Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Lamie, R. D.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29634

BUILDING ENTREPRENEURIAL, FARM MANAGEMENT AND LAND STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY FOR SOUTH CAROLINA NEW AND BEGINNING FARMERS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: As a collaboration of organizations, coordinated and led by Clemson Extension, we seek funding for the continuation and further development of the South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program (SCNBFP). This is a standard, renewal, resubmitted proposal. Given the demographics of our state, and based upon previous experience with the SCNBFP, we think it is reasonable to assume that our program will include at least 50% socially-disadvantaged (African American and Women, primarily); limited resource, and/or veteran farmers. The long-term goals of the SCNBFP are to increase the initial success and long-term viability of new and beginning farm businesses --- and to build statewide and sub-state regional program delivery capacity --- in order to help create and support the cadre of next generation farm operators in South Carolina. The target audience for our proposal is new and beginning farmers in South Carolina, including those considered socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers, with a particular focus on non-conventional, specialty crop, and value-added operations at both the novice and intermediate levels. The SCNBFP is needed in South Carolina for a number of reasons. According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, the average age of South Carolina farm operators is over 59 years. Of the 25,266 principal farm operators, 8,544 (33%) are under the age of 55, and only 3,447 (14%) are under the age of 45 (USDA-NASS, 2014). These numbers show recent progress in the youngest age ranks but represent an overall long-term trend toward fewer farmers. Of particular concern is that the average age of SC's specialty crop producers is increasing at an even higher rate. Given the current and projected importance of specialty crops to the overall industry, it is of utmost importance that viable strategies be developed and implemented to cultivate the next generation of specialty crop producers. The next generation of conventional row-crop farmers' training needs are largely being met through their involvement in family farming enterprises; involvement in vocational agriculture, FFA, and 4H programs in high school; and/or through more conventional formal higher education or informal Extension or industry education opportunities. In summary, South Carolina's farmers are growing older, and there are few young farmers prepared to take their place upon retirement, and those who do not come from a successful family farm business find it especially difficult to gain the production knowledge, experience, and business acumen to develop a successful farming enterprise themselves. This is occurring when consumer demand for high quality, nutritious farm products is on the rise, as indicated by the continued increase in the numbers of farmers markets, CSAs, farm-to-school programs, and other drivers of demand for localized production. In addition, there are multiple food hub projects in various stages of development across the state; all have serious concerns about having a sufficient number of suppliers to make their projects viable. Opportunities for rural economic development through a thriving local farming and food system will be lost without training and encouragement for new farmers. ?Despite these existing programs, many beginning farmers in South Carolina do not yet have the knowledge networks, the personal and professional relationships, or many of the capacities necessary to take advantage of the myriad programs and services available to help make them successful. The SCNBFP hopes to continue to serve as the convener, catalyst, and facilitator of bringing these pieces together in a concentrated learning environment for South Carolina's new and beginning farmers. Further, the modus operandi of the SCNBFP is to avoid duplication, rather seeking opportunities to leverage the programs of collaborators adding value to the overall experience of the new and beginning farmer participants while helping to build long-term capacity in the service provider ecosystem.Beginning farmers were involved in the overall conceptualization and design of our proposed program in several ways. One, they provided direct feedback about individual program sessions and the overall program as part of our ongoing evaluation process. Two, SCNBFP alumni participants are integrated into the Advisory Committee Structure. Three, we held special sessions annually with program stakeholders, including past participants, to help us evolve the program. We plan to continue to listen to our participants and to create opportunities for peer-to-peer learning on their behalf.The objectives center on enabling new, beginning, and emerging farmers to be successful, productive, and innovative members of the SC agricultural community by providing them with the tools, knowledge, and skills necessary to be successful entrepreneurs, sound business managers, exemplary stewards of the environment, and successful marketers of the unique products they create; Most importantly, individuals who have a sense of pride and quality of life as a result of their investment and participation in these activities. Meeting these objectives will result in a more vibrant, sustainable, and diverse agricultural sector that will better meet the needs of SC consumers and visitors to provide healthy food options for their families and clientele. In order to increase the viability and sustainability of new and beginning farm enterprises in South Carolina, the SCNBFP is focusing on five primary goals as outlined below, along with key activities and associated expected outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Objective One: Provide training in farm business management principles and practices to a diverse population of new and emerging farmers at both beginning and intermediate levels, employing established curriculum as well as creative programming, with an emphasis on level-appropriate business plan development.Objective Two: Complement core programming by creating a meaningful, personal learning experience for participants through regional programming focused on production topics, farm tours, and on-farm internships, custom to each class and region.Objective Three: Through guided partnership development, increase core competencies of regional support organizations and nurture their increased capacity to deliver new and beginning farmer production and specialized training programs on a regional level.Objective Four: Increase awareness of available agricultural business development assets by connecting participants with federal, state, regional, and local government support agencies, NGOs, educational institutions, non-profits, and private industry resources.Objective Five: Develop an on-going, sustainable peer network of new, beginning, and emerging farmers by establishing a SCNBFP alumni association.

