Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Crockett, D.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
ANGELIC ORGANICS LEARNING CENTER
1547 ROCKTON ROAD
CALEDONIA, ILLINOIS 61011-9572

OPEN BOOKS: OPEN FARMLAND INCREASING FARM ECONOMIC VIABILITY IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Open Books: Open Farmland project is led by Angelic Organics Learning Center, Liberty Prairie Foundation and Upper Midwest CRAFT farmer alliance. Over a 3-year period the project will bring farmer-led services to a pool of approximately 217 beginning sustainable agriculture farmers and trainees (110 farms in our collaborative network plus 26 start-up farms times 1.6 farmer-trainees per farm). The long-term goal of the Open Books: Open Farmland project is to help beginning farmers develop viable, financially robust farm businesses in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. This project is led by farmers and collaborative non-profit partners who are the leaders of innovation in farmer training in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin region. As requested by farmers, this project is a deep dive into addressing two major barriers for beginning farmers: financial management training and land tenure. Our primary approach is to design and integrate farm economic viability programs into an established fleet of farmer-led farmer training programs for beginning sustainable agriculture farmers in their first ten years of business. Additionally, the project reaches new constituencies that have been underserved by current regional farmer training programs, including grain farmers, pasture-based livestock farmers, socially-disadvantaged farmers, and experienced farmers who are preparing to serve as mentors.

OBJECTIVES: The long-term goal of the Open Books: Open Farmland project is to help beginning farmers develop viable, financially robust farm businesses in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The objectives of the Open Books: Open Farmland project during the grant period are to:Create and launch farm finance working groups and a mentoring program that enhance farm financial management and improve the economic viability of at least 40 farms.Increase access to capital and related financing training for 24-48 farmers.Increase land access for beginning farmers using innovative farmland transfer strategies and create a link program to match retiring farmers with beginning farmers in need of land, resulting in at least 6 successful matches over the project period.Build the collective knowledge of best practices in improving farm economic viability; disseminate results with others.

APPROACH: Please see below for a list of our main activities, grouped by their corresponding objectives:Objective 1: Create and launch farm finance working groups and a mentoring program that enhance farm financial management and improve the economic viability of at least 40 farms.Main Activities for Objective 1:1i. Design and launch four "Open Books" working groups of 5-10 beginning farmers each that document, analyze and improve their finances over a three-year period.1ii. Train 6-8 established, profitable farmers as farm viability mentors (FVMs) and incorporate them as participants of "Open Books."1iii. Pilot yearlong mentorships for 4-8 beginning farmers to focus on farm viability.1iv. Incorporate lessons learned from "Open Books" into farm business planning course (Stateline Farm Beginnings®) for 30 prospective farmers.Objective 2: Increase access to capital and related financing training for 24-48 farmersMain Activities for Objective 2:2i. Take successful pilot to full program launch for financial literacy and IDA match savings program (Farm Asset Builder) with up to 8 farmers annually.2ii. Pilot and launch a beginning farmer microloan program with 4-8 farmers per year accessing microloans of up to $10,000 each ("starter" loans). Objective 3: Increase land access for beginning farmers using innovative farmland transfer strategies and creating a link program to match retiring farmers with beginning farmers in need of land. Main Activities for Objective 3:3i. Transform leading regional vegetable-farmer incubator into one inclusive of grain and livestock