Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Moua, M.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
Hmong American Partnership
1075 Arcade Street
Saint Paul, MINNESOTA 55106

SUSTAINABLE FARMS FOR URBAN MARKETS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: HAP is requesting support toexpand our Sustainable Farms for Urban Markets (SFUM) Program. HAP's collaborative partners on this project areFarmers Legal Action Group, Inc. and Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. TheTwin Citiesis home to the largest urban concentration of Hmong in the United States. HAP serves over 7,000 clients annually through a comprehensive range of services within five departments: Education and Training; Employment Services; Health and Wellness; Economic and Community Development; and Children and Family Services.HAP has developed a number of programs to encourage agricultural entrepreneurship within these communities, including the successful Sustainable Economic and Environmental Development Southeast Asian Farmer Entrepreneurship (SEED) Program and Project SAFE, a program focused on risk management. AP has a successful history of national advocacy for Hmong farmers and received a 2001 award from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for contributions to advancing and supporting American agriculture.The primary goal of SFUM Program aligns with USDA-NIFA's BFRDP's goals because SFUM has a mission to enhance food security and community development by providing beginning farmers and their families with the education and resources needed to make informed decisions to enhance their farming success and sustainability. The program seeks to build economic prosperity of farm businesses for New Americans, Immigrants and Refugee farmers in the greater Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area, by achieving the following goals: Goal 1: Increase the number of immigrant and refugee beginning farmers in the greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area by engaging Southeast Asian farmers in culturally relevant farm educational opportunities; Goal 2. Enhance the long-term sustainability and success of Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee beginning farmers by building a community of farmer entrepreneurs; Goal 3. Improve the ability of Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee beginning farmers to provide for the food needs of the community by linking farmers with additional markets and resources for their farm businesses.HAP anticipates to service 50 farmers through a cohort-learning model that will help them to expand their businesses and market differentiation while promoting value-added products, and 500 farmer participants through its monthly educational workshops and field visits.

OBJECTIVES: Long-term Goals & Objectives: The primary goal of the Sustainable Farms for Urban Markets (SFUM) Program is to enhance food security and community development by providing beginning farmers and their families with the education and resources needed to make informed decisions to enhance their farming success and sustainability. The program seeks to build economic prosperity of farm businesses for New Americans, Immigrants and Refugee farmers in the greater Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area

APPROACH: The programmethod and approachincludes two educational delivery models: educational workshops designed to reach a broad audience of Southeast Asian beginning farmers and a cohort learning model which is intended to provide more intensive education, mentoring and assistance to a smaller group of beginning farmers. Below is a description of each activity, categorized by the corresponding objective.Outreach Activities. HAP will create and distribute culturally relevant marketing material, fliers, brochures, posters to inform the Southeast Asian farming community about the program. In addition, HAP will engage in a word of mouth campaign with existing participants in HAP farm education programs and other HAP programs (ESL, GED, Housing, etc.). These activities correspond to Objective 1a.Educational Activities. SFUM will deliver twelve, two hour educational workshops per year at various locations around the greater Saint Paul/Minneapolis metropolitan area. The sessions will cover the priority topics of farm business planning, diversification, marketing strategies, land acquisition, compliance and licensing requirements, loan products, insurance and other financial resources. HAP coordinates workshop presentations from existing or retired farmers, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Farmer's Legal Action Group (FLAG, Inc.), Farm Service Agency (FSA), AgStar Financial Services, chambers of commerce, university extension services, and