Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Donoghue, D. J.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS 72703

ARMED TO FARM: SOLDIERING THE SUCCESS OF MILITARY VETERANS IN NEW POULTRY, LIVESTOCK AND AGROFORESTRY ENTERPRISES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Farming offers a viable avenue for returning veterans to transition into society and capitalizes on skills that made them successful in the military. However, these opportunities may be missed due to lack of targeted training programs, guidance and information. We have assembled a team with expertise in teaching conventional and alternative agriculture, hands-on training, economics, research and networking resources targeted to veteran farmers focused on poultry, small ruminants and agroforestry production. Through our previous BFRDP project, our team has supported hundreds of veterans through workshops, internships, research and training opportunities yet there continues to be a critical need to train and support this population of new farmers. Our objectives for this Standard Grant Renewal are to: 1) Enhance existing course and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative; 2) Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm Workshops and trainings, on-farm demonstration and internship programs; and 3) Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support a new generation of farmers. This project will target military veterans and minority farmers (women, African-American and Latino farmers). Residents of the South have traditionally comprised a disproportionate share of military personnel and many of them come from agricultural backgrounds and would return to their agricultural roots if given the opportunity. This dynamic program creates specific training opportunities and networking systems for these and other populations of new and beginning farmers and ranchers.

OBJECTIVES: The long term goal of this project is to develop and expand on a personalized comprehensive and integrated educational program that provides beginning farmers and ranchers with relevant information and practical skills to create an individual plan to initiate, maintain, advance, diversify and succeed in their new or beginning agricultural enterprises. The specific objectives of this proposal are to: 1) Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. 2) Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs; and 3) Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. To fulfill the objectives of this program we have created a unique personalized, inclusive and integrated program that uses elements and strategies that are easy and inexpensive to establish, maintain and administer while providing fast returns, multiple marketing strategies (poultry, small ruminants and agroforestry) and using ecologically and financially sustainable and profitable strategies. In addition many of these ideas can be incorporated into other production systems to diversify productivity and increase profitability for producers and rural communities.

APPROACH: Our first Objective of this proposal is to enhance/improve our online training program providing beginning farmers and ranchers with relevant knowledge and tools to operate efficient and sustainable farms and ranches, focused primarily on integrated poultry, livestock and agroforestry systems; including specialized materials for Spanish speaking community and returning veterans. Through our team's experience and that of others, statistics have demonstrated that a majority of younger farmers and ranchers have access to computers and the internet (including approximately 58% of the farms have high speed internet access. Thus an online learning system can reach a large number of beginning farmers and ranchers and overcome difficulties associated with distance and time constrains, physical or language abilities. This is of particular significance in the Southern region of the country, where beginning farmers and ranchers are formed by a large portion of socially disadvantaged producers, such as African Americans, the Latino population, and returning veterans. We have put together a team with expertise in agricultural production to develop the educational modules for this program. We plan to enhance the modules by integrating film clips demonstrating procedures or specific aspects of the training modules. In addition, we will update and add more detail and new materials to the current program. We continue to receive feedback from individuals utilizing this course and will take these suggestions into account as we improve the course. In addition to the above generalized program we will develop new online courses specific for veterans and the newly formed Arkansas Sustainable Livestock Cooperative..Our second objective is to provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Our trainings will involve hands-on focused workshops (e.g., Armed to Farm Boot Camps) and on farm programs targeting small and mid-sized poultry, livestock, vegetable, and specialty crop veteran farmers. These workshops will provide intensive training focused on aspects of poultry and livestock production and specialty crop establishment and integration. Programs will also address financial planning, business planning, marketing strategies, and farm diversification. Armed to Farm Boot Camps will