farmers.3ii. Host three land access workshops for farmers in the region3iii. Connect beginning farmers to farmland parcels previously identified through its Land Access Pilot Project with local land trust partners.Objective 4: Build the collective knowledge of best practices in improving farm economic viability; disseminate results with others. Main Activities for Objective 4:4i. Record, track, and report farm financial data and viability metrics from 20-40 Open Books farmers across three years.4ii. Conduct annual assessments to understand effectiveness of farmer training services on improving farm viability, including individual program surveys of farmers, an annual survey of farmers, and quarterly management meetings of lead organizations.4iii. Conduct exit interviews with "Open Books" farmers to determine priority needs for future trainings, and remaining challenges to farm viability. 4iv. Share models, curriculum and farmer training resources with regional and national peer organizations. This project will undertake a process and outcome evaluation with collaborating partners and other stakeholders that documents project results under the guidance of Ann Williams Research and Evaluation. Dr. Williams is an experienced outside evaluator who has worked with AOLC to track results under projects with USDA and other private support for the past six years. Dr. Williams will work with staff and major stakeholders to develop appropriate evaluative tools, including semi-structured interview questions, and online and paper questionnaires for participants and stakeholders. Outcomes will be assessed using pre/post-training questionnaires and an end-of-season questionnaire will be administered on an annual basis. There may be some participant overlap among the trainings offered as part of this project - our data shows that most beginning farmers participate in training offered by other agencies as well (Williams 2014). We will consolidate annual outcome measurement into one questionnaire that is administered across training activities whenever possible in order to limit survey fatigue and avoid duplicate measurement. Since there are so many variables that impact farm viability (even the weather!), we will conduct exit interviews with farmer participants in Year 3 of this evaluation plan to determine the actions farmers took as result of increased financial/business management assistance. Furthermore, we will monitor a control group of farmers who do not pursue any financial management technical assistance through this grant, and compare control and participant groups on these metrics:% of farmers increasing production% of farmers increasing revenue/income% farmers reaching their self-described financial goals% of farmers who changed or added financial management practices

PROGRESS: 2016/08 TO 2020/07
Target Audience: Audience Emphasis Organic producers Small farms Specialty crop producers Women Participants Served Record the total number of unique participants who participated in your program: 281 Enter the actual cumulative number of participants who as a result of your program: Target Actual Started farming 41 23 Helped prepare to start farming 40 58 Improved farming success 43 53 Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Delivery Total Meetings: 64 Total Meeting Participants: 1592 Total Meeting Participant Hours: 18359.50 Total Webinars: 1 Total Webinar Participants: 6 Total Webinar Participant Hours: 18.00 Total Website Visits: 0 Total Online Course Participants: Meetings 0 Date City State # Attendees Meeting Length (hours) 10/8/2016 Caledonia IL 11 6.00 10/22/2016 Caledonia IL 13 6.00 11/1/2016 Caledonia IL 12 5.50 11/5/2016 Caledonia IL 11 6.00 11/19/2016 Caledonia IL 11 5.50 12/3/2016 Caledonia IL 11 6.00 12/14/2016 Caledonia IL 6 3.50 1/14/2017 Caledonia IL 8 6.00 1/25/2016 Caledonia IL 7 4.00 1/28/2017 Caledonia IL 10 6.00 2/11/2017 Caledonia IL 11 5.00 2/17/2017 Beloit WI 22 3.50 2/18/2017 Caledonia IL 11 5.50 3/4/2017 Caledonia IL 11 3.00 5/21/2017 Caledonia IL 6 3.00 6/8/2017 Woodstock IL 40 2.00 7/16/2017 Broadhead WI 4 3.50 10/7/2017 Caledonia IL 23 6.00 10/21/2017 Caledonia IL 22 6.00 11/4/2017 Caledonia IL 25 6.00 11/15/2017 Caledonia IL 13 7.00 11/11/2017 