Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Hashley, J.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
TUFTS UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
136 HARRISON AVENUE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02111

BUILDING NATIONAL FARMER AND RANCHER APPRENTICESHIP CURRICULA, BEST PRACTICES, AND ĀTRAIN THE TRAINERĀ RESOURCES

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Existing apprenticeship and mentoring programs desire shared guidelines and best practices to meet clearly articulated learning goals for producers apprenticing and gaining management skills on commercial farms or ranches. Agricultural career pathways beyond apprenticeship also need development. A national learning network to develop shared curriculum and best practices will elevate the quality of 50+ apprenticeship programs serving over 1,000 producers. This 3-year project will bring together leaders in the field of agricultural apprenticeship facilitation to identify gaps and develop new resources and training materials for nonprofits, CBOs, and commercial farms or ranches looking to improve their management or facilitation of apprenticeship learning programs. The project team of 5 core partners and advisors from 24 organizations will: research existing apprenticeship program design, curricula, and operations to understand best practices and successes/challenges, liaison with the Department of Labor to understanding formal Apprenticeship requirements for diverse agricultural sectors, and develop a comprehensive "Designing and Delivering a Quality Legal Apprenticeship Program for Beginning Farmer and Ranchers" Toolkit for national distribution. A national "Apprenticeship" clearinghouse website will house project materials, operate a technical assistance referral service, and host farm/ranch mentor training modules. Eight national webinars and conference presentations will describe administering quality apprenticeships, and highlight case studies on successful apprenticeship programs. Five regional training-of-trainer workshops for farm and ranch mentors and an annual national conference will allow Apprenticeship programs to share best practices, receive ongoing professional development, evaluate resource materials, and set agendas for future programming. Producer support services for post-apprenticeship programing will be explored.

OBJECTIVES: The overall goal of this BFRDP EET project is to strengthen the capacity of 50+ apprenticeship training programs to provide high quality experiential education and training for over 1,000 beginning farmers and ranchers. We will do so by taking stock of the existing field and identifying best practices. We will research, analyze, and evaluate current programs, and address gaps in curriculum for on-farm apprenticeship learning and improve professional development for farm and ranch mentors. This 3-year EET project will bring together leaders in the field of agricultural apprenticeship facilitation to develop resources, training materials and suggested "best practices" for two primary audiences: (1) Up to 50 non-profit, educational, or community-based organizations looking to improve facilitation of apprenticeship programs; and (2) Up to 200 commercial or non-profit farms or ranches that host 1,000+ apprentices annually and want to improve educational outcomes for beginning farmers and ranchers. A projected 3,000 other organizations, individuals, institutions, farmers or ranchers will access project resources via the BFRDP clearinghouse, project partners' and advisors' websites, listservs, webinars, and other outreach and social media to start, improve, or expand apprenticeship education.We will accomplish this goal by fostering coordination between diverse apprenticeship training programs; sharing best practices, knowledge and resources; coordinating local and regional training-of-trainer efforts for farm educators and mentors; and fostering peer-to-peer dialogue with similar programs across the country. The project objectives are:Objective 1. Coordinate Project Team: Establish curriculum development teams to coordinate project activities, develop resources and trainings, and track outcomes.Objective 2: Assess Resources: Research, review, and assess existing curricula and identify gaps in education, training, and mentoring resources for apprenticeship programs.Objective 3: Research Formal Apprenticeship Requirements: Work with Department of Labor to identify legal frameworks for industry-specific apprenticeship standards by sector.Objective 4: Develop a Comprehensive Apprenticeship Training "Toolkit," including shared curricula, case studies, industry-specific frameworks, and supplemental resources to educate established and emerging apprenticeship training programs.Objective 5: Disseminate Educational Resources through websites, broad outreach, webinars, a technical assistance referral network, posting to listservs/social media, sharing through the BFRDP clearinghouse and diverse beginning farmer service provider networks.Objective 6: Strengthen Farm/ Ranch Mentor Skills via regional training of trainer sessions.Objective 7: Support a Community of Practice and learning network for apprentice training programs through peer-to-peer sharing, annual conferences, and national/regional collaboration to strengthen both outreach and post-apprenticeship support resources.Objective 8: Track and Evaluate Outcomes: Document and assess the effectiveness of project outputs and develop a framework to evaluate apprenticeship outcomes.