APPROACH: In order to both deliver helpful educational programming, and to recruit serious participants, a workshop titled "So, You Want to Be a Farmer?" will be designed around research based on what it takes to be successful as a farmer, the typical lifestyle of a farm business operator, and other related "big-picture" considerations. The purpose will be for those who are considering the development of a farming business to first stop and think realistically about what that will mean for them and their families. For those who decide that they want to go to the next step, we will help guide them to our application process where they will provide information necessary for our Advisory Committee to determine an appropriate list of participants. For those not able to commit to our programs, we will make additional informational resources available to them so that they can pursue learning on their own. However, experience with the SCNBFP over the past five years has taught us that there is substantial value in the peer-to-peer network developed during our cohort-based programs. We will identify an annual cohort of up to 80 participants (50 Level One; 30 Level Two) through the application and recruitment process.We will develop and deliver two different, yet synergistic, programs. The Level One program, Exploring Farming as a Business, will focus on those applicants with less than three years of experience who have not yet developed a business plan. The Level Two program, Taking Your Farm Business to the Next Level, will focus on those with 3-9 years of experience. Participants in both programs will take the Color Code personality assessment and will participate in a follow-up workshop that will help them consider how these factors can play into their business planning and operations, as well as personal and professional interpersonal relationships.Based on participant feedback from past programs, we are placing increased emphasis on program development and delivery at a sub-state regional level, reducing travel costs and time invested by program participants. A series of regional workshops will be held in five "foodshed" regions (Upstate, Catawba, Midlands, PeeDee /Grand Strand, and Lowcountry). While state-wide programming runs consecutively for Level One and Level Two, all participants will come together for regionally based workshops, addressing mostly elective, production-related topics. Regional programs run from early fall through mid-spring each year. Clemson-based leads in each region will work with state program staff, Extension Agents, regional NGO partners, local stakeholders, and program participants in their region to elicit program priorities and to coordinate the delivery of these workshops.The purpose of these meetings is to include primarily production related learning into the program, with the understanding that interests will vary considerably by the agricultural characteristics of each region. Furthermore, supplemental regional programming encourages peer-to-peer learning by allowing the beginning farmers to share their unique challenges; to jointly explore possible solutions; to expose them to innovative methods; and to develop close networks among neighboring farms, both new and emerging, within established foodshed regions. A minimum number of on-farm workshops / site visits will be required in each region.Direct contact with state and federal agency program leadership will be emphasized at both statewide and regional meetings and are designed to create familiarity and a comfort level that will increase effective utilization of existing programs and resources.The program will conclude with a final presentations and graduation ceremony for Level Two participants who successfully complete the program's minimum participation requirements. Program participants will provide a brief presentation of their business plans and seek feedback from the other participants, mentors, and the program Advisory Committee. Elected officials, agribusiness representatives, state and federal agency staff, and Clemson officials will be invited with some provided time to make public comments.For those participants who lack an extensive production background and desire to participate in an experiential, on-farm internship experience, we have included a limited, but intensive internship program for selected participants.In evaluations of the 2011-2013 program, participants overwhelmingly listed "networking" as one of the greatest program benefits. Beyond the opportunity to network with service providers, federal and state resources, they put tremendous value on the opportunity to network with one another - peers enjoying similar aspirations and facing similar challenges. Farming can be an isolating profession by nature, and those new to the industry can feel especially alienated. Past participants gained so much benefit from the camaraderie and shared learning opportunities that the interest in development of an alumni association was near unanimous.Related activities include development and management of a comprehensive alumni database; establish means and schedule for ongoing communication with alumni (newsletter, email, social media, print & video publications, etc.); develop and implement alumni activities, meetings, & events; educate and engage graduating participants in alumni programs; work closely with program staff and other stakeholders to identify and enhance alumni engagement throughout the agriculture community for professional networking and development purposes.SCNBFP has a strong