Caledonia IL 16 7.00 11/18/2017 Caledonia IL 22 6.00 12/2/2017 Caledonia IL 22 6.00 12/16/2017 Caledonia IL 20 6.00 12/14/2017 Caledonia IL 4 2.00 1/13/2018 Caledonia IL 20 6.00 1/27/2018 Caledonia IL 14 6.00 1/27/2018 Monroe WI 6 5.00 2/8/2018 Caledonia IL 15 5.00 2/10/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 2/8/2018 Caledonia IL 7 2.00 2/22/2018 LaCrosse WI 200 20.00 3/6/2018 Caledonia IL 17 6.00 3/23/2018 Chicago IL 200 20.00 3/30/2018 Broadhead WI 6 3.00 6/28/2018 Woodstock IL 15 2.50 7/24/2018 Woodstock IL 45 2.00 10/6/2018 Caledonia IL 13 6.00 10/20/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 11/3/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 11/17/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 12/1/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 12/15/2018 Caledonia IL 15 6.00 1/5/2019 Beloit WI 17 6.00 2/2/2019 Beloit WI 17 6.00 2/4/2019 Madison WI 3 2.00 2/12/2019 Brodhead WI 2 3.00 2/21/2019 LaCrosse WI 3 2.00 2/21/2019 LaCrosse WI 245 20.00 2/21/2019 Poynette WI 0 3.00 2/25/2019 Madison WI 0 2.00 2/26/2019 Brodhead WI 0 2.00 3/2/2019 Caledonia IL 17 6.00 3/11/2019 Caledonia IL 23 6.00 3/12/2019 Caledonia IL 23 6.00 3/12/2019 Mt Horeb WI 7 2.00 3/13/2019 Madison WI 17 2.00 3/13/2019 Caledonia IL 23 5.00 3/22/2019 Chicago IL 50 10.00 3/23/2019 Chicago IL 100 10.00 3/25/2019 Caledonia IL 4 3.00 3/30/2019 Caledonia IL 14 4.00 4/1/2019 Caledonia IL 7 4.00 Webinars Date # Attendees Webinar Length (hours) 4/13/2017 6 3.00 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Promotional Materials Open Books Webpage Provide information about the Open Books program to beginning farmers interested in the program Farm Asset Builder Webpage To provide information to beginning farmers interested in the program. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Steps Steps taken to help participants See below for activities steps took during the second year of the grant period (8/1/2017 - 7/31/2018), as outlined in the project's work plan: Goal 1: Create and launch farm finance working groups and a mentoring program that enhance farm financial management and improve the economic viability of at least 40 farms. Open Books:Plan/schedule Y2 training; hold trainings; 1-on-1 TA with farmers on Y2 financial documents and analysis; plan Y3 training Farm Viability Mentors:Finalize training plans & mentor model Farm Business Planning Course: Enhance business planning trainings with OB financials, lessons, and presenters Goal 2: Increase access to capital and related financing training for 24-48 farmers. Financial Literacy & Matched Savings (Farm Asset Builder - FAB):Solicit applications for 2018Farm Asset Builder program; convene selection committee to screen applications; meet one-on-one with participants to assess needs and set goals; provide one-on-one technical assistance to participants; hold participant check-ins and evaluations; assist participants with asset selection and financing "Mini" Microloans: Publicize program Goal 3: Increase land access for beginning farmers using innovative farmland transfer strategies and create a link program to match retiring farmers with beginning farmers in need of land, resulting in at least 6 successful matches over the project period. Incubator Expansion: Provide TA; accept 2-3 new farmers; recruit new farmer incubatees Land Access Workshop:Evaluate, plan and deliver workshop Land Link:Pilot link program; inventory land parcels; publicize data; release RFA for land; publicize link program: Hold 1-on-1 land match consults Goal 4: Build the collective knowledge of best practices in improving farm economic viability; disseminate results with others. Participatory Financial Benchmarking:enter Year 2 data Project Evaluation:Collect and analyze annual farmer survey Share Result/Lessons: Share project in at least two settings and with 15 organizations per year, such as at Good Food Fest and the MOSES Organic Farming Conference, and with organizations like the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training Collaborative (national), Farm Beginnings Collaborative (national), Routes to Farm (regional), Illinois Farm Bureau, etc.

IMPACT: 2016/08 TO 2020/07
What was accomplished under these goals?