other organizations that can provide expertise; these are offered at HAP. This supports Objective 2a.Cohort Peer-Learning. The central component of the SFUM Program is the cohort learning model, through which beginning Southeast Asian farmers will receive: a) educational and training sessions on the priority topics; b) one-on-one coaching and technical assistance specifically related to scaling up markets and new market opportunities; c) mentoring with experienced farmers who are successful at market differentiation; and d) a cohort fellowship stipend. The Cohort Learning Program corresponds to Objective 2b.Cohort Education Sessions. The Coordinator will coordinate 12 sessions for a period of 2 hours/session for each cohort. Trainings will take place over the course of 6-8 months, primarily during the winter and spring season. Participants will receive not less than 24 hours of entrepreneurial development and training on the priority topics listed below which consist of site visits to farms. HAP has designed and follows a culturally appropriate cohort curriculum that helps farmers to envision themselves as entrepreneurs and develop a vision for their business. These activities support Objectives 3a and 3c. Curriculum components include:Entrepreneurial leadership skills: visioning and planning, exploring new business models and ventures, communication skills.Business planning: record keeping, business licensing, income tax, business plans, customer service, cash flow, small business management and sustainable business practices.Legal issues such as meeting federal, state or county requirements, health and safety standards, legal resources, contracts, leases and other legal agreements.Marketing strategies including identifying and reaching out to diverse markets, new markets, branding and logos, unique selling positions, marketing and communication strategies.Financial information on applying for grants, loans and other resources available to cover startup costs and equipment purchases, insurance and lender resources.Farming and agricultural topics such as harvesting, production, processing, conservation, new technology and soil enhancements.Cohort Technical Assistance. HAP will provide one-to-one coaching to beginning farmer cohort members throughout the program. Each participant will develop a personal development plan that addresses his/her needs and concerns related to business management, decision support strategies, marketing strategies, and legal resources. The Coordinator and FLAG will collectively provide up to 10 hours of technical assistance per cohort participant over a course of each year. Examples of types of TA include: helping them with accounting, financial counseling for growth, expansion of businesses, credit repairs, credit loans, opening savings accounts, creating market plans and differentiating products, providing and connecting to resources for market research, business plan development, and assisting with farm financial projections. The coaching and technical assistance further supports Objectives 3a-3d. Cohort Mentoring Services. Cohort participants have a steep learning curve, which will require extra time for participants to learn new tools and gain aptitude to use them effectively. Therefore, cohort members will be placed into groups with a peer mentor identified from the farming community. At a minimum, HAP will identify 5 mentors. Mentors will have previous experience building their own businesses and will be able to provide participants with information that helps them be successful. HAP will provide quarterly group mentoring opportunities that take place in the form of an "Entrepreneurial Farmer Network." The Entrepreneurial Farmer Network will provide opportunities for beginning farmers, mentors, and others in the field to gather. Mentors will provide 1-2 hours of mentoring per quarter. HAP has experience creating mentoring programs for refugee communities and will utilize best practice mentoring models and curricula. The cohort mentoring activities correspond to Objective 2c as well as Objectives 3a-3c.Cohort Support Services. Each farmer receives a one-time stipend of $1,000 to cover start-up costs such as working capital, inventory, supplies, and other items necessary to launch market expansion at the completion of their cohort learning sessions. HAP has established policies and procedures to ensure that fellows are using stipends for the intended purpose. For example, one of the criteria for the fellows' stipends is an established business plan that shows positive cash flow, and completion of the cohort sessions. The stipend is an incentive to cohort members to complete the year-long program and a recruitment tool to gain interest and commitment. The stipend supports Objective 1a and Objective 2b.