track record of attracting women participants. Over the past few years, two related efforts have evolved alongside SCNBFP that are even more specifically intended for women farmer participants; Annie's Project and the SC Women's Agricultural Network (SCWAgN). Annie's Project is a ten-year old program that has been deployed in 34 states with the purpose of fostering problem solving, record keeping, and decision-making skills in farmwomen. The SC Annie's Project program has operated for three years in SC and typically consists of a weekend retreat with a wide variety of workshop presenters. In addition, Annie's Project has a second-level program that teaches business, estate, retirement, and succession planning topics. The SCWAgN program is a broader networking organization composed largely of Annie's Project graduates and supporters. The Program Director and Program Assistant Director, with feedback from the Advisory Committee and feedback from previous program participants, will determine dates and locations for up to five farm site visits annually.Program staff will conduct evaluations for each program session in order to assure quality program experiences. Dr. Ken Robinson will be responsible for carrying out the evaluation process and providing appropriate reporting to the SCNBFP Program Director. Project evaluation will begin with the application process, where baseline information about potential participants will be gathered. Results from a post-program survey will be compared with baseline information to obtain indications of the achievement of desired objectives. Program graduates will be surveyed annually for two additional years following the program to better track longer-term outcomes. The expected outcomes for the SCNBFP are provided in Section 2 of this proposal. Short-term measurable outputs will include number of program applicants, number of selected participants, number of workshops conducted, number of regional stakeholder groups formed, number of workshops and farm tours delivered by regional groups.

PROGRESS: 2016/08 TO 2019/07
Target Audience:We opened applications for year-three of our program in the summer of 2018. Seventy applications were received and reviewed; 61 applications were accepted, resulting in 42 program participants. Three dropped out during the program, resulting in 39 completing the program. Additional information on graduates is provided below. Male: 19 Female: 20 Completed with Honors or Distinction: 29 Scholarships Qualifying Applicants: 4 Scholarships Offered: 4 Scholarships Accepted: 4 Scholarship Recipients Completing Program: 4 Scholarship Recipients Failing to Complete: 0 Regional Workshops Total # Promised: 25 Total # Delivered: 23 Participant Attendance: 103 Non-Participant Attendance: 225 Total Reached: 328 Changes/Problems:Total attendance for regional workshops declined dramatically in YR3. This is likely to be a result of combined reasons, determined through observation and informal conversation with both regional coordinators and program participants. While not definitive, these likely include: 1. While choosing topics early in the planning process, several regions had difficulty confirming dates with presenters and guest speakers, resulting in delayed announcement of workshop dates. 2. Due to capacity and weather issues, two regions were only able to deliver 4 of the five planned workshops. Also, while one region met the minimum of five workshops, they did not have the capacity to deliver extra workshops as in years past. 3. Harsh winter and spring weather made it necessary to reschedule several workshops at the last minute, resulting in a drop in expected registration. 4. Although most program participants met the minimum requirements for regional workshop attendance, we did not see as many exceed (or even far exceed) the minimum as we have seen in earlier years - typically due to scheduling delays and changes. 5. Four of the five regional teams repeated 1-3 workshops that had been delivered in earlier program years. While these were still popular and in-demand with program participants, attendance was in decline among the general population, indicating possible saturation of the topic. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Both our core and regional programs involve a broad array of Extension Agents and Specialists, state agency personnel, and non-profit service providers. Though this is not formal in-service training for these professionals, it does serve to help keep them informed of issues relevant to the beginning farmer audience. Our annual advisory committee meeting also serves to help keep those involved informed across the beginning farmer training ecosystem. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results are disseminated at our annual advisory committee meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2016/08 TO 2019/07
