Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Tronstad, R. E.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
888 N EUCLID AVE
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85719-4824

GROWING THE MANAGEMENT SKILLS OF NATIVE AMERICANS AND LIMITED-RESOURCE BEGINNING FARMERS IN THE SOUTHWEST

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This proposal emphasizes the priority topic areas of: basic crop farming practices, entrepreneurship and business training, financial and risk management training, diversification and marketing strategies, curriculum development, resources, vocational training for veterans, farm safety and awareness, and in the other subject areas: advanced training for soils and irrigation, hoop house operation, and food safety. Our target audience includes Native American tribes in Arizona and New Mexico, Limited Resource Producers, Youth, Veterans, and other beginning farmer participants. This renewal grant is based on successful partnerships with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and tribal agents, and NGO/CBO partners who were identified during the current grant. About 40 percent of the budget will be allocated to the NGOs/CBOs.Lessons learned and feedback from participants of our current grant indicated a need for more in-depth science-based curriculum to address soil and water salinity, farming as a business first, conducting market surveys, economics of equipment selection, working towards organic certification, tax information and strategies, irrigation, zoning and regulations for farmers, farm worker and food safety, non-chemical pest and disease control methods, selecting companion crops for different seasons, and related topics. This Standard BFRDP proposal focuses on empowering beginning and limited resource producers to learn these skills through ongoing hands-on demonstration, instruction, and curriculum proposed over the three years. The third year of our proposed education emphasizes individual mentoring to better enable participants to adopt production processes learned and business plans proposed. We are building on a successful foundation of having engaged over 373 participants in the current grant cycle and are incorporating the lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of participants adopting the skills and knowledge gained through the program. We will deliver relevant information to limited resource audiences that include Southwest Native Americans, CBO's/NGO's, and military veterans with the goal of having participants complete a production and/or business plan for a specialty crop small farm enterprise.

OBJECTIVES: Key Goals Help beginning farmer audiences become more economically vibrant through acquiring sound production and business skills for small-scale specialty crop operations. We are proposing to improve the economic viability of our beginning farmer audiences and participants through the following educational objectives:Take the lessons learned and science-based curriculum developed from our current beginning farmer grant of "Enhancing Beginning Farmer Specialty Crop Management Skills and Opportunities In The Southwest," to new audiences while delivering more in-depth training to some of our existing most engaged audience locations.Expand our science-based curriculum by adding more in-depth training in subject areas identified by beginning farmer participants. These include soil structure, solarization of soil for organic production methods, irrigation, water quality, collaborative marketing strategies, entrepreneurship, record keeping techniques, accurate break-even cost of production values, income tax planning, and business planning that considers common community goals.Develop a Small Farm Cost of Production Estimator, similar to a Nursery Break-Even Price and Profit Estimator (http://ag.arizona.edu/extension/riskmanagement/managing finance risk/index.html) which estimates production costs on a square foot basis for different crops, to facilitate the tracking and logging of expenses for small-scale farms operating under arid southwest conditions. This spreadsheet-based estimator will help participants record expenses and obtain accurate cost of production and risk assessment estimates for different crops, elevations, soil, and water regimes in the Southwest.

