Farmers, is designed to train beginning, limited resource farmers in the basic tenets of farm-to-school marketing. Academy graduates will receive certification on how to establish, facilitate and sustain farm to school markets. Specific objectives of the project are to:Establish a training and assistance program for facilitating farm to school markets, and;Facilitate increased participation of beginning, limited resource farmers in school markets.The project is designed to equip new and beginning farmers in Mississippi with relevant and measurable, knowledge, skills and tools to make informed decisions that lead to successful agricultural operations. Specifically the project will teach and demonstrate: 1) marketing strategies that enhance competitiveness of new farm operations; 2) business management and decision making strategies that enhance the financial viability of new farm operations, and; 3) production and management practices that enhance land stewardship.

OBJECTIVES: Theproject is a developmental BFRDP project to develop opportunities to sustain new and beginning farms through marketing strategies that enhance competitiveness. The project seeks to encourage farm entry by removing barriers that face the next generation farmer, particularly access to viable and profitable markets and the training and assistance related to such. Theproject is designed to develop the Farm-to-School Academy for Beginning Farmers and evaluate the effectiveness of the program utilizing a small group of beginning, limited resource farmers. Theproject is targeting a small group of fifteen (15) new, beginning and veteran farmers providing group and individual training and assistance activities. This small group will provide feedback as to best practices and effective educational methods in order to reach underserved audiences. Eventually, the Academy graduates will receive certification on how to establish, facilitate and sustain farm to school efforts. The objectives of the project are to:Establish a training and assistance program for facilitating farm to school markets, and;Facilitate increased participation of beginning, limited resource farmers in school markets.Specifically the project will teach and demonstrate: 1) marketing strategies that enhance competitiveness of new farm operations; 2) business management and decision making strategies that enhance the financial viability of new farm operations, and; 3) production and management practices that enhance land stewardship.

APPROACH: Theproject will utilize the business incubator model for agricultural production and marketing demonstrations targeting new and beginning farmers. The incubator will be an intensive, hands-on approach working with a small group of new and beginning farmers to establish core business plans and practices that will enable them to facilitate successful Farm to School business ventures. Holmes County Food Hub will provide the technical training and support in enterprise production, marketing and business development in coordination with various resource providers including local extension and USDA agencies. This training and assistance in market development, value-added production and distribution will enable participants to obtain "real-world, hands-on experiences.The Farm to School Academy Demonstration/Training Site will be also used to demonstrate and evaluate various alternative enterprises, production management practices and market development models. A five to twenty acre production site will be established to demonstrate select economically viable and sustainable crop enterprises for the Farm to School market. Workshops and field days will be conducted to demonstrate the viability of Farm to School market opportunities. On-site enterprise production and market demonstrations will be complemented with business management seminars and workshops related to those enterprises and markets. The training activities are designed to enhance capacity in agricultural entrepreneurship. Training activities may include, but not limited to:Business planning and market developmentAgricultural production and crop managementFood handling and value-added productionAccessing and managing financial resourcesTransportation and distribution logisticsThese demonstration and incubator training activities will be conducted at the facilities of the Holmes County Food Hub and a 35 acre demonstration farm site in Holmes County, MS.