What was accomplished under these goals? We opened applications for year-three of our program in the summer of 2018. Seventy applications were received and reviewed; 61 applications were accepted, resulting in 42 program participants. Three dropped out during the program, resulting in 39 completing the program. Additional information on graduates is provided below. Male: 19; Female: 20 Completed with Honors or Distinction: 29 Scholarships Qualifying Applicants: 4 Scholarships Offered: 4 Scholarships Accepted: 4 Scholarship Recipients Completing Program: 4 Scholarship Recipients Failing to Complete: 0 We re-structured the core program slightly, moving topics of soil health and social media out to our regional programming in order to broaden topic coverage and reach. In YR3, we promised the delivery of 13 "core" workshops focused on agribusiness topics and successfully delivered all 13, plus two extra/bonus Pitch Contest related events. Program topics are provided below: Program workshop evaluations were as follows: Highest Weighted Average Score: 9.8/10 Lowest Weighted Average Score: 9.1/10 Average Across all Core Workshops: 9.6/10 In addition to the core workshops we organized five regional stakeholder groups to deliver complementary topic workshops across the state. These workshops were open to our accepted applicants and also open to the public in order to extend our program reach to new farmers not able to participate in our core program. Additional information on these workshops follows: Regional Workshops Total # Promised: 25 Total # Delivered: 23 Participant Attendance: 103 Non-Participant Attendance: 225 Total Reach: 328 We organized a set of regional farm tours across the state in order to provide on-the-ground exposure to a wide variety of farming operations. Additional information follows: # Farm Tours Promised: 3 # Farm Tours Delivered: 2 # Farm Tours Rained-Out: 1 Program Participants Attending: 7 Non-Program Participants Attending: 30 Total Reach: 37 YR3 included continuation of our on-farm Internship Program for select participants. Additional information follows: # Internships Promised: 5 # Internship Applicants: 8 # Internships Placed: 5 # Deferred Internships Completed: 1 (Preferred mentor farm from 2018 had no opening until spring 2019) A competitive application process was employed, and each applicant earned a numerical score. Eight qualified participants applied, and because we had sufficient funding, seven were accepted. Mentor farms were scouted and recruited, based on the specific interests and needs of each intern. Mentors were secured, however, two of the interns did not wish to move forward due to a change in personal circumstances. Before starting, interns and mentors were given clear, written program guidelines and expectations. They were also provided with specific discussion questions to use in a mutual-interview process. All interns and mentors that went through the interview process were pleased with the placement and elected to move forward. Due to the preferences of interns and mentors, as well as unavoidable administrative delays, not every internship started in April, as originally planned, but rather at different times throughout the spring and early summer. However, all interns understood the importance of completing their internship before the grant expired, and all interns successfully completed their required 180 hours. In addition, two participants from YR2 with delayed or long-duration internships also successfully completed their internships in 2019. Over the course of the three-year grant period, all 15 of our planned internships were successfully completed. With a new coordinator in place, the Alumni Association made robust progress in the delivery of educational programs, with six workshops planned for YR3, and five delivered (one rained-out.) # Events Promised: 2 # Events Delivered: 5 Alumni Workshop Topics: 1. Tax Management for Farmers 2. Online Marketing 3. Southern Heritage Crops 4. Successful Agritourism: Ag+Art Tour 5. Small Ruminants Total Reach: 210 Our original intention was delivery of six educational events through the SCNBFP Alumni Association. While experiencing a capacity program in YR1, and re-organization issues in YR2, we were able to gain significant ground in YR3, ultimately delivering a total of seven alumni events over the course of the program, with a total reach of 293. Over the course of the grant period, we had hoped to facilitate the development of a sustainable SCNBFP Alumni Association, independent of Clemson University and grant funding. And while there were ongoing efforts to develop and nurture this association, through several meetings and conference calls, ultimately it became apparent that while program alumnus were clearly interested in belonging to the association, too few had the capacity to actually lead the effort. A small committee of alumnus was formed, and efforts were made to contact all former program participants by phone. These efforts allowed us to update alumni contact information in our database, as well as confirmed that while alumni were generally interested in attending educational and/or networking events, few possessed the capacity to volunteer time for association development

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2016/08 TO 2019/07
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2017/08/01 TO 2018/07/31
Target Audience:New and Beginning Farmers from South Carolina. Changes/Problems:We are learning that the alumni of our program are simply too busy to develop a stand-alone organization that will represent their interests, deliver advanced training, and help us to sustain the program over time. We are doing our best to find an acceptable approach. We have invested much more staff time in delivery of these programs due to lack of expected involvement of volunteer participants. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Embedded in Progress Notes How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We maintain a program advisory committee for this purpose. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will basically repeat the same program, modifying it according to program evaluations and new opportunities that present themselves.