APPROACH: Education MethodsUniversity of Arizona Extension will provide hands-on training and workshops to all audiences on sound recordkeeping systems that follow established bookkeeping practices (i.e., Farm Financial Standards Council). The co-project directors have delivered many hands-on computer workshops before, and not only do these producers benefit from being able to ask questions right away while they are trying to learn a process, we are able to immediately identify producers that need extra assistance and explanation to grasp a given recordkeeping system or concept.Curriculum modules will be offered with the estimated amount of time either in personal contact or through online or recorded video resources. Classes will be offered at a basic/intermediate level the first year and some as advanced during the second and third years. The curriculum will be delivered in person and through online or recorded video presentations. Our team of instructors will be available for discussions and questions when online or recorded video resources are delivered by our partnering entities, like the Jemez Pueblo, to their community. Partnering entities will help facilitate group discussions during these online and video sessions.Formal classroom style presentations, field days, and recorded or online streamed presentations will be delivered during years 1 and 2 of the grant duration. Participants will be asked to develop either a production plan or business plan depending on their needs by the end of the first or second year. We will encourage participants to fine-tune their plans over time. In the third year, follow-up with individuals or groups will be facilitated to ensure the implementation of their plans or to assist in modifications of plans to farm. Follow-up assistance will involve the input and aide of our partnering entities. During years 1 and 2 local data will be collected on items such as temperatures, rainfall, water quality, and water availability to assist new farmers in better understanding their production challenges, climate and costs of production.In addition, our approach is to have a wide range of tools available that beginning producers can utilize, especially with regards to computer literacy. The most basic system is our 3-ring Crop Recordkeeping Workbook that has ledgers for recording activities like tillage, planting, irrigation, and harvest records plus basic financial transactions. These ledgers provide a basic structure for producers to start tracking key production events and financial transactions, and they have been successful in prior workshops. This format has also been recommended by some FSA loan officers as a basic format to follow for preparing a loan for them. However, the ability of the computer to automatically do math calculations, link data entries to financial statements and charts, plus physically store and organize millions of records on a tiny memory chip make the computer an attractive recordkeeping system to even individuals that need to learn computer literacy skills (Tronstad, Teegerstrom, Osgood).Our team and partners also recognize that cultures often differ when dealing with Native American, limited resource, veterans, and other beginning farmers. Thus, we will recruit limited resource beginning farmers by tailoring our workshops to the appropriate location, environment, and time that will attract a good audience. USB flash drives will also be used as a recruiting tool for producers to attend computer workshops and safely store their information when using public computers at libraries, Chapter Houses, and schools. We will also work with our cooperators to see that invitations through letters, radio stations, phone calls, networking sessions at local ag supply outlets, and even electronic communication and advertisements are made so that we reach a broad audience of beginning limited resource producers. Cooperative Extension agents, 4-H Leaders, FSA and Farm Credit loan officers, our partnering agencies, and other professionals strategically located throughout Arizona and New Mexico will be key in helping us reach these individuals. We also believe we will recruit many of these producers to attend our trainings due to the widespread interest in growing specialty crops.Evaluation and Assessments Assessing the degree that beginning farmers and ranchers achieve our long-term goals is very important to this project and our team. Everyone has plenty to do, so our education needs to be at their level and work within their cultural norms and traditions to be effective. Workshop evaluations, anonymous personal response or "clicker" technology feedback, adoption of online tools utilized, web sessions, and feedback from loan officers, extension agents, and industry personnel will be used to evaluate the impact of our proposed programs. We will verify the producers we reach through sign-in sheets, web sessions, program registrations, and materials handed out at workshops. "Clicker technology" will be used at the beginning and end of our programs to help determine changes in knowledge from training sessions. However, feedback obtained several months after an educational event is most valuable because we can then determine if our education has produced behavioral change. For example, right after a workshop we can only ask what they feel the odds are they will utilize a recordkeeping tool in the next year. But a year after a workshop, we can determine if they used one of our recordkeeping tools to obtain a loan. Because our cooperating partners are located in the communities where educational events will be held, they will be key for us in assessing the degree that our long-terms goals have been met.