PROGRESS: 2015/09 TO 2018/08
Target Audience:The program seeks to build economic prosperity of farm businesses for New Americans, immigrants and refugee farmers in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area Changes/Problems:Beginning Hmong farmers are very hesitant to apply for additional financial resources, loans or grants. We learned that they are not ready to take on debt for many reasons: they come from a traditionally cash-based culture, they do not have experience or familiarity with tracking income and expenses and the other reporting that is needed to qualify for outside financial assistance, and they are accustomed to working within their family network for funding. Our focus has been on providing tools and awareness of how managing their farm like an asset can provide growth opportunity, and we are seeing more requests for assistance with access to affordable land as we develop partnerships with local landowners and churches. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All training and professional development has been reported under the Activities section of the report since they support the program objectives. In summary, the SFUM program has provided training and professional development for beginning farmers in the following areas: Business Planning and Business Plan Development: 8 workshops, plus TA Marketing issues: 14 workshops Farming and agricultural topics:14 workshops, field trips, and TA Farm Law: 11 workshops Financial and Loans: 2 workshops, plus TA How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the SFUM program have been publicized through HAP's online presence on Facebook and the agency website with event dates, photos, and other important date reminders. Staff also publicizes the program internally through staff meetings with our other programs' staff. Much of the recruiting and sharing comes from past cohort members and others who have attended workshops and other activities, who spread the word to other friends and family members. Our partners, such as Interfaith Action of the Greater Saint Paul area and FLAG, utilize social media and their websites to inform the community of agricultural program opportunities throughout the year. The success of the community gardens and CSAs through the Interfaith Action partnership have generated a lot of interest and involvement from individual churches in the local faith community. The outcomes of the program are included in HAP's annual report and as part of our ongoing program brochures that are distributed broadly throughout the community at outreach events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2015/09 TO 2018/08
What was accomplished under these goals? HAP collaborated with partners to deliver more than 49 workshops to 50 beginning farmers which impacted the farmers, their extended families and networks. Beyond the cohort, the program was instrumental in supporting annual conferences that provided networking and professional development. Professional development workshops provided information critical to success in agricultural entrepreneurship, as well as current topics of interest to the farmers. Farmers learned about the business aspects of farming, marketing fundamentals and were able to create strategies and plans including signage, product display and social media to impact their sales and income as they expanded into new markets and CSA co-ops. Through mentorship, Technical Assistance, and field visits, they learned about organic farming techniques that influenced their decisions regarding pest and weed management and potential earnings related to producing organically. Nearly all of the members reported learning new strategies about business planning, budgeting, marketing, farm law and techniques that improved their ability to grow and sell quality produce. Workshops covered major farm related topic areas, including Intro to Farming as business, farm business planning, creating business/ marketing plans, marketing through social media, marketing-product display, CSA Fundamentals, FSA loans, Pests & Weeds, farm law-contracts, farm law-loan basics, Fertility, Fit Farmer, soil, high tunnels, healthy transplants, food safety, and organic farming. Recruiting cohort members was a combination of referrals, word of mouth, and involvement in conferences. During the 2nd and 3rd years of the program, 100% of the cohort members were active farmers due to the screening process at the enrollment phase of the program. This screening led to more farmers applying for the program. SFUM staff was on the planning committee for the Emerging Farmers Conference (EFC) and the Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) conferences. Attendance increased and more culturally specific workshops were offered. More than 700 individuals attended workshops, field trips, or other training events. Several partners with specific expertise were engaged to deliver workshop content: Farmer Legal Action Group (FLAG), Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Minnesota Hmong Agriculture Co-Op (MHAC), and AgStar. . There was a 42% increase in Hmong farmer attendance at the 2018 EFC over 2017. The number of languages supported increased to 7, including Hmong, Karen, Kirundi, Nepali, Somali, Burmese, and Spanish. Cohort members attended 96.3% of workshops during the program year. Their incentive for attending was tied to the stipend they received prior to the growing season, input into the topics, and the knowledge gained from workshops. 