provide classroom instruction, on-farm projects and hands on training at university and ARS, USDA research farms. Workshops also include field visits to working farms focused on poultry, livestock or specialty crop operations. On these visits, workshop participants will learn farm management practices, potential pitfalls of certain enterprises, sources of revenue and marketing strategies. We have found these on-farm workshop portions of the course to be crucial to demonstrate the fundamentals covered in the classroom and stimulate discussion/problem solving among participants. Several components have been key to the success of the Armed to Farm Training Program including: 1) utilizing of a veteran mentor; 2) inclusion of spouses and family members; 3) hands-on training (with limited numbers of participants/program); and 4) participant selection (including reduced costs for programs and sponsorships of veterans). Our workshops will range from 30-50 individuals; incorporating veterans and their families. We will intentionally keep the number of workshop participants low, as this is important for focused learning, access to hands on participation by all students and the nature of the "Boot Camp" which includes 24 hour/day engagement.We offer internships to selected veterans. Mentors from our program are involved in small farm agriculture production and therefore able to open their operations for internships in conjunction with the program. Internship experience and knowledge is an invaluable resource and important aspect of our program. For this program we have several internship sites available for participants distributed throughout the region including those at the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center located in Booneville, AR that specializes in small ruminant production, agroforestry, conservation strategies and production of alternative biofuels. The USDA-ARS Organic and Specialty or Pasture Poultry Research Facility located in Fayetteville, AR is the only ARS certified organic facility for poultry production research and training in the country. Across the Creek Farm a layer and broiler pasture poultry operation owned by our veteran mentor. Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri offers training in the principles of agroforestry for a profitable and sustainable integration of specialty crops with livestock production. Our Co-PIs at the University of Arkansas in Pine Bluff and Appalachian State University have extensive experience working in organic livestock production and will conduct trainings and workshops for beginning farmers including military veterans and underserved populations. Our collaboration with Heifer International, a non-profit organization, link communities and offer value-based trainings for the farmers to be self-sufficient. In addition, our collaborators the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) and Arkansas Women in Agriculture (AWIA) are non-governmental organizations that have extensive experience in organizing internship experiences through their large network of successful farmers. Internship opportunities will be developed in accordance to the specific interests of the participants. Finally, internship and mentorship opportunities will be developed for interested participants to visit with all the members of our team to learn specific areas and strategies for farming and ranching, as well as farm management, pastures management and poultry production. We will provide the workshop participants with hands-on training under realistic conditions. This will allow participants to practice and perfect skills they would later utilize on their own farms. We use team-based learning because of the similarity with military training strategies.Our third objective for this proposal is to develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. As a part of this objective, we will work to establish the Arkansas Sustainable Livestock Cooperative.The cooperative will work with mentors established during our original BFRDP funding and we will work to recruit farmers to this program continuing to expand and provide opportunities for new farmers. We provide networking opportunities for veteran participants by encouraging their participation in established conferences attended by beginning farmers. We will be hosting a veteran farmer networking session at the Southern SAWG (Sustainable Agriculture Working Group) Annual Meeting 2015 at Mobile, Alabama. Additionally we also sponsor interested candidates to attend the meeting and participate in training programs associated with this conference. This meeting provided an excellent forum to determine the needs of veterans interested in farming and to establish networks for these individuals. We will also develop educational programs on project results at meetings where small and mid-sized farmers attend.All members of the project will collaborate in this outreach effort by participating in field days, demonstration days, conferences, lectures, posters and other forms of outreach including the development of all materials produced from this project. Our outreach efforts will be coordinated with the NCAT. Its ATTRA program also operates a toll-free telephone service for specific inquiries from users, publishes different newsletters and mails publications in hard copy to interested parties.