PROGRESS: 2014/12 TO 2017/11
Target Audience:Our educational efforts targeted limited resource producers,Native Americans, Small Farms,Military Veterans, and other beginning farmer participants interested in growing specialty crops. Workshop and field day participants learned about selecting niche crops that would fit in their production regime (i.e., elevation) for their soil and water availability and conditions. Season extensions by utilizing a hoop house and/or frost protection such thatstarts that can be taken to the field or plants grown to harvest in the hoop house were addressed. We worked with our partners one-on-one more significantly in thislast year as participants were implementing the business plans that they started earlier in the project. We estimate that our program reached 432 unique participants throughout our three year project. Changes/Problems:One challenge has been in getting non-university partners/subawardees paperwork and reports conducted and received in a timely manner. While this maynot resolve all challenges, having partners as collaborators rather than subawardees may help in reducing some of the time lags and paperwork required for working with our non-profit partners. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the last year of our project we focused more with one-on-one education and assistance. However, we still provided 16 workshops or field day educational events provided 1,665 producer hours of education. Over the entire 3 year project, we provided 186 different training events with 268 hours of instruction. Not including one-on-one assistance and correspondence, we estimate that we provided 7,990 hrs. of educational training to beginning farmers over the three years of our project to 432 unique participants.We also provided hands on training and assistance at 6 different hoop houses and locationsthat were constructed as a part of this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Over the three years of our project, we have disseminated over 450 recordkeeping workbooks and pocket notebooks with flash drives that include publications and resources for beginning farmers. The websites of specialtycrops.arizona.edu and www.localfresh.info are also used to disseminate information to the general public from this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2014/12 TO 2017/11
What was accomplished under these goals? Below are results that beginning farmer participants have learned,understood or implemented due toour project: We estimate that 275 participants learned how to take soil and water samples for testing and understand how to interpret salinity and pH results. Related to this testing, beginning farmer participants learned what compost and amendments can be applied to improve soil salinity and pH along with how to monitor, manage, and improve soil fertility for sustainable production.This knowledge was verified through soil samples received for testing at workshops and feedback received from participants. Of the 275 beginning farmers that learned about soil and water testing, we estimate that 105 took management actions to address shortcomings of their soil. We estimatethat at least340 beginning farmer participants learned how to take records on important production and financial aspects fortheir operation. We disseminated well over 450 recordkeeping workbooks with templates for beginning farmers to follow and add more template record sheets.Generally, over 80 percentof participants will indicate that they have started to keep records using the 3-ring binder workbook with templates or the pocket notebook within a year of receiving these items soliciting this information with anonymous Audience Response System or clicker technology. We estimate that 320 producers learned how to systematically collect receipts and record income and expenses on a schedule F tax form to qualify for programs like Whole Farm Revenue Protection. We have witnessed some individuals keep very detailed production and financial records in a short amount of time using these recordkeeping templates. Through our recordkeeping and risk management educational programs, we believe that 275 individuals pursued federal EQIP, FSA, andcrop insurance related programs to help manage their production and financial risks. We also estimate that 135 participants have adopted or implemented a financial recordkeeping system as a result of the training we provided. With regards to evaluating federal crop insurance options through USDA/FSA and/or