IMPACT: 2017/08/01 TO 2018/07/31
What was accomplished under these goals? We opened applications for year-two of our program in the summer of 2017. Eighty applications were received and reviewed;62 applications were accepted, resulting in 54 program participants. Three dropped out during the program, resulting in 51 completing the program. Additional information on graduates is provided below. Male: 27 Female: 24 Completed with Honors or Distinction: 45 Scholarships Qualifying Applicants: 14 Scholarships Offered: 10 Scholarships Accepted: 5 Scholarship Recipients Completing Program: 5 Scholarship Recipients Failing to Complete: 0 We promised the delivery of 14 "core" workshops focused on agribusiness topics and successfully delivered all 14, plus two bonus Pitch Contest related events. Program topics are provided below: Core Workshops 1. Program Orientation / Personality Assessment 2. Business Plan Development 3. Legal Issues & Risk Management 4. Land Access Issues 5. Farm Finance 6. Understanding & Navigating Regulatory Issues 7. Enterprise Budgets & Production Mix 8. Community Food Systems & Direct Market Channels 9. Post-Harvest Handling & Mediated Market Channels 10. Soil Health Management 11. Marketing & Agritourism 12. Resource Rodeo 13. Messaging, Branding, & Social Media 14. Business Plan Presentations & Graduation Bonus 1. Pitch Perfect - How to Develop and Deliver an Effective Business Pitch Bonus 2. Pitch Contest Program workshop evaluations were as follows: Highest Weighted Average Score: 9.7/10 Lowest Weighted Average Score: 8.5/10 Average Across all Core Workshops: 9.4/10 In addition to the core workshops we organized five regional stakeholder groups to deliver complementary topic workshops across the state. These workshops were open to our accepted applicants and also open to the public in order to extend our program reach to new farmers not able to participate in our core program. Additional information on these workshops follows: Regional Workshops Total # Promised: 25 Total # Delivered: 26 Participant Attendance: 218 Non-Participant Attendance: 498 Total Reach: 716 Catawba Region: 1. Seasonal Growing 2. Marketing & Selling 3. Farmer & Chef Networking 4. Website & Social Media 5. Organic Production 6. Mushroom Production Lowcountry Region: 1. Wholesale Success 2. Growers Toolbox 3. Pre-Planting Growers Meeting 4. Diversifying the Farm 5. Pasture Management & Wildlife Plots Midlands Region: 1. Conservation Partnership 2. Forest Management 3. Aquaculture 4. Backyard Poultry 5. Pasture Management 6. Integrated Pest Management PeeDee Region: 1. Good Agricultural Practices 101 2. Whole Farm Planning 3. Organic Production Practices 4. PeeDee Resource Roundup Upstate Region: 1. Wholesale Success 2. Taking Soil Samples & Interpreting Results 3. Social Media Clinic 4. Farm Labor 5. Pollinators Improvements were made to regional workshop evaluation procedure. Rather than having participants return regional workshop evaluations on their own time, evaluations were collected at each workshop, and from all attendees, not only our program participants. Results were then reported to program management by each regional coordinator. The average score for all regional workshops was 9.54 on a scale of 1-10. We organized a set of regional farm tours across the state in order to provide on-the-ground exposure to a wide variety of farming operations. Additional information follows: Farm Tours # Farm Tours Promised: 3 # Farm Tours Delivered: 2 # Farm Tours Deferred: 1 Due to oppressive summer heat, the third farm tour, scheduled for the Lowcountry region of the state, was postponed until November 2018 in order to increase likely attendance. Program Participants Attending: 2 Non-Program Participants Attending: 32 Total Reach: 34 We organized an internship program in the five regions. Additional information follows: # Internships Promised: 5 # Internship Applicants: 7 # Internships Placed: 5 # Internships Deferred: 1 (Preferred mentor farm had no opening until spring 2019) A competitive application process was employed, and each applicant earned a numerical score. Seven qualified participants applied, and all were accepted.Mentor farms were scouted and recruited, based on the specific interests and needs of each intern. Five mentors were easily secured. In the case of the sixth intern, no suitable farm was available for summer internships. However, the intern gladly agreed to deferring the internship until spring when a preferred placement was more likely available. The seventh intern did not wish to move forward. Before starting, interns and mentors were given clear, written program