APPROACH: The proposed 3-year EET project scope of work builds sequentially each year of the project. The project team will be comprised of the PI, a project coordinator, five core partners/collaborators, as well as a group of 24 expert advisors who will contribute to the work plan and be consulted regularly. Our methods and approach combines our detailed work plan, activities, and timeline for each program objective.Objective 1: Coordinate the Project Team: (Sept - October 2016) Provide staff and partner/advisor orientation to project scope and objectives and coordinate subawards and consulting agreements. Establish project teams among the 30+ organizations involved, including a steering committee,development team, content reviewers, strategic advisors and policy advocates.Objective 2: Assess Existing Resources: Review existing apprenticeship training curricula and identify gaps in experiential education and training, and in mentoring through web searches, BFRDP-funded projects database and clearinghouse, apprenticeship listings, and referrals to known apprenticeship programs (including the 70 organizations from the Quivira survey), solicit and compile existing curricula and resource materials (applications, self-assessments, learning plan templates, program frameworks, etc.) and sort by topics and organizational support materials. Development Team reviews materials, catalogues best practices, identifies gaps, sets priorities, and drafts framework for the comprehensive Toolkit. Using 2015 Quivira survey and data, the Development Team will review national apprenticeship survey results and identify gaps in professional development /trainings available to address needs around apprenticeship program design. Create and distribute a survey of over 200 apprenticeship mentors will determine professional development needs to develop train-the-trainer curricula and trainings.Objective 3: Research Formal Apprenticeship Requirements: Many apprenticeship training programs are not structured to meet industry-specific and Department of Labor requirements for formal apprenticeship; a framework is needed for industry engagement and accreditation of sector-specific training programs at the federal or state level, so we will:Research and review existing legal documents and guides on farm labor.Facilitate conversations and liaison with the US Department of Labor and Federal Education and Training Administration and State Bureaus of Labor to expand understanding of the formal definition and requirements of industry specific "Apprenticeship" in relation to diverse agricultural sectors.Prepare a "plain language" fact sheet on farm labor laws for farm/ranch mentors.Objective 4: Develop a Comprehensive "Designing and Delivering a Quality, Legal On-Farm Apprenticeship Program for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers" Toolkit to facilitate training-of-trainer programs for farm and ranch mentors (January - September 2017). We will develop a Table of Contents (TOC), structure, and format for Toolkit. Additional content areas will be developed based on conversations with partners, the Development Team, Content Reviewers, and Advisors. Content will also distinguish different "sectors" of apprenticeship (fruits/veg, livestock/ranching, dairy, grains, other) and note any industry differences. An "organic" component will be incorporated, as needed, to highlight the unique conditions under which certified organic farmers and ranchers operate. We will also interview and develop case studies of successful apprenticeship training programs. We will seek feedback from partners, finalize format, layout, and complete Toolkit for publication. We will also develop supplemental resource materials to disseminate as unique resources and as part of future training programs.Objective 5: Dissemination of Educational and Training Resources: The Toolkit, fact sheets, webinars, and other resource guides will be disseminated through the project website, via the listserv, partner/advisor organizations' networks, and via BFRDP clearinghouse and emails. We will build a comprehensive national "Apprenticeship" webpage to house all training, resource materials, the Toolkit, recorded webinars, fact sheets, case studies, curricula, and a national map of vetted and quality apprenticeship programs (content cross-posted to the BFRDP Clearinghouse). We will Create a National Apprenticeship Listserv (Sept 2017 - throughout project) to foster communication, collaboration, and sharing of best practices among a national apprenticeship training audience and to post resources and updates on EET project milestones. And we will Design and deliver a series of educational Webinars to showcase topics and materials from Toolkit. We will also present Apprenticeship resources at regional and national conferences (2018-2019). Project partners, advisors, and staff will present EET project information at regional and national agricultural conferences (NOFA, MOFGA, CRAFT, Farm-to-School, FBEA, OTA, EcoFarm, BFRDP PD meetings, etc.) to highlight apprenticeship materials developed through this project. Training on the toolkit materials and showcasing case studies of successful apprenticeship programs will include panels and presentations from model farm educators/mentors. We will also conduct General EET Outreach, Communications, and Social Media (throughout project).Objective 6: Strengthen Farm and Ranch Mentor Skills through Regional "Train-the-Trainer" (TOT) and Technical Assistance (TA) Capacity Building Programs: (Jan - June 2019) In addition to conducting outreach and trainings on quality Apprenticeship programs to a broad audience, we will provide focused regional TOT for farm/ranch mentors and individual TA to organizations and farm/ranch mentors on sponsoring quality on-farm/ranch learning experiences. We will also develop a guidebook specifically for training mentors and BFR host sites (Dec 2018-Jan 2019), and establish a Technical Assistance (TA) referral service for emerging apprenticeship programs (March 2018-Aug 2019). Objective 7: Support a Community of Practice (CoP) among Apprenticeship Training Programs: to strengthen, formalize, and expand the professional network of agricultural apprenticeship programs thereby reducing isolation and duplication of resources, and facilitate sharing of best practices (Sept 2016-ongoing). Networking, resource sharing (Google Drive/Box.com), web meetings, conference calls and in-person gatherings will be encouraged throughout the EET project among the core project team, advisors, and policy advocates. We will host an annual in-person national gathering/conference of Apprenticeship Training Programs. Annually (2017-2019), we will facilitate a multi-day national conference of service providers offering Apprenticeships to: share best practices; address challenges; receive ongoing professional development support (adult education theory, program design, evaluation, etc.); evaluate EET project materials; report outcomes; and set agendas for future programming.Objective 8: Project Tracking, Evaluation, and Outcomes Reporting (ongoing). We will design and implement project tracking/evaluation protocols throughout the project. We will collaborate with NIFA's BFRDP evaluation team to design and administer an annual survey to collect outcomes/impact of BFR apprentice training programs, determine post-apprenticeship support needs, and solicit ongoing professional development topics. We will track project progress and deliverables against our program timeline.