USDA/RMA, we estimate that 120 beginning farmer participants were able to determine which option or options arebest suited for their operation. Of these producers, we estimate that 45 adopted a federal insurance product that they would not have without participating in our educational project. We estimate that 320 beginning farmer participants learned the importance of putting together a strategic business plan for their specialty crop farming activities. We also estimate that 350 participants learned the importance of diversification and alternative ways for diversifying with a specialty crop operation.By the end of our project, we believe that 150beginning farmer participantsdeveloped a business plan outline for their current or future operation using feedback from clickers and AgPlan. Of these participants, we estimate that 32 completed a written business plan in full detail. About 20 beginning farmer participants applied for a loan using the written business plan that they had developed. The Small Farm Cost Estimator was put together so that beginning farmers growing on a square foot rather than per acre basis can help determine their break-even prices of production coveringoperating and ownership costs for the many different products they can produce. One direct farm marketing producerhas over 140 items that they sell at 3 to 5 different farmers' markets plus a CSA and some restaurant sales. Labor and space in hoop houses are difficult to track when they are jointly shared, but the Small Farm Cost Estimator provides a template for producers to input their values on these items to obtain break-even cost of production estimates. Using clicker feedback we estimate that 250 individuals learned the basics for what is needed to put their numbers into the Small Farm Cost Estimator. As verified through one-on-one feedback, personal interviews with partners, and clicker feedback we estimate that 20individuals utilized their own numbers in the Small Farm Cost Estimator to analyze their operations production costs and make a decision on what to produce based on these analytical results. Through our Direct Farm Marketing curriculum, we estimate that 345 participants became knowledgeable about the different direct farm marketing strategies available for marketing directly to consumers. In addition to this awareness, 20 participants that have attended our classes or through contact withour partners have established an account on www.localfresh.info to help connect their direct marketing sales with local consumers. Water efficiency and cost is very important for Southwest specialty crop production. We estimate that 275 participants are more knowledgeable about efficient and practical irrigation methods and were able to select the best irrigation system for their watersituation. Through feedback from our partners and site visits weestimate that20 beginning farmer participants implemented more efficient irrigation systems from our curriculum than theypreviously had. Certification programs for specialty crops are very numerous and range from certified organic to local state labels like Arizona Grown. From our educational programs we estimate that 345 participants learned how to get assistance in attaining organic certification and realize what records and practices are needed to become organically certified.At the end of our project we estimate that 40 producers decided to produce specialty crops organically or with natural/traditional production methods given feedback received from our partners and anonymous clicker feedback responses. Much of our production curriculum focused on selecting crops suitable for both local soil and climatic conditions. We estimate that 340 beginning farmer participants became familiar with resources and information that needs to be considered in selecting crops for a suitable production environment. Of these beginning farmer participants, we believe that 110 were able to develop an annual crop production schedule for their climatic area and growing conditions based on the feedback received from our partners and anonymous audience response system or clicker feedback.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2014/12 TO 2017/11
1. Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: http://specialtycrops.arizona.edu. -- Resources and Presentations put online
2. Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: www.localfresh.info. -- online website for connecting producers with local consumers via zip code and smartphone