PROGRESS: 2014/12 TO 2017/11
Target Audience: Hispanic or Latino Military veterans Organic producers Small farms Women Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Activities over Course of Grant: Farm Foundations: Planning for Success "Sustainable Livestock Production" Workshop at Cedar Creek Farm, October 15-16, 2015. Cedarville, Arkansas. Attendance: 25 Participants learned about goal setting, recordkeeping and other sustainable livestock topics, they also toured Cedar Creek's pasture-based poultry, hog, cattle and goat operation. 2015 Agroforestry Academy: July 20-24, 2015, Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. During the Agroforestry Academy, 24 trainees spent the week on-campus in the classroom for presentations gives by specialist professionals in key focus areas of agroforestry and touring local farms to learn from landowners who are currently practicing agroforestry. Military veterans awarded scholarships to attend: 9 2016 Farm Foundations: Planning for Success "Sustainable Livestock Production" Workshop held at R Family Farms in Canehill, Arkansas on October 26, 2016. Attendance: 20 Participants toured the farm, completed hands-on activities such as gathering eggs and moving poultry pens, and learned about a variety of farm business management practices 2016 Armed to Farm Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training took place June 6-10, 2016. There were 22 veterans and/or spouses in attendance. This week-long training is fully-funded through the grant, allowing individuals to stay on the University of Arkansas campus and eat at campus dining. Participants engaged in both classroom and on-farm education/training and gained a network of fellow, like-minded farmers. 2016 Agroforestry Academy: July 25-29, 2016. Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. During the Agroforestry Academy, 27 trainees spent the week on-campus in the classroom for presentations gives by specialist professionals in key focus areas of agroforestry and touring local farms to learn from landowners who are currently practicing agroforestry. Military veterans awarded scholarships to attend: 12 2016 Conservation Program hosted by the University of Pine Bluff in Eudora, Arkansas on November 9, 2016. The program covered conservation practices for socially disadvantaged producers. Attendance: 20 Producing and Marketing Grass-finished Beef and Lamb Workshop at Ozark Pasture Beef in Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 19, 2017. The workshop covered pasture management, animal health, and the business/marketing aspects of a grass-finished livestock operation. Participants toured the farm, handled sheep and cattle and saw various fencing and watering systems. Attendance: 38 2017 Armed to Farm Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training took place June 12-16, 2017. There were 27 veterans and/or spouses in attendance. This week-long training is fully-funded through the grant, allowing individuals to stay on the University of Arkansas campus and eat at campus dining. Participants engaged in both classroom and on-farm education/training and gained a network of fellow, like-minded farmers. 2017 Agroforestry Academy: July 23-28, 2017. Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. During the Agroforestry Academy, 20 trainees spent the week on-campus in the classroom for presentations gives by specialist professionals in key focus areas of agroforestry and touring local farms to learn from landowners who are currently practicing agroforestry. Military veterans awarded scholarships to attend: 5 2017 a program hosted by the University of Pine Bluff in in Pine Bluff, Arkansas took place on March 3, 2017. The program was in conjunction with the Annual Rural Life Conference and covered livestock profitability to local producers. Attendance: 15 2017 a program hosted by the University of Pine Bluff in in Pine Bluff in conjunction with the Johnson County Cooperative Extension Service took place on April 13, 2017. The program provided socially disadvantaged livestock producers with information on farm economics, and management of pasture land. Attendance: 30 Over the 3 years of the grant, two collaborating farms hosted 18 interns who logged approximately 8,800 hours of on-farm training. Professional Development over Course of Grant: January 2015 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference took place in Mobile, Alabama. The grant sponsored 48 military veterans and spouses to attend the conference covering a wide range of sustainable agriculture practices January 2016 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference took place in Lexington, Kentucky. The grant sponsored 45 military veterans to attend the conference covering a wide range of sustainable agriculture practices January 2017 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference took place in Lexington, Kentucky. The grant sponsored 51 military veterans to attend the conference covering a wide range of sustainable agriculture practices Each year in conjunction with the Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, NCAT hosted a Military Veteran Networking Session. These sessions were a time for veterans to network with each other and discuss helpful resources. The project team administered a Veterans in Agriculture "Needs Survey" at each of the networking events to gather information about what resource and training needs the veterans have. A total of 116 veterans participated in these networking sessions, through the collected evaluations. Total attendance was higher than evaluations submitted. Each year, the Project Director and/or Program Coordinator took part in the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Project Directors meeting to engage with fellow grant recipients and networking to better our program and continue to meet the needs of new and beginning farmers, specifically military veterans, women, socially disadvantaged and Hispanic speaking individuals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Promotional pieces have been