PROGRESS: 2019/08 TO 2020/08
Target Audience:Our target audience for this professional development project (Educational Enhancement Team) are ag service providers, nonprofits, and other land-based beginning farmer trainers who offer internships, apprenticeships, and other forms of on-farm experiential education. These service providers target the following types of producers in their networks: • Limited resource producers • Organic producers • Small farms • Specialty crop producers • Women The core partners and advisory partners were assembled in Year 1. We have established regular monthly conference calls which we require core partners to attend and encourage advisory partners to attend and participate as well. These phone calls/online Zoom meetings are used to plan the AgALN Annual Gathering, discuss best practices for completing different aspects of the project and workflows, and plan for the long-term sustainability of the AgALN group network. All regular monthly calls were completed during Year 4 of the project. Changes/Problems:The Coronavirus pandemic caused challenges and delays in completing our project within the initial 1-year no-cost extension (by August 15, 2020). We knew early on that the challenges would make it difficult to complete our major deliverable, the Mentor Training Toolkit given the capacity of partner organizations to contribute to the document and other ongoing priority changes. However, despite the delays, we have been able to move forward with all of our goals and objectives and with the approval of a second no-cost extension, we will be able to complete all of the goals and objectives outlined in our initial proposal. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Objective 7: Support a Community of Practice Annual Gathering / FIELD School One of the core ways we promote a Community of Practice is through annual convenings of apprenticeship training programs to come together, learn from one another, receive professional development, and network. The 2019 AgALN Annual Gathering was held November 4 - 6, 2019 in Ithaca, NY in partnership with Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming. The AgALN Annual Gathering was combined with our annual National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI) FIELD School to bring together land-based beginning farmer training organizations who operate apprenticeship and incubator programs. The annual event is now named the "National FIELD School." The 2019 conference featured 24 workshops with two tracks: an incubator workshop track; an apprenticeship workshop track, two field trip tracks, and then two tracks featuring blended incubator/apprenticeship topics in a Resource Showcase or World Café-style discussion. Over 60 participants representing 49 organizations from 24 states and Canada attended the 3-day event. The 2019 FIELD School conference brochure is uploaded to RVS and available here: View the 2019 Conference Brochure and Workshop Descriptions. We also spent significant effort in 2020 planning for our 2020 National FIELD School. Originally, the plan was to host the FIELD School in Seattle, WA in collaboration with Viva Farms and the Organic Growers School. Fortunately, we had not yet signed venue, catering, or bus contracts when the Coronavirus pandemic hit and the economy shut down. We were able to quickly pivot and organize to determine that a Virtual event would be most prudent. We joined the "Food and Farm Conference Event Planners" listserv and networked with other food/ag conferences that were organizing virtual events. We ended up forming a collaboration with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Sustainable Agriculture Conference to host our FIELD School as a "track" within their larger conference. This event is planned for November 4 - 8, 2020 and will be reported on in our Year 5 (second, no-cost extension) progress report. The planning committee included representatives from New Entry, Quivira Coalition, University of California Santa Cruz Apprenticeship, Rogue Farm Corps, Steward, Ft. Lewis College, and California Farm Academy. More information on the 2019 and 2020 National FIELD Schools can be found on our website: https://www.nesfp.org/national-and-state-networks/nifti-agaln-field-school Community of Practice Another key outcome of Year 4 was planning ahead for the future of the AgALN and NIFTI Network that New Entry, in collaboration with other leading food systems organizations, has coordinated for the past 8+ years, the NIFTI - National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (established in 2012) and AgALN - Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network (established in 2016 through this BFRDP award). After almost a decade of facilitating connections between organizations, network facilitation, educational resource development, development of ag resource libraries with shared information, technical assistance referrals and support, webinars, and annual gatherings, we realized it was time to evaluate the impact of the networks and to chart a new, compelling path forward. With BFRDP funding support for the network wrapping up and maintaining stable staffing for the network over the past 2 years proving challenging, we wanted to bring together key stakeholders to continue to chart a course forward and secure resources to continue to facilitate a vibrant national network, a clear and shared vision, goals, and workplan for the future of the network. The AgALN Network, consisting of agrarian incubator