Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Peterson, R.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS 77843-0001

BATTLE GROUND TO BREAKING GROUND

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: American farmer/ranchers are disappearing at disturbing rates and there are not many to fill their shoes. With the average age of the producer in America at over 58 years, our nation's food security could be challenged over the next 20 years. The most challenging barriers for new/beginning farmer/ranchers, including Veteran farmer/ranchers, to enter agriculture businesses, are access to land and access to capital. Also our nations Veterans are struggling with un-employment in rural areas, as well as, struggling to transition into the civilian life and struggles with disability issues. Farming/ranching is a highly sought after career opportunity for many Veterans. The Battle Ground to Breaking Ground Entrepreneurial Training Project aims to increase the number of beginning farmers by providing education through face-to-face presentations, online courses, online webinars, and hands-on learning to meet the requirements placed by agriculture lenders. The project reduces the barrier of accessing land by providing access to land for lease for beginning farmer/ranchers to start their own agriculture businesses while still under the supervision of well qualified, successful agriculturists.Ongoing communication with program participants will help determine additional needs, as well as, pre/post satisfaction will be measured for both program participants and community of practice participants. By training beginning farmer/ranchers to manage their agriculture businesses the project will create successful farmer/ranchers. Successful farmer/ranchers strengthen the community around them, as well as, having a positive effect on the local and national food supply. In addition, working in agriculture can be healing for many Veterans as well as creating meaningful self-employment.

OBJECTIVES: The long-term goals of the Battle Ground to Breaking Ground Entrepreneurial Training Project are to: Increase the number of veteran and other new and beginning farmers and ranchers in Texas through face to face and online education, hands on experiential training, mentoring, and technical guidance. Enhance the sustainability of Texas' veteran and other new and beginning farmers and ranchers through an innovative, holistic model for education, training, technical assistance, and outreach thus reducing self-employment barriers for veterans (particularly those with disabilities) to enter into production agriculture by providing veterans the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions regarding entering, establishing, and managing successful agriculture enterprises.To accomplish these goals the project will: 1) Provide a holistic and relevant educational experience to support farm enterprise education and sustainability through access to: a) face to face and online educational training in farm management and production specific agriculture practices; b) individualized educational planning and guidance to support diverse agriculture business interests; c) hands-on learning opportunities connected to online course content; and d) follow-up mentor support. 2) Facilitate peer-to-peer learning through a knowledge-to-practice application process utilizing a structured Community of Practice experience. 3) Offer an array of veteran transitional and disability support services; (i.e. behavioral health, personal finances, wellness, assistive technology).

APPROACH: The BGBG-ET program will be delivered through face-to-face and online course, webinars and hands-on learning. Overall the evaluation plan will assess each of 3 key objectives of the project. Effective of the entrepreneurial training materials, online training module and webinar series will be assess through participants pre-post knowledge and skills will be assessed related to gains needed to make informed decisions regarding entering, establishing, and managing successful agriculture enterprises. Participant feedback will be solicited to improve the process and curriculum. Evaluation of peer-to-peer learning through a Community of Practice (CoP) will be measured by assessment of level of participation and engagement in CoP and veteran reports of usefulness of the CoP for learning and participant satisfaction and feedback. Veteran transitional and disability support services outcomes will be tracked through number of referrals to both AgrAbility and VetAdvisor and what services were accessed (e.g AgrAbility e.g. farm/ranch assessment, assistive technology recommendations, # of cases referred to vocational rehab - DARs, VA; VetAdvisor - # of counseling and coaching behavioral health, personal finances, wellness sessions, # of veterans meeting goals.