100% reported an increase in knowledge after workshops. Cohort attendance averaged 12 beginning farmers. Over the three year period, the 50 cohort members became aware of needing to create business and marketing plans. Farmers learned about pest and weed control, soil composition, cover crops, composting, organic practices and benefits, various types of tools, and nutrients. Farmers implemented tools like Facebook to market their farmers market location and produce offered, and began a business plan. Farmers learned about organic farming and 4 farmers became certified organic. Farmers also learned about legal and financial issues to establish or expand their farming operation. Community gardens grew from 30 families in Year 1 to 70 in Year 3, a 233% increase. The mentoring provided at these sites taught families how to farm in the Twin Cities. Many beginner gardener/farmers moved from small plots to larger ones. Families grew vegetables, and learned how to use them as part of healthy meals. In addition to the 49 education/workshop sessions, farmers received 1:1 TA coaching in business planning, seed/seedling selection, tool supply selection, acreage reporting, supply shopping, farmers market liaison, crop insurance, contracts, marketing, and land acquisition. Each cohort member received $1,000 assistance. 100% of the cohort members invested in their farming operations due to receiving the $1,000. Two experienced farmers provided ongoing mentoring and professional development over the course of the program. Lundi Vang mentored 17 farmers at Afton Mists Farms in Year 1. May Lee, a certified organic farmer, provided guidance to 35 farmers interested in certification, and led 2 workshops, for a total of 15+ hours each year for years 2 and 3. A minimum of 27 hours of mentoring TA was provided to cohort members. 50 farmers received training on financial tools including budgeting, income tracking, and business plan development. 21 workshops were presented on Business Plans, Farm Law and/or Financial topics. More than 12 farmers gained knowledge about the FSA loan process and the benefits for their operation. 50 farmers received 1:1 TA on business planning, budgeting, income and expense tracking tools and other basics. 50 farmers received 1:1 TA on expansion issues such as assistance with vendoring at local markets, land acquisition issues, and crop insurance. 100% of participants reported using the information to create business plans. No farmers have applied for loans or grants. Beginning farmers are still learning about the basics of running a business and how to generate income from their operation. They are using tools they have learned to build a history of income and expenses that will enable them to apply for loans. Farmers reported an increase in knowledge about basic business plans, contracts, and loans. Farmers' TA requests are increasingly related to areas on sustainability such as crop insurance and finding more suitable and affordable land. The stipend provided through the program helped participants increase their assets by purchasing farm equipment such as tillers, tractors etc. 14 workshops focused on marketing strategies. 80%+ of participants reported using new marketing strategies. 90% reported an income increase and a majority reported using social media in new ways, creating signs, and gaining customers. Farmers evaluated and determined which marketing strategies had the greatest return for their time. Many determined that local farmers markets were no longer as popular and productive; therefore, they ended their participation. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was developed as a new marketing opportunity, and these farmers moved to the CSA model. CSA membership grew five-fold over 2 years. 10 farmers used this marketing strategy to sell their produce in year 2, which included 25% of the cohort. Presence in 2 food desert areas was expanded to over 5 in the St. Paul area in the same 2 years. Community gardens expanded through Interfaith Action's Farm-Faith project. By year 3, 70 families participated. Four farmers became organic certified as a result of the training they received.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2015/09 TO 2018/08
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/09/01 TO 2017/08/31
Target Audience:Immigrant and refugee farmers in the Twin Cities area. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this quarter, HAP program staff continued to plan for the next season by working with partners on planning nutrition classes, developing and sharing recipes, and building our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) locations. Additional trainings were developed for the farmer's professional development and topics included introduction to farming, weed control, plant diseases, end of season garden preparation, and pest control. In August, staff invested time in their professional development and knowledge of current farm issues in Minnesota. They attended Farm Fest for the Farm Bill listening session and Moses workshops. In total, staff attended three trainings for professional development in the month of August and four in September. Finally, farmers and staff had the opportunity to visit the Farley Center in Wisconsin in which farmers were able to learn about the history, business, and practices of the center. HAP Farmer, W.H. described his experience: "The field trip to the Farley Center was amazing. To see such a huge operation with qualified and experienced farmers brought me back to my time in Thailand. Each farmer I met there was certified organic and taught me many things about growing strategies and being part of a farm operation like Farley Center. The most amazing experience was sharing ideas with the professional farmers as they even took my advice on several aspects of growing certain vegetables." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?HAP program staff conducted direct outreach and recruiting for the 2017 season through HAP trainings, events, word of mouth, and by building upon the successes of previous trainings. Program staff shared their success stories with colleagues, partners, and other farmers which was an effective way to perform outreach into the community. Program staff also shared events, photos, and important dates via social media. HAP staff performed outreach and shared program successes and highlights at the Community School of Excellence (CSE) Open House, Farm Fest, and more. HAP staff is working with its partners to promote and generate interest in the CSA for other partner churches. Outreach and engagement work at local farmers markets and community building events have resulted in positive interest from different parts of the community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?HAP program staff will continue outreach and recruiting efforts for the 2018 season through upcoming trainings and events which will build upon the success of previous trainings. Program staff will also continue to work with partners to provide new, effective training opportunities for farmers in the coming months. Additionally, HAP is part of the planning committee for the 13th annual Emerging Farmers Conference (EFC) that hosts over 400 farmers from across the Midwest. Program staff plans to promote upcoming trainings at this event and share previous years' successes. Staff will continue to follow up on intakes and inquiries from the EFC and other outreach events and trainings to provide the best available services to farmers in the community and update them on upcoming educational opportunities. For the next quarter, program staff is preparing partner meetings, workshops, and outreach events to recruit the final cohort of the program, in addition to promoting upcoming trainings. The staff anticipates recruiting farmers from the community through upcoming workshops which will start in February 2018. HAP staff will be promoting these professional development trainings which will consist of a minimum of twelve sessions. HAP staff will continue to work with local landowners to assist local farmers in finding affordable farmland to grow their vegetables. As we approach the end of the growing season, staff will be providing more technical assistance to farmers working with private landowners near the Twin Cities. This year, HAP provided over 80 hours of technical assistance to farmers and will continue to assist in contracts, crop insurance, marketing, and business planning. Staff will also continue distributing recipes to the community and will coordinate more healthy food demonstrations. HAP staff is currently working on creating more recipes along with a 2018 calendar featuring these recipes and providing health advice. Program staff hopes to receive positive and constructive feedback from low-income families, WIC families, and working-class families on the recipes, nutrition, and healthy living education that will be provided.

IMPACT: 2016/09/01 TO 2017/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? There were four main activities this reporting period: outreach and engagement, a farm site visit, workshop sessions, and providing more accessible, nutritious food and recipes to the community. These activities are described below. HAP program staff performed outreach and engagement work at a HAP job fair, Chaska and Shakopee farmers market, HKYP Family Day at Jackson Elementary school, and the CSE Open House which touched over 300 people from the community. During this time, community members learned about the agriculture program and the staff was able to answer questions related to farming and gardening in the Twin Cities. At the CSE Open House event, program staff met Hmong farmer, H.H. He and his family had been looking for farmland to grow vegetables for their parents for the past year. He said, "Finding farmland is almost as hard as winning the lottery. Several places that open are too far away from the Cities and not convenient. After talking with HAP, I am happy to know that you will help my parents with farmland in Inver Grove Heights." The program staff referred the farmer to a partner landowner in Inver Grove Heights for the next season. Staff worked with farmers to plan a field day visit that was held in early August to visit the farmers market where they sold their produce. Technical assistance provided by staff included providing assistance as needed through acreage reporting, supply shopping and acting as a liaison for farmers at farmers markets. These activities fulfilled the goals of helping to build a community of farmer entrepreneurs and to engage them in culturally relevant farm educational opportunities. In September, staff finished the Adult Basic Education (ABE) gardening series and continued to provide technical assistance for farmers as the garden season came to an end. Program staff continued to offer trainings to farmers and performed outreach throughout the month at farmers markets and field days. HAP staff provided client support for farmers in marketing. To make healthy food more accessible to the students and the community, HAP staff also cleaned the Little Mekong Plaza on University Avenue in St. Paul and planted vegetables and herbs. Lastly, as part of our efforts to bring nutritious food to the community, the HAP staff continued work on a recipe calendar, which is intended to be distributed for outreach in early 2018. The calendar will list different, healthy and nutritious recipes that use vegetables familiar to and grown within the cultural communities of the HAP farmers.