programs, internships and apprenticeships from around the country, convened March 9-11, 2020 at TomKat Ranch in Pescadero, CA to discuss these challenges and explore possible paths forward. Over the course of three days, 23 convening attendees from 16 organizations discussed the value and purpose of the network (more were invited and scheduled to participate, but due to March COVID-19 travel advisories/precautions were unable to attend). We also discussed various approaches to and options for ongoing resource development, and possible organizational and leadership structures moving forward--including the need for greater member participation to alleviate the burden of responsibility held almost entirely by New Entry to this point, among other topics. A Summary Document with the goals and outcomes of the convening (uploaded to RVS) provides an overview of the topics and discussions over the course of three days, organized into the sequential discussion steps that were used as part of the facilitation framework, with each step in the process building on the previous: Define, Discover, Dream, Design, and Delivery. As a result of the convening, we determined that there are three main areas of focus for the network moving forward: systems change, data collection/analysis, and education. All of these key program areas are driven by a core commitment to racial equity and inclusion and a robust communication and marketing strategy to reach key stakeholders. Since the convening, the attendees of the gathering have formed a leadership team to discuss network governance and key roles, develop a value proposition and key objectives, rename the network (its new name - moving from two distinct networks of NIFTI/AgALN will be now known as "The FIELD Network" - FIELD is an acronym for Farm Incubation and Education through Land-based skills Development). We formed working groups and have been meeting monthly to focus on data collection (revamping the 2020 Incubator and Apprenticeship Surveys, starting an updated census of programs); educational programs (we formed a committee to plan for the 2020 FIELD School and workshops, speaker selection, and program focus); and systems change to address policy barriers and opportunities for collective action. The group has also been active in the newly formed "Anti-Racism in Beginning Farmer Programs" group to make sure that the FIELD Network is focused on removing barriers to participation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants and refugees to the beginning farming community and to insure greater representation of BIPOC-led farmer training efforts within the network. Overall, the convening launched new energy and momentum into the continuation of the work that AgALN has been facilitating over the last 4 years and we are excited to build more buy in and expand the composition of the networks as we move forward. The efforts of this BFRDP project have also had outcomes related to project partners enhancing their current programming based on continued collaboration within the Community of Practice. For example, as a result of this BFRDP collaboration, and interest in ongoing Mentor Training and development, a group of collaborators in the Northeast came together to apply for and received a 3-year Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant to train farm mentors in improving their on-farm education and training efforts. Collaborators include: New Entry, MOFGA, NOFA Vermont, Glynwood Center, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming, University of Maryland's Institute for Applied Agriculture and University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, CASA Future Harvest, and Quivira Coalition. We will be planning a series of Mentor Trainings in Maryland (2021), Maine (2022), and New York (2023). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 5. Disseminate Educational Resources. We continue to use the AgALN Listerv to disseminate relevant information about apprenticeship and mentor resources. The listserv currently has 172 subscribers (as of November 2020). New Entry supplements listserv announcements by sending e-newsletters to our mailing lists of Ag Apprenticeship, Incubator programs, and other beginning farmer training organizations totaling another 2,892 subscribers. To date (2016-2020), we have hosted eleven webinars for agricultural apprenticeship audiences, many of them focusing on the legal aspects of farm employment law and supporting apprentices in learning approaches; the titles of the webinars are below. In fall 2019, we partnered with MOFGA to host two webinars on: Communications for successful farm relationships (10/15/19), Supporting Beginning Farmer Learning (10/28/19). When COVID-19 hit, we hosted an additional two webinars: one in partnership with IRC (International Rescue Committee) to offer a workshop on March 18, 2020 titled "On-Farm COVID-19 Preparations for Farmer Training Programs" (unfortunately due to technical mishap with Zoom, the webinar was not recorded), attended by 318 participants, and we hosted another workshop on June 19, 2020 with Farm Commons and Quivira Coalition with 29 participants. The following webinars are recorded and posted to the New Entry website: Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship webinar: Working with adult learners, professional development of ag apprenticeship masters/mentors Employment Law for the Farm: Q&A A Conversation with Lowcountry Local First and the Responsive Evolution of an Incubator and Apprenticeship Program Creating A Mutually Rewarding Apprenticeship Experience: Understanding New Farmer Typologies and Skill Acquisition Ag Employment Law and Your Farm The Power of Networks & the Ag Apprenticeship Network Toolkit Agriculture Apprenticeships: Resources for Best Practices Communications for successful farm relationships (2019) Supporting Beginning Farmer Learning (2019) COVID-19 safety and sanitation preparations for land-based training programs (2020) COVID-19 resources for incubator and apprenticeship training programs (2020) Additional Program outreach was conducted by our partner organizations throughout Year 4; specific promotion and outreach supported by New Entry efforts included promoting Quivira Coalition's 2019-2020 Mentor Training Call series, noted below. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?New Entry requested a second, 10-month no-cost extension (August 15, 2020-June 30, 2021) to expand outreach for the Apprenticeship Learning Network. Due to COVID-19 related project delays, progress on our Mentor Toolkit was delayed beyond the end date of the award and we needed additional time to research, draft, edit, and finalize chapter contents. Additionally, the annual survey which helps collect data and will be used to update the National Apprenticeship Map requires additional revisions after analyzing the past three years of data. We will be working with project partners and our new Data Collection Working Group to overhaul the survey questions and test the survey instrument with partners. The updated (2019) survey was distributed in late May 2020 and we are still analyzing data this fall to update database and maps. In-person mentor trainings will be moved online this winter due to travel restrictions due to COVID-19. We are scheduling mentor trainings virtually on the subject areas contained in the Toolkit this winter (January - March 2021). We also have planned (and at time of reporting) comleted another national gathering of apprenticeship training programs, held November 4-8, 2020 virtually in collaboration with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Sustainable Agriculture Conference. The 9th Annual National FIELD School was a "track" within the larger SAC event online. We reconfigured the conference as a series of webinars, virtual meetings and breakout discussion groups, with themes centered around lessons learned from COVID response and planning for 2021 operations. We are also interested in hosting a monthly series of webinars and discussion groups on centering racial equity in apprenticeship and incubator programs. We will host additional webinars between December 2020 - April 2021. We also plan to continue to work with project partners and network members to enhance the evaluation capacity and data collection process among apprenticeship training programs (April - June 2021).

IMPACT: 2019/08 TO 2020/08
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1-4. Completed during Year 1. Objective 5 - Year 4 results are reported in "dissemination to communities of interest" section below. Objective 6. Strengthen Farm/Ranch Mentor Skills. During Year 4, all of our core partners were involved in mentor trainings and education events, though the majority of our focus together was to draft and publish the Mentor Training Toolkit (more below). Quivira Coalition also hosted monthly mentor support group calls between October 2019 and February 2020, conducted by conference call which lasted 1 hour each session on a different topic. The calls were offered to the public, promoted through the AgALN network, as well as to participating mentors in the New Agrarian Program (NAP) and all mentor calls were recorded and posted to Quivira's website: https://quiviracoalition.org/mentor/ The bulk of the work in year 4 centered around producing and publishing our Mentor Training Toolkit, titled: Supporting Mentors to Teach Next Generation Agrarians - A Farm/Ranch Mentor Training Toolkit. We had originally aimed to finalize and publish the Toolkit in April or May 2020 when the Coronavirus Pandemic hit and created significant delays in pulling authors, contracts, and content together in the spring. We then moved our deadline to end of July, but as progress proved slow in reaching partners for required resource information, case studies, and after the murders of George Floyd and the racial justice "awakening" we also determined we needed to add a new Chapter on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Apprenticeship Training Programs. We realized that the Toolkit would not be able to be drafted, edited, reviewed by external partners, and designed and fully completed before the end of the project and thus required requesting a second no-cost extension to provide more time beyond the mid-August end date. The Toolkit was finalized on November 1, 2020 just ahead of our 2020 National FIELD School. The Toolkit is posted to the New Entry website: https://nesfp.org/resources/apprenticeship/mentor-training-toolkit and outreach emails have been shared broadly through the Listservs and posted to the RVS Library. The Toolkit contains 183 pages and six chapters covering: ·Introduction: Purpose of the Mentor Training Toolkit; How to Use this Toolkit; Background of the Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network; Acknowledgements; Definitions; Network Training Programs & Acronyms; Gender Pronouns ·CHAPTER 1: Building Mentor Networks - Determine your program mission and focus; Identifying Potential Mentors, Outreach and