PROGRESS: 2016/08 TO 2019/08
Target Audience:The primary audience is new and beginning farmers/ranchers in Texas with an emphasis on military veterans. 70% of funds are allocated to serving the military veteran population. In year 3, cohort 3 moved into phase 3, as well as applications were opened, and cohorts 4 & 5 were selected. Applications submitted for Cohorts 3,4, & 5- 191 69 participants selected for Phase 2 & 3 for Cohorts 4 & 5 Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?9 BGBG workshops, 14 field days, and 60 hands on learning activities were held over the 3 year period. 345 BGBG workbooks were printed and dispersed. 19 educational modules were developed with content including: Business description and overview, goals and mission; Operations- identification and description products, services, Licenses, Permits & Regulations, risk management; Marketing- market research, trends, identifying customers, selecting distribution channels, pricing; Management and Organization- identifying management team, roles and responsibilities of management team members, labor management; Financial- Financial statements including expenses, budgeting, P&L projection, balance sheets, and break-even analysis; Record- keeping & preparing to borrow, USDA Farm Service Agency and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service resources and delivered through the BGBG program. ICEV courses accessed and taken by cohort participants included Advanced Animal Science, Advanced Plant & Soil Science, Agriculture Equipment Design & Fabrication, Agriculture Marketing, Agriculture Safety, Agriculture Resources, Basics of Agribusiness, Equine Science, Food Safety, Greenhouse Operations, Livestock Production, Power Systems & Maintenance, Professional Communications, Rangeland Ecology, Veterinary Medical Applications, Welding, Wildlife, Fisheries, & Ecology Management How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results have been shared with the Project Advisory Committee and with stakeholders including participants through meetings and through electronic means such as Facebook, project briefs, the BGBG webpage. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2016/08 TO 2019/08
What was accomplished under these goals? In total 1,606 unique participants were served throughout the 3 year period of the project. Of these participants, 60 started farming, 725 reported being prepared to start farming, and 125 reported that the program improved their farming success. 572 individuals increased their awareness of agriculture business planning, their understanding of the purpose of diversifying their business, understanding of financial resources for funding agriculture operations, and their understanding of programs available for conserving and improving natural resources. 126 participants increased their understanding of business management systems, financial planning and marketing. 1034 participants increased their understanding of grass fed beef production, nutrition of beef cattle, soil management and soil fertility, pasture management it pertains to intense rotational grazing, managing water cycle, insurance options for farms/ranches, marketing options for grass fed beef, cattle herd health management, managing risk on the farm, rain water harvesting, and pasture poultry, increased awareness concerning vegetable and poultry production, managing pests and weeds, soil fertility and soil management, irrigation, and marketing of those products through CSAs and farmers markets, and increased awareness concerning agritourism, managing risk on the farm, soil fertility and soil management, organic production, goat dairy production, poultry production, marketing connected to urban farming, and labor force management. 126 Individual Education Plans were completed, for each individual enrolled in the courses to guide participants in identifying and obtaining their agriculture business planning and production education needs. 80% of all participants involved in the program were military veterans and their spouses. Participants in the program were located both in state and nationally. Each year of the project, media and event out reach efforts reached over 1.5 million people with a total reach of over 4.5 million individuals statewide and nationally. 9 BGBG workshops, 14 field days, and 60 hands on learning activities were held over the 3 year period. 345 BGBG workbooks were printed and dispersed. 19 educational modules were developed and delivered through the BGBG program. ICEV courses accessed and taken by cohort participants included Advanced Animal Science, Advanced Plant & Soil Science, Agriculture Equipment Design & Fabrication, Agriculture Marketing, Agriculture Safety, Agriculture Resources, Basics of Agribusiness, Equine Science, Food Safety, Greenhouse Operations, Livestock Production, Power Systems & Maintenance, Professional Communications, Rangeland Ecology, Veterinary Medical Applications, Welding, Wildlife, Fisheries, & Ecology Management Program Overview Year 3 - 8/18 thru 8/19: Numerous news articles, videos, social media posts, and posts to event calendars were created by news outlets in 2018-2019 regarding the BGBG-ET that reached over 1.5 million individuals. Additionally, staff marketed the program at 32 events to reach an additional 1828 participants resulting in 2635 face to face contact hours. The Texas AgrAbility website was updated and streamlined to highlight the BGBG-ET program. Staff created a promotional video for the BGBG program in May 2018 and it has been viewed 1023 times. The AgrAbility webpage has been accessed 52,251 times in year 3. Also, the BGBG-ET program Facebook group has 1348 members, the Twitter account has 134 followers, and the Instagram has 142 followers. A monthly newsletter was developed supported by Texas AgrAbility and has 708 subscribers. 2 new members were added to the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) including agency representative from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Stiles Farm and a cohort 4 graduate, Heidi Barber. These new members increased our established network of multidisciplinary state and non-profit organizations/agencies to 33 existing members that include USDA NRCS, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA Rural Development, Texas Department of Agriculture, Capital Farm Credit, F.A.R.M., Millican Alliance, Wounded Warriors, Grace After Fire, Texas Veterans Commission, Texas Farm Bureau, and many more. The PAC has helped identify locations and speakers for workshops, provided invaluable advice on program design and implementation, marketing of programs, and in-kind support for participants. Program Education: Workshops:3 BattleGround to Breaking Ground Introductory workshops were held in year 3. BattleGround to Breaking Ground Introductory workshop at College Station-59 participants BattleGround to Breaking Ground Introductory workshop at Dallas-10 participants BattleGround to Breaking Ground Introductory workshop at Georgetown- 26 participants Evaluations from each workshop show that the workshop participants gained significantly statistical increase in knowledge connected to: Business ideas and planning Knowledge of Risk Management Knowledge of USDA/TDA Funding Resources In 2018-2019, 4 field days and 45 hands-on learning experiences were held to serve a total of 531 participants. Field Days- Total of 4 field days and 80 participants Farmer's Assisting Returning Military Farm Tour-1 was held for a total of 20 participants. Participants learned about vegetable production, soil fertility and management, tomato production, composting, harvesting, irrigation, and poultry layer production. Mesquite Field Farm Tour- 1 was held for a total of 5 participants. Participants learned about grassfed beef production, soil fertility, rotational grazing, pasture management, ruminant nutrition, and pasture irrigation systems Sweet Genevieve Farm Tour- 35 participants learned about grassfed beef production, designing infrastructure, rotational grazing, pasture management, poultry production, and USDA NRCS EQIP programs Stiles Farm Tour- Beef production, rotational grazing, wildlife management, soil fertility, beef cattle herd health management, crop establishment & management, and farm equipment Hands-On Learning Opportunities(HOLs)- 45 total HOLs to serve a total of 451 participants. Farmers Assisting Returning Military(FARM)- Held 24 HOLs for a total of 216 participants. Participants gained skills in livestock selection, land evaluation tools & techniques, beef cattle management, rangeland management, soil health evaluation/amending, farm/ranch funding, sheep production, business planning, irrigation, managing far income, record keeping, cold storage, crop planning, herbs, weed & pest management, farm marketing, organic matter management, high-tunnel build, fabricating tools/equipment, cultivating soil, community building, building/installing infrastructure, establishing/managing cover crops, crop rotations, implementing conservation practices, assessing resource needs, feeding/watering livestock, selling/distributing farm products, conducting market research, & preparing a marketing plan Millican Reserve- Held 8 HOLs for a total of 198 participants.

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