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2016/08 TO 2020/07
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
Target Audience:The Open Books: Open Farmland project served 82 farmers in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin in their first 10 years of startup (or transition from conventional agriculture), including farmer members of the Upper Midwest Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (Upper Midwest CRAFT) and farmers served by the Liberty Prairie Foundation. These farmers have smaller, less capital-intensive enterprises than the conventional farmer profile and are underserved by traditional farm support services. The average farm we serve has 18 acres in production, and most grow vegetables, as well as some fruit, livestock, dairy, grains and value-added farm goods marketed through direct and short chain wholesale markets. We also serve many socially disadvantaged farmers, including low-income, female, minority and veteran farmers. Of the 2017 Upper Midwest CRAFT farmer members, 41% are women, 22% are from minority backgrounds, and 23% had annual incomes of less than $30,000. Changes/Problems:The only major challenge faced by the Learning Center during this reporting period was the lack of farmer interest in the Kiva "Mini" Microloans. In April, in an effort to garner more interest in the opportunity, we reached out to a Kiva representative to discuss the possibility of putting on a Kiva informational webinar to our Upper Midwest CRAFT members. She was very helpful and encouraged us to put together our own webinar and connect anyone with questions we were unable to answer to her. Our Program Assistant, Sarah Petri conducted interviews with three of our past borrowers to use in marketing and promotional materials. One of our borrowers wrote an update on how his Kiva loan has helped his farm. This story combined with the interviews and additional Kiva information was used to launch a campaign to our Upper Midwest CRAFT members with hopes to gain interest in borrowing and a potential webinar. We did not move forward with organizing the webinar, because only one Upper Midwest CRAFT member expressed interest in the webinar. After speaking with him on the phone and following up with an email we have not made any progress forward on this potential borrower. One of our current Kiva borrowers has shown interest in borrowing again once his current loan is paid off. We plan to solicit feedback from farmers through our year-end survey about real and perceived barriers preventing them from taking advantage of the opportunity. In addition, for the Learning Center, through our work with the Open Books Cohort 1 has led to two important findings: Many participants have an insufficient understanding of the three basic financial statements and this makes it difficult to engage in meaningful conversation about ratios Including farmers with different enterprises types (i.e. vegetable and livestock) in the same Cohort is problematic, and makes it difficult to have meaningful comparisons and discussions among group members. In response to these findings, we will implement the following changes to the Open Books program: We will add an all-day 'financial bootcamp' workshop which will be a prerequisite for participation in the discussion cohorts. The full-day bootcamp workshop will provide participants with a solid understanding of cashflow statements, balance sheets, and income statements. We will host the first Financial Bootcamp on November 11, 2017. In the second year of the project period, we will sort participants into one of two cohorts - either livestock or vegetable/fruit. The major challenge faced by Liberty Prairie Foundation was that the majority of the inbound inquiries regarding the FBDC seem to remain within what the organization is known for -- primarily farmers growing vegetables, as well as some fruit, small scale livestock and grains marketed through direct and short chain wholesale markets. Many potential or new farmers visiting the FBDC commented that we "opened their eyes" to additional opportunities within farming that they hadn't originally considered. In response to this findings, we plan to organize a workshop focused on introductions and exposure to grazing and grazers with FBDC grazing mentors and satellite farming locations. Our target audience will be FBDC farmers, new farmers, second-career farmers and those seeking to gain exposure to grazing as an additional farm enterprise or transition. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The following training opportunities were provided during the first year project period: Technical assistance to Open Books farmers Farm business planning training through Stateline Farm Beginnings course One-on-one technical assistance to Farm Asset Builder participants One-on-one land consultations to landowners and farmers How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In this first year, we have shared information about the Open Books: Open Farmland project through local conferences and stakeholder meetings, including the Good Food Festival and the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference. In addition, we publicized results of the project through communication platforms managed by the Learning Center, including the weekly Upper Midwest CRAFT e-newsletters, the Learning Center's website (learngrowconnect.org), and the Routes to Farm website (routes2farm.org). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?See below for activities planned for the next reporting period (8/1/2017 - 7/31/2018, as outlined in the project's work plan: Goal 1: Create and launch farm finance working groups and a mentoring program that enhance farm financial management and improve the economic viability of at least 40 farms. Open Books: Host day-long Financial Bootcamp for Oben Books discussion cohort members; plan and schedule Year 2 training; hold trainings; provide one-on-one technical assistance with Open Books farmers; plan year three Farm Viability Mentors: Finalize plans and mentor model; identify and train mentors Farm Business Planning Course: Enhance business planning trainings with Open Books financials, lessons and presenters. Goal 2: Increase access to capital and related financing training for 24-48 farmers. Financial Literacy & Matched Savings (Farm Asset Builder - FAB): Solicit applications for 2018 Farm Asset Builder program; convene selection committee to screen applications; meet one-on-one with participants to assess needs and set goals; provide one-on-one technical assistance to participants; hold participant check-ins; assist participants with asset selection and financing "Mini" Microloans: Solicit feedback from farmers about barriers/interest in the microloans through year-end survey; publicize program; screen borrowers; provide one-on-technical assistance to borrowers Goal 3: Increase land access for beginning farmers using innovative farmland transfer strategies and create a link program to match retiring farmers with beginning farmers in need of land, resulting in at least 6 successful matches over the project period. Incubator Expansion: Provide technical assistance to FBDC farmers; recruit new farmer incubatees; accept 2-3 new farmers Land Access Workshop: Evaluate Common Ground Gathering, incorporate lessons learned to plan and deliver workshop Land Link: Pilot link program; complete inventory of land parcels; publicize data; release RFA for available land; publicize link program; hold one-on-one land consultations. Goal 4: Build the collective knowledge of best practices in improving farm economic viability; disseminate results with others. Participatory Financial Benchmarking: Enter Year Two data Project Evaluation: Distribute annual year-end farmer survey, collect and analyze responses, create report Share Result/Lessons: Share project in at least two settings and with 15 organizations

IMPACT: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1 Activities: In the first half of the project period, Learning Center staff began developing the Open Books program. This included researching technical aspects of participatory research in farm financial management, creating first year timeline, drafting workbook with modules for participants, identifying parameters for financial recordkeeping tool, developing an intake form, beginning outreach and promotion to recruit farmers for the first year Open Books cohort. In the the spring, the Learning Center completed a series of educational modules to be used by Open Books meeting participants to guide discussion of five important concepts for understanding the financial well-being of a farm operation--liquidity, solvency, profitability, repayment capacity and financial efficiency. We enrolled six farmers for the first cohort (Cohort 1). These farmers attended an orientation webinar on April 13th. This summer, Cohort 1 met in person twice. The focus of these meetings was to learn about six key financial ratios. Participants applied ratios to their own historical financial data to understand how ratios can be used to assist in making decisions that improve financial performance and quality of life. Outputs: 6 farmers in 1 Open Books cohort Goal 2 Activities: Financial Literacy & Match Savings (Farm Asset Build (FAB) Program): The goal of FAB program is to help beginning farmers grow their farm businesses through one-on-one financial skills training and participation in a matched savings program for purchasing farm equipment. At the start of the project period, the Learning Center was in the midst of the 2016 FAB program. Three farmers completed the financial literacy components of the program by the end of 2016. In late December, a selection committee of farmers reviewed applications and selected three new farmers to participate in the 2017 FAB program. These three farmers are currently making regular saving deposits; completing financial literacy components of the program, and receiving ongoing one-on-one assistance from Learning Center staff to implement best practices as needed. This summer, Program Director Peg Sheaffer visited each farmer for a mid-year check-in to discuss their progress in saving and consider asset purchases. The participants also completed an asset investment analysis, which will help quantify the potential financial effects of their asset purchase options. "Mini" Microloans: The Learning Center publicized our 'mini' microloan opportunity offered through Kiva - a nonprofit online lending platform that offers entrepreneurs crowdsourced, 0% interest rate loans of up to $10,000. During the