Recruiting; Vetting Mentors for your Program; Onboarding Strategies for New Mentors ·CHAPTER 2: Training Topics for Mentors - Mentoring Principles for Experiential Education; Mentor Skills and Attributes; Communication Between Trainees and Mentors; Conflict: Normal and Useful; Learning Styles, Multiple Intelligences, and Personality as it Affects Learning; Feedback and Assessment; Balancing Education and Getting Work Done; Tools to Help; Setting Expectations; Working Across Intergenerational Difference ·CHAPTER 3: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Definitions; Getting Started; Working with a Consultant; Defining your Organization's DEI Values; Resources and Final Thoughts ·CHAPTER 4: Continuing Education and Peer-to-Peer Support for Mentors - Getting Started; Network Components; Sustaining the Network ·CHAPTER 5: Mentoring a Potential Successor - Farm Entry and Exit; What is Farm Succession?; Recruiting a Successor; Trainee or Successor?; Family Apprenticeships; Preparing the On-Farm Mentor; Preparing the Trainee; Roles and Expectations; The Offer; The Process; Training On-Farm Mentors ·CHAPTER 6: Resources for Mentors - Farmer Training Resources by Organization; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources (Racial Justice Resources; Ableism; Ageism; Classism; Gender and Sexism; Intersectionality; Inclusivity; Sexual Orientation and Heterosexism); Farmer Training Resources by Topic (Adult Learners; Communication and Feedback; Conflict Resolution; Emotional Intelligence; Equity Statements; Farm Succession; Generational Differences; Goal Setting & Expectations For Mentors and Mentees; Learning, Working, and Personality Styles; Legal Resources for Agricultural Employment; Mentoring and Leadership; Templates, Sample Documents and Models ·Conclusion - Next Steps for the Use of this Toolkit; Toolkit Feedback and Ongoing Mentor Resource-Sharing Throughout the toolkit, case studies, examples, and resource links, and highlight lessons learned from over 20 experienced apprenticeship and mentor training programs are shared. Case studies of different apprenticeship and beginning farmer training programs throughout the toolkit illustrate different approaches that organizations have used to support their mentors. Where applicable, sample training agendas, application forms, interview questions, resource handouts, checklists, or other programmatic material shared by existing programs are included either in the Resource section (Chapter 6) or if unavailable online, content was posted in the AgALN Resource Library and links to those were referenced. We are planning to launch the Mentor Training Toolkit through a webinar to discuss training resources, case study highlights, and ways to use the material on December 15th, 2020. The Toolkit will also serve as a guiding reference in preparation of our January 2021 Mentor Training in collaboration with University of Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture and the UMD Cooperative Extension (see description of SARE Mentor Training Professional Development Collaboration below). Objective 7: Results for Year 4 are reported in "opportunities for training and professional development" section below. Objective 8: Track and Evaluate Outcomes. For 2019-2020, we focused on evaluating the annual Ag Apprenticeship survey data and looked for key information to highlight and published a 2017-2019 Apprenticeship Infographic that shares data across the apprenticeship training programs who completed the annual surveys. This is published on our website: https://www.nesfp.org/resources/apprenticeship/apprenticeship-program-highlight s-2017-2019 As noted above, we also updated the annual survey in collaboration with the Data Collection Working Group and administered the 2020 survey between July - September 2020. We received 25 responses from Apprenticeship programs. We are currently in the process of analyzing data and we will publish an new Infographic on data in early 2021. We are working to streamline the annual survey process by exploring a way to auto-populate organizational contact information and other "static" program level data into the survey to reduce the burden of time required to complete the surveys each year. This way, programs can focus on the outcomes and impact metrics unique to each calendar year, rather than spending time completing data that does not change from year to year. New Entry not only requests annual surveys and progress reports from each of our core partners on core activities, but we also seek feedback on how the network has impacted their program development. Quotes from the partner feedback on participation in the network were included in Year 3 report and additional quotes from the 2020 survey are included in Year 4 RVS report. Additionally, individual workshop evaluations were conducted following all field school workshops, the annual gathering/conference, and through individual partner trainings. Evaluation summaries of specific trainings and our annual Apprenticeship Survey are uploaded and available in RVS.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2019/08 TO 2020/08
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