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/09/01 TO 2017/08/31
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
Target Audience:The project's target audience is Southeast Asian Farmers residing in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Changes/Problems:Several participants dropped out of the program in September due to personal reasons; thus, they were unable to complete the program. Several factors such as moving out of state and finding full-time employment resulted in dropping out the program. Although this did not affect other participants or events, HAP staff wished the participants had the capacity to complete the program. Participants were happy to hear that HAP reached out and informed them that they are welcome back next year, should their situation change. We also worked on the timing for stipend distribution to the farmers, whichis a positive change we made from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016.For the 2015-2016 season HAP is working with 15 core farmers. These farmers have completed over 30 hours of training and were able to get client support stipends to help their farm business. The stipends were used to purchase seeds/seedlings, machinery, tools, etc. This is significant because in previous years, farmers did not receive stipends until the end of the season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?October marked the year end of the program year along with the end of the growing season. SEED participants, HAP's Project-Grow youth, HAP's Transcend program participants, and respective church congregation members attended five different garden clean-up events this month. During these garden clean-ups participants learned the proper way to dispose of their remaining vegetable waste and also how to compost garden waste. Each participant successfully worked together to turnover each garden bed and prepare it for next year's farmers. Agricultural Program Coordinator hosted a business planning event for participants. Each participant created their personal unique business plan and was able to discuss and share with fellow participants their future goals and aspirations. Participants displayed growth and increased knowledge in that they were able to implement what they learned from the program year's professional development trainings e.g. they were able to explain their business ideas and create marketing strategies. Several participants reported that they plan to model their business after local grocery stores and not only sell fresh fruits and vegetables but also sell hot food. During the month of April, program staff provided farmers with several opportunities for professional and educational development. First, Greg Kaiser, from HAP, presented a workshop on business plan development in which farmers learned how to "Bake a Cake". Greg compared the process of baking a cake to creating a business plan; farmers loved the concept and found the idea of using a business plan easier to understand. During this two-week workshop, farmers received technical assistance with their business planning and budgeting. Additionally, Kevin Cavanaugh from MDA gave a workshop on garden pests and pest management. Farmers learned how to get rid of several pests along with strategies to prevent future pests. Hli Xiong, of Famers' Legal Action Group (FLAG), also provided two workshops on acreage reports, recordkeeping, and contract basics. Finally, HAP staff provided a series of three workshops on marketing, product display, and marketing through website and social media. Program staff offered similar opportunities during the month of May. First, HAP staff provided another workshop on social media marketing. Farmers learned how to use the internet and social media to market their businesses. Farmers also spent 4 hours at Afton Mists Farms for one-on-one mentor training with Lundi Vang. A total of 17 farmers learned strategies to plant crops in effective and efficient ways. Additionally, farmers learned how to utilize big machinery, such as tractors, to make farming more efficient. Each farmer learned several things that will help improve their farming and business. Lastly, 27 beginning farmers participated in the Farm-Faith project where they began tending to their community gardens with their families. They continued that work through the month of June. Farmers are doing a great job of weeding and maintenance; their vegetables are growing very well. The farmers say that they are looking forward to new training opportunities in the upcoming months. From January 1, 2016 through June 30, 2016, farmers also learned how to prepare garden boxes for the new year and plant seeds/seedlings. After three months and 30 hours of training, they were ready to start. Farmers received one-on-one technical assistance on seed/seedling selection and tool supply selection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?HAP hopes that each SEED participant will share their stories from the year to their respective communities. Each participant has been highly excited and proud to complete the program. During graduation, participant, H.C. expressed how he has used Facebook throughout the year to update friends and family on the status of his vegetables along with pictures with his fellow farmers from program field trips and trainings. More importantly, HAP has also utilized forms of social media such as Facebook and HAP's website to update the community on the SEED program. Additionally, several of HAP's partner agencies including Interfaith Action of the Greater Saint Paul and FLAG utilize social media and their website to inform the community of SEED program events throughout the year. HAP program staff continues its outreach for the 2016 season this month by promoting upcoming trainings, events, and successes of previous trainings. Program staff is sharing success stories with colleagues, partners, and other farmers. Also, program staff shared events, success stories, and important dates via social media on HAP's website and Facebook page. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Staff is planning a business planning event for SEED participants in which each farmer will create his/her personal business plan. This will provide participants with a basic idea on how they plan to run their business one day. Staff continues to work on updating program intakes, educational curricula, fliers, surveys, and evaluations for next year. This will allow staff to provide the best training and learning environment along with a more convenient reporting system. Additionally, HAP staff has begun outreach and recruiting activities for new farmers for the 2016 season with our partners. Program staff will continue to follow up on intakes taken during the outreach events, IMFC, and trainings hosted during the quarter. HAP staff will also spend its time recruiting and promoting professional development trainings to get farmers from the community in attendance. We hope to provide the best available service to farmers in the community. Staff will also start working with mentor farmers, with MHAC providing the training. SFUM farmers will receive professional training. During the growing season staff will be busy providing technical assistance to farmers in need.