first half of the project period, we did not have any farmers interested in taking advantage of the opportunity, after promoting the microloans through weekly e-newsletters, on our website, and in our annual Upper Midwest CRAFT handbook. Outputs: 3 farmers complete 2016 FAB program; 3 farmers participating in 2017 FAB program Goal 3 Activities: Incubator Expansion: In the first half of the project period, Liberty Prairie Foundation (LPF) staff worked to develop a new mentoring program for farmers interested in small grains (wheat, barley oats, etc) and pasture-raised livestock. Staff consulted with local grain and livestock farmers to discuss how best to structure mentorship programs at satellite locations. These conversations centered around developing a path for farmers at satellite locations that would still allow them access to shared equipment and facilities and to participate in mentorship and business consulting opportunities. LPF also prepared recruitment materials for additional incubator paths within the Farm Business Development Center (FBDC). LPF staff developed marketing materials to share at the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Organic Farming Conference, to solicit interest and feedback from attendees about pilot areas of programming for 2018 (i.e., grain mentoring, livestock mentoring and additional apprenticeship paths within the FBDC). At the conference, which took place from February 23rd to 25th, staff had more than 50 substantive conversations with potential farmers, and recorded information from 38 with serious interest in the FBDC and Land Access project. Specific interest included grazing, agroforestry, vegetables and grains. LPF followed up with these individuals following the conference, and invited them to tour the FBDC tour in late summer. LPF continues conversations with them regarding current and potential programs. In the final quarter of the project period, LPF held conversations with a local grazer to discuss his interest in serving as a FBDC mentor for beginning farmers interested in grazing. LPF also connected a 2018 FBDC farmer with a Wisconsin-based grain farmer to provide experiential learning on his grain operation, and continues to work closely with this farmer on future plans, including growing small grains at the FBDC and enrolling in the Learning Center's 2017-18 Stateline Farm Beginnings course. Land Access Workshops: LPF staff presented at the Learning Center's Stateline Farm Beginnings course session on February 18, to share land access strategies and offer further consulting to the 11 farmers participating in the year-long course. LPF applied to and was awarded entry into the competitive National Land Access Training Program. The program is three-year commitment; once completed, LPF will receive Land Access certification. With the Learning Center, LPF hosted the Common Ground Gathering on Thursday, June 8 at the Soulful Prairies Farm in Woodstock, IL. The event was a casual event for farmers and landowners. Four farmers with various backgrounds served as guest speakers, and shared stories about their experience with land access. The event was attended by 60 people, 40 of which were landowners and farmers. The event resulted in substantive conversations between owners and farmers, and LPF received incredibly positive feedback from attendees through the post-event survey, including requests for more events like it in the future. LPF continues to connect with the attendees through follow-up conversations. Land Link: LPF re-evaluated and analyzed the farmer and parcel database to develop and finalize valuable concepts and services that LPF can provide through the database. In addition, throughout the project period, LPF staff: Conducted 1-on-1 land consultations, including many that resulted from the Common Ground Gathering Engaged in several land match consulting conversations with a 2017-2018 transitioning farmer; finalized land lease agreement for transitioning farmer Continued outreach with landowners to consult on transitional strategies Documented lessons learned for additional planning and process development. Outputs: 40 farmers and landowners at Common Ground Gathering; 11 farmers at Stateline Farm Beginnings workshop; 1 land parcel secure (Four Friends Farm, Hebron, IL leasing to Sandbox Organics, 23 acres), 7 land match consultations Goal 4 Activities: Participatory Financial Benchmarking: Learning Center staff created a set of customized spreadsheets which the six farmers from Open Books Cohort 1 used to compile baseline financial data. By the end of year 3, Learning Center staff and participating farmers will aggregate and analyze financial data collected over the 3-year period and use it to compile financial benchmarks based on acreage and primary farm enterprise. Project Evaluation: Open Books Cohort 1 participants completed a pre-training enrollment questionnaire. The Learning Center conducted its annual year-end farmer survey in Dec. '16; results were compiled in a report by Ann Williams Evaluation. Share Results/Lessons: The Learning Center and LPF both shared information about the Open Books: Open Farmland project with peer organizations and at the the Good Food Festival and the MOSES Organic Farming Conference.

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