Target Audience:To date, the project partners, consisting of non-profits and commercial farms active in apprenticeship training, have been the primary audience of the work. These partners have participated in resource aggregation and development, as well as monthly calls dedicated to advancing the project objectives. WIthin the past two months, the target audience has expanded to include farmers and ranchers across the country as program work movedtowards developing a community of practice through distribution of an Annual Survey and formation of the National Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network listserv. The farmers and ranchers we aim to engage in the project are those who desire to learn more about opportunities for engaging learners in their operations through starting or refining ag apprenticeship programs. These farmers and ranchers engage in diverse practices from dairy to ranching to horticulture. Our work aims to establish best practices in mentorship that will apply to a wide variety of farming and ranching operations. Changes/Problems:Work to complete the drafting and finalization of the Ag Apprenticeship Toolkit has taken longer than originally expected, however, the conversations which caused this process to be prolonged have greatly benefited the CoP and help us arrive at a common understanding of the work to be completed and some of the challenges we share. As we began resource aggregation, it was clear that our core partners had a wealth of varying experience with on farm labor and learning arrangements. This provided enormous benefit to the work of constructing a table of contents for the toolkit, and exploring how we might compile a comprehensive tool for new farm and ranch mentors. It wasn't until drafting of the toolkit began, that we arrived at our first significant challenge: how to define an apprenticeship. Within our partner group, there are many understandings of how and why apprenticeships are structured and implemented. Some of our partners work within the provisions of the DOL to implement Registered Apprentices, while others work with farmers whose compliance with labor laws is questionable, still others work within DOL criteria for unpaid internships. Within this diverse group, opinions about how apprenticeship arrangements should be structured came front and center, and these conversations took significantly more time than expected, revealing that we are truly in the beginning stages of coming together as a Community of Practice and defining shared language and values. However, arriving at an operating definition of an apprenticeship proved critical to understanding our audience and motivation. Through many months of conversation and research the group decided that a primary value of our work is to identify all available legal options for structuring labor/learning on the farm or ranch and after doing that, to focus on the mentor/learner relationship and how to build programs to support communication, accountability and continuous learning and improvement. We also feel that distinguishing between Registered Apprenticeships, which follow DOL guidelines, and ag apprenticeships, which vary in structure, is important. We provide definitions for these terms in the introduction of the toolkit. The time spent in exploration of terms and values have resulted in a delay on full liaising with the DOL and completion of the toolkit, however we are on track to complete these project components before January 2018. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The first National Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network meeting will take place on December 5th, and will include professional development training on the topic of: Legal Structures for on-Farm/Ranch Labor and Learning, Establishing Expectations and Effective Communications with Apprentices, Developing Apprenticeship Curriculum, Farm/Ranch Mentor Professional Development Opportunities and Needs,Feedback, Assessment and Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Program, Outreach and Recruitment to Find the Best Candidates, Career Services and Ongoing Support for Apprentices, and Policy Innovations, Funding, and Research Needed to Support Field-Based Learning. This opportunity is open to up to 50 people and participants will help define the future of the Community of Practice. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from the Ag Apprenticeship Annual Survey will not be available until December, but they will be disseminated widely via partner networks through the development of an infographic. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Throughout the next reporting period, significant work will be accomplished towards Objectives 3, 5 and 7. Towards fulfillment of Objective 3: Continue to liaisewith the US Department of Labor and Federal Education and Training Administration and State Bureaus of Labor to review materials and enter into dialogue about agricultural labor challenges. Once review by the DOL is complete, we will finalize a"plain language" fact sheet on farm labor laws for farm/ranch mentors. Towards fulfillment of Objective 5: Using results from the Ag Apprenticeship Annual Survey, New Entry and project partners will design and deliver a series of educational Webinars to showcase topics and materials from Toolkit. We hope to host four webinars per year on topics TBD. New Entry and core/advisory partners will completed RFPs to present ag apprenticeship resources at regional and national conferences Towards fulfillment of Objective 5: New Entry will continue CoP efforts by maintaining and expanding the existing ag apprenticeship map and listserv, and byhosting an annual in-person national gathering/conference of Apprenticeship Training Programs in 2018 and 2019. Toolkit resources and fact sheetswill be widely shared as they are developed.