PROGRESS: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
Target Audience:Target audiences reached by our efforts include Native American, limited-resource, socially disadvantaged, youth, veterans, and other beginning farmer individuals. Workshop and field day participants are learning about growing seasons in the Southwest where temperatures can fluctuate greatly during the day and night, particularly if growing in a hoop house in the winter season. We constructed a hoop house at the Tonalea Day school this last year and they have been growing produce in the hoop house and nearby outside when the weather permits. This is a high elevation location (about 5,500 feet) that is very arid. This project is helping families in the area revive traditions of farming with native seeds that have been left idle for many years in some communities. Changes/Problems:Challenges have occurred in getting all of our non-university partners/subawardees paid in a timely manner going through University Financials but we have eventually managed to get everyone paid as proposed/budgeted. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In 2016 we delivered 29 workshops and 111 hours of instruction to 307 unique individuals in Arizona and New Mexico. Educational events were advertised using flyers, newspaper announcements, radio, and word-of-mouth. Workshops conducted are as follows: December 7, 2015, Prescott, AZ, assessing market size and enterprise budgeting; December 8, 2015, Tonalea, AZ, goal setting for youth, high elevation hoop house production possibilities, and basics of recordkeeping; December 13-14, Jemez, NM, high elevation production scheduling for produce, site selection, and goal setting for youth; December 15, Paulden, AZ, growing produce for farmers' markets at a high elevation; January 27, 2016, Benson, AZ, establishing goals, introduction to developing a business plan, and basics of soils and plant agronomy; February 3, 2016, Florence, AZ, small animal possibilities and considerations for beginning farmers; February 10, 2016 Benson, AZ, recordkeeping and financials for small-scale farming and analyzing EC readings for soil and water test results; February 15, 2016, Phoenix, AZ, season extension with high tunnels and covers inside; February 24, 2016, Benson, AZ, certification and labeling issues and organic marketing considerations from the 2012 ag census; March 1, 2016, Florence, AZ, small animal production and market analyses; March 9, 2016, Benson, AZ, market analyses and enterprise planning/budgeting; March 16, 2016, Tucson, AZ, cost and labor issues associated with hoop house production and using LocalFresh.Info for marketing; March 23, 2016, Benson, AZ, financing, microloans, and grant opportunities; April 6, 2016, Florence, mushroom production in the desert -- growing facilities, strategies, and marketing the healthy attributes of mushrooms; April 11, 2016, Tonalea, AZ, hoop house construction and production/marketing considerations for the western Navajo Nation; April 20-21, Jemez, NM, crop planting and scheduling for native foods; May 4, 2016, Florence, AZ, Arizona's water right laws for wells as applicable to small-scale farming; June 7, 2016, Florence, AZ, solar electricity as a tool for pumping water on small acreages; September 6, 2016, Florence, AZ, integrated pest management practices with produce for beginning farmers to consider; September 29, 2016, Florence, AZ, hoop house construction techniques and production/marketing considerations for central Arizona; October 4, 2016, Florence, AZ, using LocalFresh.Info as a producer to connect with consumers; October 5, 2016, Benson, AZ, establishing program goals and introduction to business planning; October 6, 2016, Jemez, NM, cooperatives and using a hoop house for season extension; October 19, 2016, Benson, AZ, recordkeeping tools and financials for small-scale farming and building soils; November 1, 2016, Florence, AZ, factors to consider for small-scale aquaponics production and marketing; November 2, 2016, Benson, AZ, zoning issues and organic production techniques for small farms; November 16, 2016, Benson, AZ, small farm cost estimator and integrated pest management for beginning farmers; November 30, 2016, market analyses, enterprise budgeting, and food safety considerations for beginning farmers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated recordkeeping pocketbooks that are consistent with 3-ring binder recordkeeping workbooks for all participants to utilize in getting a start on more sound records (both production and financial). We have also distributed flash drives with an electronic version of these workbooks plus many publications that complement the workshops we provide. Online AgPlan accounts are also promoted for participants to utilize and to receive feedback from us, providing they share their account. LocalFresh.Info and specialtycrops.arizona.edu are websites that we have also promoted during our workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to work towards completing all of our targeted goals. While we are on track to easily meet our goals on unique participants and training hours, we want to ensure that participants with goals for developing or growing a beginning farm are moving forward successfully. To help ensure that this happens, we are focusing on more small group and one-on-one training in the final year of our project, as we originally proposed.