IMPACT: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
What was accomplished under these goals? This quarter (Oct-Dec 2015), thirty-one participant farmers graduated from the SEED program. These farmers dedicated over 200 hours of their time to attend professional development trainings, events, and first-hand farming training hosted by HAP and its partners: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG), and Minnesota Hmong Agriculture Co-op (MHAC) to name a few. Several farmers have reported interest in seeking new land opportunities for farming in the upcoming year in order to produce more food for their families and possibly begin to break into the farmers' market business. For instance, after attending the MHAC farmers market training, farmer, U.A. spoke of how fulfilling it was to engage customers with a friendly smile and be able to provide food to them. Additionally, HAP had 31 participant farmers attend the SEED business planning even. During this training each participant had a one-on-one interview style meeting with program staff and discussed their plans for a future business. Some questions asked to participants included, "what products are you planning to sell?" and "my business will be successful when I make X amount of income." These questions allowed participants to implement what they learned from the year to create a unique business plan for themselves. Staff hopes that participants will continue to work hard and stay determined in order to put their business plan to use. During the month of December, program staff began outreach for the new season. Although many felt it was too early to commit to the program, the community did show interest as several members of the community took fliers and hoped to connect with program coordinator in the future. HAP hopes that by sharing the success stories of previous years we can help empower the community to take the next step in starting their farm business or simply using the knowledge and training they gained from the SFUM program to improve their lives. More importantly, staff secured one mentor farmer this month for next year's program and will continue to outreach for the new year. During the month of April, program staff engaged farmers from across the Twin Cities, providing several farm education opportunities and networking events. For example, staff coordinated eight (8) professional development trainings that taught farmers about business plan development, marketing through product display and social media, pest management, and more. During this quarter they also linked farmers with additional training opportunities with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), which would help them get certified in WIC/FMNP. This allows farmers who sell at farmers markets to accept WIC/FMNP vouchers. May was equally busy with program staff providing several farm education opportunities and networking. For example, program staff offered trainings on social media marketing, and also provided individual technical assistance to 10 farmers around supply purchasing and seed purchasing. Staff also coordinated one-on-one mentor training for farmers with Afton Mist Farms owner, Lundi Vang. Lastly, the Farm-Faith project started for the season; HAP, Interfaith Action, and surrounding partner churches began the project with community garden kick-offs. As a part of the program, beginning farmers from all over Saint Paul began planting in their community gardens. This year we have over 30 farmers gardening at community gardens across our partner churches. During June, program staff provided two (2) trainings on social media marketing, and also provided individual technical assistance to 15 farmers; the focus was supply purchasing and seed purchasing. These educational opportunities have allowed beginning farmers from all over Saint Paul to continue growing and tending to their community gardens.

PUBLICATIONS: 2015/09/01 TO 2016/08/31
No publications reported this period.