IMPACT: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
What was accomplished under these goals? New Entry's National Team is making steady progress on the objectives defined in the original proposal. Progress to date is captured below under the corresponding objectives. Very few challenges have arisen in the work so far; those which have will be mentioned. Objective 1. Coordinate Project Team New Entry's Director and National Apprenticeship Coordinator have successfully assembled a group of core partners, including 5 programs from across the country that are all either hosting an apprenticeship program or providing support to apprenticeship programs in some way. These organizations are: Vilicus Farms, MT Dairy Grazing Association, WI Quivira Coalition, NM Rogue Farm Corps, OR Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association, ME Core partner involvement to date has consisted of participation in monthly web meetings, which have been devoted to harmonizing definitions of options for on-farm labor and learning, discussing network strategy, aggregating and organizing program materials, drafting an Apprenticeship Toolkit, refining a National Ag Apprenticeship Survey, and planning a National Ag Apprenticeship Network meeting. In June, the New Entry team hosted the first web meeting for an expanded group of over 20 advisory team members. This call introduced the work of the core team to date, presented levels of possible engagement in the project, and provided an opportunity for questions and discussion. A follow-up survey was distributed after the call, and results were used to determine how and when to engage advisory partners based on their desired level of engagement and the amount of time they have to contribute to the work. Objective 2: Assess Resources Throughout the first two months of this project, core partners contributed to a centralized resource library on apprenticeship program definition, development and implementation. Resources were collected from partners using a Google Site, which is currently just being used internally, and are grouped according to the following categories: Apprenticeship Programs Contracts Curriculum Evaluation Fundraising Mentors Recruitment Toolkit There are over 150 resources in this holding library, which have all been annotated in anticipation of their inclusion in a public, searchable Resource Library which will be hosted on New Entry's website. This library is currently being built by New Entry's web developer. It is anticipated that New Entry's advisory partners will also contribute to this library, bringing the number of resources to over 250 by the completion of this grant. Objective 3: Research Formal Apprenticeship Requirements Research into the Department of Labor (DOL) requirements is underway. All DOL fact sheets and resources related to Apprenticeship work and relevant labor laws have been indexed, annotated, and compiled into a draft plain language fact sheet on options for on-farm labor and learning. Our next step in this process is a scheduled meeting with DOL contacts to vet our materials and expand or refine as necessary. Objective 4: Develop a Comprehensive Apprenticeship Training "Toolkit." Core partners, with leadership from New Entry and working from the resources aggregated in completion of Objective 2, have completed a draft and preliminary review of an Apprenticeship Training "Toolkit." This toolkit, now at 140 pages, is built from the table of contents listed below. The only challenges in this project to date have resulted from differing opinions on terminology for options for hands-on learning on farms, which arose during the toolkit drafting process. As a group, core partners and New Entry staff have spent a significant amount of time considering the benefits and drawbacks of existing legal categories for on-farm labor, and how they both restrict and benefit mentors and mentees. We have agreed on operating definitions of terms which honor existing practices while encouraging legal compliance. The Toolkit is currently being reviewed and edited for tone and consistency by a single editor, and it will then be sent to advisory partners for their review. Graphic design and formatting will follow to complete the final guide which will be posted online and broadly disseminated. Toolkit Table Of Contents Introduction About the Toolkit Vision and Major Objectives Methodology Options for structuring on-Farm Labor and Learning Internship Programs Apprenticeship Programs Farm Employees Educational Partnerships Building an Apprenticeship Program Laying the Groundwork Roles & Responsibilities Finding the Right Person Fundraising Developing Your Apprenticeship Curriculum What Skills Need to Be Taught Establishing Expectations Feedback and Assessment Hosting and Employment Compensation Housing Allowance Food Compensation Additional Policies Employment Contract Career Services & Ongoing Support Evaluating the Apprenticeship Program Tracking Graduates Toolkit Resources and References Case Studies Objective 5: Disseminate Educational Resources Dissemination of educational materials has not yet begun, but a website, including an interactive map of apprenticeship programs has been built, and a listserv has been formed. We have disseminated the Ag Apprenticeship Annual Survey which will be used to identify areas in which farm and ranch mentors desire training. Core partners will then design a series of webinars and trainings according to topics articulated by survey respondents. Objective 6: Support a Community of Practice (CoP) Peer-to-peer sharing has already taken root among the core team, and will continue to deepen as the project progresses. An Apprenticeship Gathering was held in Paicines, CA coordinated by our partner, Quivira Coalition from February 1 - 4, 2017 with over 22 organizations represented. The three-day meeting covered visioning for the future of an apprenticeship network, sharing skills and strengths of members of the network, and mapping the role of next generation agrarians in the food system. A pre-conference to the Community Food Systems Conference, taking place in Boston December 6-7, 2017, is scheduled for December 5th, and will be an opportunity to explore the challenges ahead and opportunities for expanded action, plus highlight efforts underway to strengthen support for Apprenticeship Training programs across the country. The pre-conference is designed to engage programs and farm and ranch mentors in sessions that will improve their practical training skills and enhance next generation farmer outcomes. Currently, the agenda includes sessions on: Legal Structures for on-Farm/Ranch Labor and Learning Strategies for Building a Successful Apprenticeship Program Outreach and Recruitment to Find the Best Candidates Developing Apprenticeship Curriculum Establishing Expectations and Effective Communications with Apprentices Feedback, Assessment and Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Program Farm/Ranch Mentor - Professional Development Opportunities and Needs Career Services and Ongoing Support for Apprentices Policy Innovations, Funding, and Research Needed to Support Field-Based Learning As the network begins to coalesce around this event, we hope to build interest in future CoP events, including webinars, regional training and opportunities for technical assistance.

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
No publications reported this period.