developed to better reach audiences. We created a magnet promoting the Online Training Course and website to find those materials. The Online Training Course consists of 35 modules created in the areas of Poultry, Small-Ruminants, Agroforestry, Business Practices, Sustainability and Farm Safety. Modules are available in both English and Spanish. These courses are available through University of Arkansas (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php), NCAT (https://attra.ncat.org/uofa) and Farm Answers (https://farmanswers.org/Library). A flyer was created and distributed among the Veteran's Open-House at the University of Arkansas to raise awareness about the program and promote farming as an option to military veterans or active-duty individuals. Numerous NCAT publications were provided at workshops to better guide producers in their farming practices. The publications went in-depth on topics covered the workshop. Some workshops included a copy of a DVD allowing farmers to view the practices and other lectures. Most information from the grant was provided through workshops, internships, online learning and conference networking. 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? Within this project, new and beginning farmers as well as military veteran farmers have gained new knowledge and sharpened previous skills to enhance existing enterprises or develop new ones. Through this 3 year grant-funded project, we have impacted approximately 550 individuals through on-farm programs, face-to-face workshops, conferences, meetings and networking sessions. Numerous others have accessed an online training program with over 50,000 total hits through online platforms showcasing educational modules for new and beginning farmers. Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program. Modifications to several of the existing modules and overviews were created to allow readers to gage their interest in specific topics before diving deeper. Course material was also uploaded to a new website through the University of Arkansas (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php). The New FarmerOnline Training Program has been accessed a total of 56,540times during this grant; English: 40,261 and Spanish: 16,279. Our modules are located on three different websites, the University of Arkansas through the Poultry Science Department, National Center for Appropriate Technology and Farm Answers. The access to online education allows farmers to better understand and implement new or different farming strategies. Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Farmer participants gained knowledgethrough multiple workshops, Armed to Farm Boot Camps, and the annual Agroforestry Academy. Participants were also engaged through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conferences, andinternship programs with Across the Creek Farm and New Life Farm. Two Armed to Farm Boot Camps were hosted on the University of Arkansas campus during this grant. Armed to Farm Boot Camp is organized between the collaboration of the University of Arkansas and NCAT. Within these two boot camps, we were able to host a total of 47 veterans and their spouses. These week-long workshops provided both in-class and on-farm education to better prepare and educate farmers of their current and future farming enterprises. The Agroforestry Academy is an annual event put on by the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. This grant allowed us to sponsor military veterans interested in the academy, and over the three years of the grant, 26 military veterans were able to attend. In addition to these larger-scale workshops, this grant allowed us to host, or co-host workshops across the state of Arkansas to new and beginning farmers, as well as socially-disadvantaged farmers. These workshops were free to attend due to grant funding, and allowed participants to hear from knowledgeable individuals who are practicing farming and also working with farmers through careers in NRCS, FSA and research platforms. Over the course of the grant, 148farmers attended one of the 6 provided workshops. As the final part of objective two, this grant allowed us to work with two farms, Across the Creek Farm and New Life Farm to provide internship opportunities. This grant supported 18 interns who logged approximately 8,800 hours in on-farm training to help develop and implement farming skills for their own farming endeavors. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networkingand mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of thecountry, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. We have provided scholarships for veterans to the Southern Sustainable AgricultureWorking Group conference, and created magnets, posters and flyers to be used as informational/promotional pieces andconversation starters. Over the course of this grant,this project was presented at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference annually,the Arkansas Women in Ag Conference, and the BFRDP Project Directors Meeting. To also engage participants in networking opportunities, this grant allowed us to award scholarships to attend the annual Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference. We awarded 144 scholarships, covering the registration costs for military veterans and spouses to attend the conference, as well as engaged with 116 military veterans through the networking session. These efforts helped farmers network and create interpersonal and business relationships with like-minded farmers and improve farming practices through engagement.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2014/12 TO 2017/11
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wright, S., D. J. Donoghue, H. L. Goodwin, K. Arsi, M. Hale, S. Jose, A. Fanatico, O. Gekara, A. M. Donoghue, J. Burke and D. Pote. 2016. Armed to Farm: Soldiering the Success of Military Veterans in New Poultry, Livestock and Agroforestry Enterprises. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Annual Project Director Meeting, Nashville Tennessee.
2. Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Wright, S., D. J. Donoghue, H. L. Goodwin, K. Arsi, M. Hale, S. Jose, A. Fanatico, O. Gekara, A. M. Donoghue, J. Burke and D. Pote. 2016. Armed to Farm: Soldiering the Success of Military Veterans in New Poultry, Livestock and Agroforestry Enterprises. Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Lexington, Kentucky. Poster Presentation.

PROGRESS: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
Target Audience: Organic producers Small farms Military veterans Women Hispanic or Latino Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Steps completed in the previous period: Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. Updated existing self-study modules in English on sustainable agriculture, integrated farming, agroforestry, poultry production, and small ruminants. Launch dates for all updated modules, summer 2017 once interactive learning activities and/or video have been implanted into modules. Will be available on (https://attra.ncat.org/uofa) and (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php). Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Agroforestry Academy, hosted by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, July 25-29, 2016. Participants: 27 total, 13 veterans and about about 35% of participants were female. Armed to Farm Boot Camp, hosted by the University of Arkansas and conducted by NCAT. Participants: 20 veterans and/or veteran spouses. Farm Foundations: Planning for Success Sustainable Livestock Production, hosted by NCAT at R Family Farm in Cane Hill, Arkansas. Participants: 20 total, 1 veteran. Internships: two military-veteran farmer mentors, Terrell Spencer of Across the Creek Farm in West Fork, AR who hosted a total of 7 interns in the 2016 year and Cory Bryk of New Life Farm in Lenoir, NC who hosted 5 interns during 2016. Total interns: 15, with 3472.35 logged hours worked. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. Sponsored 45 veterans and family members to attend Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Lexington, Kentucky in January 2016. Participants: 45 veterans. Hosted a Military Veteran Farmer networking session at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Lexington, Kentucky in January 2016. Participants: 50. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1. Participants will gain knowledge, confidence and ability to adapt strategies to improve their farms' profitability and sustainability through online module program. Topic: Business and Strategic Planning Producer Action: Understand When Measured: Annually Estimated Number: 10,000 Actual Number: 25,255 (OVER target) How Verified: Tracked the number of times the online training program was accessed. 2. Participants will be trained in the area of sustainable farming through on-hands practice, they will develop, and eventually implement their own farm plan. Topic: Mentoring, Apprenticeships, and Internships Producer Action: Develop When Measured: At the end of each training activity - this includes internships, boot camps, and workshops Estimated Number: 300 (100 annually) Actual Number: 79 How Verified: Registration numbers and evaluation forms were counted from workshops (please note this number is biased due to the fact not every participant turned in an evaluation) 3. Participants will network at conferences and complete farmer training programs and help to develop future networking material. Topic: Interpersonal, Family, and Business Relationships Producer Action: Implement When Measured: During and after the life of the grant Estimated Number: 400 (~130 annually) Actual Number: 95 How Verified: Scholarships for conferences awarded, surveys completed and one-on-one contact with participants (please note this number is biased due to the fact not every participant turned in an evaluation) Through the 2016 year, we have successfully worked with over 170 individuals face-to-face to start farming, add a new farming enterprise or improve farming success. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Steps to complete in the next year: Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. Update existing self-study modules in English and Spanish on sustainable agriculture, integrated farming, agroforestry, poultry production, and small ruminants. Add interactive material and/or video to beginning farmer modules Launch updated modules on websites (https://poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php, https://attra.ncat.org/uofa/ and https://attra.ncat.org/espanol/uofa/ Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Armed to Farm: Veterans Sustainable Farming Workshop to be hosted by the University of Arkansas, Summer 2017 (June 12-16). Participants: 25 military veterans and family members Offer on-farm internships with military veteran farmers. Beginning Farmer Workshop at local farm for participants to gain hands-on learning. Participants: 30