guidelines and expectations. They were also provided with specific discussion questions to use in a mutual-interview process. All interns and mentors that went through the interview process were pleased with the placement and elected to move forward. Due to the preferences of interns and mentors, the internships did not start in June, as originally planned, but rather at different times during late summer. At the time of reporting, all active interns are still in the process of completing their required 180 hours. We are developing an alumni association for our over 300 alumni and providing support for them to develop advanced workshops and other learning and networking opportunities. We remain behind in where we hope to be with this part of our program, but hope to catch up in the coming year. The individual originally secured to coordinate development of the Alumni Association was not able to fulfill all of the outlined responsibilities, so by mutual agreement, the partnership was terminated and a new coordinator was secured. Progress was made in identifying key alumni volunteers; identifying needs; and updating alumni contact information. One educational event was delivered in year-2, on the topic of Agritourism. # Events Promised: 2 # Events Delivered: 2 (Agritourism workshop, organizational meeting) # Events Deferred: 1 Program Alumni Attendance: 24 Non-Alumni Attendance: 25 Total Reach: 49

PUBLICATIONS: 2017/08/01 TO 2018/07/31
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
Target Audience:New and Beginning Farmers Participants Served Total Number of Participants: 582 Enter the actual cumulative number of participants who as a result of your program: Started farming: Target - 60, Actual - 15 Helped prepare to start farming: Target - 90, Actual - 36 Improved farming success: Target - 90, Actual - 90 Changes/Problems:We have had quite a few problems with our integrated program application, baseline evaluation, and post-program evaluation tools. We will be assessing their performance and making changes as appropriate. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Embedded in program accomplishments. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We maintain a program advisory committee for this purpose. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will basically repeat the same program, enhancing it based upon program evaluations.

IMPACT: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
What was accomplished under these goals? We opened applications for our program in the summer of 2016. Sixty-five applications were received and were reviewed resulting in 60 accepted applications, resulting in 47 program participants. Two decided to defer until the following year and 4 dropped out during the program, resulting in 41 completing the program. Additional information on participants is provided below. Male: 17 Female: 24 Completed with Honors or Distinction: 26 Scholarships Qualifying Applicants: 7 Scholarships Offered: 7 Scholarships Accepted: 6 Scholarship Recipients Completing Program: 2 Scholarship Recipients Failing to Complete: 4 We promised the delivery of 14 "core" workshops focused on agribusiness topics and actually delivered 15. Program topics are provided below: Core Workshops 1. Program Orientation / Personality Assessment 2. Business Plan Development 3. Legal Issues & Risk Management 4. Land Access Issues 5. Farm Finance 6. Understanding & Navigating Regulatory Issues 7. Enterprise Budgets & Production Mix 8. Community Food Systems & Direct Market Channels 9. Post-Harvest Handling & Mediated Market Channels 10. Soil Health Management 11. Marketing & Agritourism 12. Resource Rodeo 13. Messaging, Branding, & Social Media 14. Business Plan Presentations & Graduation 15. ADDED: Food Safety Modernization Act Program workshop evaluations were as follows: Highest Weighted Average Score: 9.62/10 Lowest Weighted Average Score: 8.24/10 Average Across all Core Workshops: 9.06/10 In addition to the core workshops we organized five regional stakeholder groups to deliver complementary topic workshops across the state. These workshops were open to our accepted applicants and also open to the public in order to extend our program reach to new farmers not able to participate in our core proram. Additional information on these workshops follows: Regional Workshops Total # Promised: 25 Total # Delivered: 27 Participant Attendance: 130 Non-Participant Attendance: 541 Total Reach: 671 Catawba: 1. Seasonal Growing 2. Wholesale Ready 3. High Tunnels 4. Organic Certification 101 5. Marketing Through Facebook Lowcountry: 1. High Tunnels 2. Growers