IMPACT: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
What was accomplished under these goals? From December 1, 2015 to November 30, 2016, our project delivered Beginning Farmer production and marketing programs at 8 different locations and built three Hoop Houses (approximately 500 sq. feet each) on two different sites. For the period we delivered 29 workshops with 111 hours of instruction to 307 unique individuals. We analyzed over 150 site specific soil and water samples from participants for pH and salinity. As in the prior year, education programs include lecture, hands-on instruction, farm tours, on-line tools (AgPlan and LocalFresh.info), problem solving, and site visits of participant's production area.

PUBLICATIONS: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
1. Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: http://specialtycrops.arizona.edu
2. Type: Websites Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: LocalFresh.info website was made so that it is more usable and oriented towards a mobile device rather than a computer screen.

PROGRESS: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
Target Audience:Target Audiences Educational efforts are targeting Native Americans, Youth, Limited Resource Producers, Military Veterans, and other beginning farmer participants individuals. Field day and workshop participants arelearning about growing seasons and how hoop houses can be utilized to extend the growing season for niche specialty crops that will not thrive without a structure that provides a protected environment for at least part of the crop cycle. Workshops and Field Days are held in climatic regions that range from the high desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico to Arizona's intermediate and low desert. Veterans have been recruited at all sites through existing local veteran organizations, but also specifically through organizations like the 'Open Hands Outreach Program' thatclosely work with this audience in Pinal County. Youth beginning farmers we have reached include students at the Tonalea School, as well as their families. Introducing students to the basics of cultivating plants, how to start and run a business, and marketing the produce has helped reintroduce them and their families to the rich tradition of farming in their community. Most youth and their families have not maintained the tradition of farming from generation to generation and this project is giving them a fresh start. Changes/Problems:Upon request, we have shifted one proposed workshop location in SE Arizona from Safford, AZ to Benson AZ to expand our audience. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? In2015 delivered31 workshops, 137.5 hours of instruction to 229 unique individuals in Arizona and New Mexico.Education events were advertised using fliers, newspaper announcements, radio, and word-of-mouth. March 12, 2015, Tuba City, AZ (Coal Mine Area), hoop house construction, site selection and management training; March 13, 2015, Tonalea, AZ, hoop house construction, site selection and management training; April 8, 2015, Tucson, AZ, overview of hoop house growing and construction and basic soils; April 9, 2015, Safford, AZ, overview of hoop house activities and soil basics; April 14, 2015, Florence, AZ, overview of beginning farmer activities, financing and grant sources; April 22, 2015, Tucson, AZ, soil testing, funding, and assessing markets; April 23, 2015, Safford, AZ, soil testing, financing and grant sources; May 5, 2015, Florence, AZ, record keeping and soil basics; May 6, 2015, Tucson, AZ, assessing market size and food safety; May 7, 2015, Safford, AZ, assessing market size and food safety; May 20, 2015, Tucson, AZ, certification and labeling and organic production methods; May 21, 2015, Safford, AZ, certification and labeling and organic production methods; May 27, 2015, Jemez, NM, intro to programming goal and objectives; June 2, 2015, Florence, AZ, business planning basics, soil fertility, and composting; July 30, 2015, Jemez, NM, record keeping and crop selection; August 13, 2015, Oracle, AZ, one-on-one consultation with area growers for 3F; August 21, 2015, Safford, AZ, on-site tour of 3 different production sites by participants; September 8, 2015, Florence, AZ, organic production methods and certification; October 6, 2015, Florence, AZ, certification and labeling considerations plus financing; October 26, 2015, Prescott, AZ, overview of hoop house production, grant funding, and production basics; October 26, 2015, Phoenix, AZ, record keeping for beginning farmers; October 27, 2015, Tonalea, AZ, overview of growing in hoop houses and SWOT analyses and goals; November 3, 2015, Florence, AZ, financial analyses and evaluating market size; November 9, 2015, Prescott, AZ, record keeping, SWOT, goals, and soil analyses; November 10, 2015, Tonalea, AZ, basics of records, tying knots for securing a hoop house and evaluating soil properties; November 16, 2015, Phoenix, AZ, enterprise and financial analyses; November 23, 2015, Prescott, AZ, certification and labeling considerations and business planning; November 24, 2015, Tonalela, AZ, basics of food labeling and career possibilities in agriculture; December 15, 2015, Chino Valley, AZ, farm tour of partnering Whipstone Farm that serves as mentor and educator for beginning farmer producers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have dessiminated record keeping workbooks, flash drives with publications, and website tools of localfresh.info and specialtycrops.arizona.edu. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to work towards meeting our targets for numberof workshops and participants targeted. In addition, we are continuing with thedevelopment ofthe small farm cost estimator proposed and are scheduled to work on this tool in January.

IMPACT: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
What was accomplished under these goals? Delivered Beginning Farmer production and marketing programs at 7 different locations. Built 2 hoop houses that were about 500 sq. feet each. Delivered 24workshops with 96hours of instruction to 181unique individuals. Analyzed over 175 site specific soil and water samples from participants for pH and salinity. Educational programs include lecture, hands-on instruction, farm tours, on-line tools (AgPlan andlocalfresh.info), problem solving, and site visits of participant's production area.

PUBLICATIONS: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
1. Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: http://specialtycrops.arizona.edu
2. Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Scientists' Support Helps Food Bank Distribute Food for Holiday Season and All Year, News Story, U of AZ Cooperative Extension