IMPACT: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact: In the second year of the project, new and beginning farmers and veteran farmers have gained knowledge to buildsuccessful enterprises. Through grant-funded projects, over 150 participants have been impacted through on-farm, face-to-faceworkshops, and conferences, and many others have accessed an online training program over 20,000 times to accessadditional information. Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer OnlineTraining Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative.Modifications madeand continung to be made tothe previously developed modules. Course material also uploaded to newwebsite through the University of Arkansas (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php). Plans lined out to develop video andmore interactive material for Online Training Program, will take place summer 2016. The New Farmer Online TrainingProgram has been access a total of 25,255 times (17,862 English and 7,393 Spanish) from Dec. 1, 2015 - Nov. 30, 2016.Veteran farmers were surveyed to gain perspective of what enterprises they are currently farming or plan to farm, the onlinecourse specific for veterans will be based on their interests. Objective 2: Provideexperiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Farmerparticipants gained knowledge through three workshops; Armed to Farm Boot Camp, Agroforestry Academy and Farm Foundations: Planning for SuccessSustainable Livestock Production, one conference; Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, and internshipprograms; Across the Creek Farm and New Life Farm. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networking andmentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country,particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. Followed-up with previous interns from previous grant anddiscussed possibility of internships on their farms. Scholarships for veterans to the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference. Magnets, posters and flyersdeveloped for conferences were used as informational pieces and conversation starters. Over the 2016 year, this project was presented at three conferences/meetings: Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Lexington, KY, January 2016, BFRDP Project Directors Meeting (Poster Presentation), St. Paul, Minnesota, August 2016 and National Small Farms Conference (Poster Presentation), Virginia Beach, Virginia, September 2016.

PUBLICATIONS: 2015/12/01 TO 2016/11/30
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wright, S., D. J. Donoghue, H. L. Goodwin, K. Arsi, M. Hale, S. Jose, A. Fanatico, O. Gekara, A. M. Donoghue, J. Burke and D. Pote. 2016. Armed to Farm: Soldiering the Success of Military Veterans in New Poultry, Livestock and Agroforestry Enterprises. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Annual Project Director Meeting, St. Paul, Minnesota.
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wright, S., D. J. Donoghue, H. L. Goodwin, K. Arsi, M. Hale, S. Jose, A. Fanatico, O. Gekara, A. M. Donoghue, J. Burke and D. Pote. 2016. Armed to Farm: Soldiering the Success of Military Veterans in New Poultry, Livestock and Agroforestry Enterprises. 7th National Small Farms Conference, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Wright, S., D. J. Donoghue, H. L. Goodwin, K. Arsi, M. Hale, S. Jose, A. Fanatico, O. Gekara, A. M. Donoghue, J. Burke and D. Pote. 2015. Armed to Farm: Soldiering the Success of Military Veterans in New Poultry, Livestock and Agroforestry Enterprises. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Annual Project Director Meeting, Reno, Nevada.
4. Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Online Course Modules in Farm Safety, Business Development, Poultry, Sheep/Goats, Agroforestry, Sustainability. All can be found on website at poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/PartOneToolsEquipmentElectricit y.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/PartTwoLivestockChemicalsGases. pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/PartThreeWeatherFire.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/PartFourMiscelaneous.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/StartingaFarm.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/DevelopingaBusinessPlan.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/FinancialRecordKeeping.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/TheBalanceSheetandStatementofCa shFlows.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/ArkansasRighttoFarmLaw.pdf http://poultry-science.uark.edu/ resources/PDFs/LegalIssuesinFoodS

PROGRESS: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
Target Audience: Organic producers Small farms Military veterans Women Hispanic or Latino Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Steps completed in the previous period: Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. Updated existing self-study modules in English (total of 8 completed) on sustainable agriculture, integrated farming, agroforestry, poultry production, and small ruminants. Launch dates for late 2016 once interactive learning activities and/or video have been implanted into modules. Will be available on (https://attra.ncat.org/uofa) and (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php). Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Agroforestry Academy, hosted by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, July 20-24, 2015. Participants: 24 total, 9 veterans and about 50% of participants were female. Farm Foundations: Planning for Success Sustainable Livestock Production, hosted by NCAT at Cedar Creek Farm in Cedarville, Arkansas. Participants: 25 total, 1 veteran. Internships: two military-veteran farmer mentors, Terrell Spencer of Across the Creek Farm in West Fork, AR who hosted a total of 5 interns in the 2015 year and Cory Bryk of New Life Farm in Lenoir, NC who hosted 1 intern during summer 2015. Total interns: 6, with 3051.25 logged hours worked. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. Sponsored 48 veterans and family members to attend Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Mobile, Alabama in January 2015. Participants: 48 total, 41 veterans, 7 spouses. Hosted a Military Veteran Farmer networking session at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Mobile, Alabama in January 2015. Participants: 50. Attended the University of Arkansas VetSucess on Campus Open House in October 2015 to open new networking lines. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Result 1. Participants will gain knowledge, confidence and ability to adapt strategies to improve their farms' profitability and sustainability through online module program. Producer action: Understand, Topic: Business and strategic planning When measured: Annually Estimated Number: 10000, Actual Number: 5191 How verified: Tracked the number of times the online training program was accessed. Result 2. Participants will be trained in the area of sustainable farming through on-hands practice, they will develop, and eventually implement their own farm plan. Producer action: Develop, Topic: Mentoring, apprenticeships, and internships When measured: At the end of each training activity Estimated Number: 300, Actual Number: 97 How verified: Registration numbers and evaluation forms were counted from workshops. Result 3. Participants will network at conferences and complete farmer training programs and help to develop future networking material. Producer action: Implement, Topic: Interpersonal, family, and business relationships When measured: During and after the life of the grant Estimated Number: 400, Actual Number: 56 How verified: Surveys completed and one-on-one contact with participants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Steps to complete in the next year: Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. Update existing self-study modules in English and Spanish on sustainable agriculture, integrated farming, agroforestry, poultry production, and small ruminants. Add interactive material and video to beginning farmer modules Launch updated modules on websites (https://poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php, https://attra.ncat.org/uofa/ and https://attra.ncat.org/espanol/uofa/ Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Armed to Farm: Veterans Sustainable Farming Workshop to be hosted by the University of Arkansas, June 6-10, 2016. Participants: 30 military veterans and family members Offer on-farm internships with military veteran farmers. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) Conference registration scholarships for military veteran farmers Host a Military Veteran Farmer networking session at the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference

IMPACT: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
What was accomplished under these goals? Impact: In this first year of the project, new and beginning farmers and veteran farmers have gained knowledge to build successful enterprises. Through grant-funded projects, over 300 participants have been impacted through on-farm, face-to-face workshops, and conferences, and many others have accessed an online training program over 5,000 times to access additional information. Objective 1. Enhance existing course material and add training modules to our New Farmer Online Training Program and develop a new customized online course specific to veterans and a new farmer cooperative. Modifications made to the previously developed modules - to be launched in 2016. Course material also uploaded to new website through the University of Arkansas (poultry-science.uark.edu/small farms.php). Plans lined out to develop video and more interactive material for Online Training Program, will take place summer 2016. The New Farmer Online Training Program has been access a total of 5,191 times (3,527 English and 1,664 Spanish) from Dec. 1, 2014 - Nov. 30, 2015. Veteran farmers were surveyed to gain perspective of what enterprises they are currently farming or plan to farm, the online course specific for veterans will be based on their interests. (I have no knowledge of the farmer co-op...). Objective 2: Provide experiential opportunities including Armed to Farm workshops, on farm demonstration and internship programs. Farmer participants gained knowledge through two workshops; Agroforestry Academy and Farm Foundations: Planning for Success Sustainable Livestock Production, one conference; Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, and internship programs; Across the Creek Farm and New Life Farm. Objective 3: Develop and expand on custom networking and mentoring systems to effectively support the new generation of farmers and ranchers in the Southern region of the country, particularly for military veterans in Arkansas and Missouri. Followed-up with previous interns from previous grant and discussed possibility of internships on their farms. Development of Sustainable Small Integrated Small Animal Farming course at the University of Arkansas, a course to briefly overview small animal farming with sustainable practices highlighting production, business and marketing strategies. The course will be taught the first eight-weeks of the spring 2016 semester. Scholarships for veterans to the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference. Magnets, posters and flyers developed for conferences were used as informational pieces and conversation starters.

PUBLICATIONS: 2014/12/01 TO 2015/11/30
No publications reported this period.