Toolbox 3. Farm Safety 4. Presenting a Business Plan Midlands: 1. Berry & Small Fruit Production 2. Seed Saving 3. Good Agricultural Practices 101 4. Poultry - Part 1 5. Pasture Management 6. High Tunnels I 7. Poultry - Part 2 8. High Tunnels II PeeDee: 1. Good Agricultural Practices 101 2. Whole Farm Planning 3. Organic Production Practices Upstate: 1. Climate Change & Agriculture 2. Taking Soil Samples & Interpreting Results 3. Cultivate Conference (multiple topics) 4. Permaculture 5. Local Resource Meet & Greet 6. High-Value Forages 7. Cover-Cropping in No-Till Production Note that while there was an attempt to evaluate each regional workshop, there was not enough feedback collected to produce meaningful results for each individual workshop. At each 'Core' workshop, participants were provided with evaluation forms and asked to complete one for any regional workshop they had attended since the last core meeting. Despite ongoing reminders and encouragement, however, the compliance rate was poor. A different method of collecting evaluation data for regional workshops will be employed in year-2. However, because there were so many regional workshops, there was value in looking at how regional workshop evaluations reflect on the regional programming as a whole. Results were favorable, with an overall average weighted score of 9.0 out of a possible 10. Furthermore, 90% of regional program evaluations reported workshops to be "informative" while 92% reported learning something "likely to be used" in their own farm enterprise. We organized a set of regional farm tours across the state in order to provide on-the-ground exposure to a wide variety of farming operations. Additional information follows: Farm Tours # Farm Tours Promised: 3 # Farm Tours Delivered: 4 Program Participants Attending: 5 Non-Program Participants Attending: 68 Total Reach: 73 We organized an internship program in the five regions. Additional information follows: # Internships Promised: 5 # Internship Applicants: 11 # Internships Completed: 4 # Internships Deferred: 1 (Preferred mentor farm had no opening until spring 2018) Note: There were unforeseen delays in launching the internship program, due to internal legal issues regarding employment of interns. Even so, interest in internships was more than double the number of internships available. A competitive application process was employed, and each applicant earned a numerical score. Our goal was to place one intern in each of five regions, and as it happened, the top-five applications represented four different regions. As no one from the PeeDee region applied, we were able to accept the top five applicants, with two from the Catawba region. Mentor farms were scouted and recruited, based on the specific interests and needs of each intern. Four mentors were easily secured. In the case of the fifth intern, no suitable farm was available for summer internships. However, the intern gladly agreed to deferring the internship until spring when a preferred placement was more likely available. Before starting, interns and mentors were given clear, written program guidelines and expectations. They were also provided with specific discussion questions to use in a mutual-interview process. All four interns and mentors were pleased with the placement and elected to move forward. Although the program started a month late, all were amenable to extending the internship period by four weeks. As a result, all interns completed the requisite 180 hours. Monitoring of internships was ongoing and somewhat informal, as each presented a unique situation. However, all interns and mentors reported that the internships met or exceeded their expectations, and all reported intention of continuing the relationship, either informally, or through continued employment. We are developing an alumni association for our over 250 alumni and providing support for them to develop advanced workshops and other learning and networking opportunities. We are a bit behind in where we hope to be with this part of our program, but hope to catch up in the coming year. They did hold their first organizational meeting, delivered a very well-received workshop on CSA development, inviting in Dr. Tim Woods from the University of Kentucky to share his research on the topic, and opening the event to a wider audience to extend the reach of the program. # Events Promised: 2 # Events Delivered: 2 (CSA workshop, organizational meeting) # Events Deferred: 1 Program Alumni Attendance: 10 Non-Alumni Attendance: 24 Total Reach: 34

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
No publications reported this period.