Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Sohn, S.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
FUTURE HARVEST INCORPORATED: A CHESAPEAKE ALLIANCE FOR SUST
1114 SHAWAN RD, STE 1
COCKEYSVILLE, MARYLAND 21030

ENSURING BEGINNING FARMERS` LONG-TERM COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, of Maryland's 12,400 farms, 20 percent are owned by people 65 years or older - a percentage that rises with the addition of farms owned by 55-65 year olds. With agriculture the largest industry in Maryland, contributing 350,000 jobs, the mass loss of farmers and their expertise in the upcoming 5-10 years, coupled with land-access obstacles for new farmers, could create a labor and farming vacuum with grave effects on the state's economy. What's more, agriculture remains the single largest source of sediment and nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, contributing 40% of nitrogen and 50% of phosphorus, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program. Much of this can be reduced by farmers well-trained in cover cropping, drip irrigation, buffers, rotational grazing, and other conservation innovations that also allow them to remain profitable.Ensuring New Farmers' Long-Term Commercial Success: A Comprehensive Beginner Farmer Training Program for Maryland project will develop and implement a comprehensive program for first-year and intermediate-level farmers that includes: 1) a supportive mentor community and resources for farmer success over the long haul; 2) specialized training in grazing, urban farming, and restaurant marketing for those interested; 3) a market outlet for new Baltimore area farmers, Chesapeake Farm to Table, which is set up to work with and train new farmers; and 4) needs-based mini-grants and flexible apprenticeship scheduling to meet needs of socially disadvantaged and low-income farmers. The project aims to grow a new farmer workforce well-trained in practices that ensure long-term economic success, reduce agricultural pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, and build soil health.

OBJECTIVES: The overarching long-term goal of the Ensuring New Farmers' Long-Term Commercial Success: A Comprehensive Beginner Farmer Training Program for Maryland project is to provide beginning- and intermediate-level programming to grow a new farmer workforce well- trained in practices that ensure long-term economic success, reduce agricultural pollution to the Chesapeake Bay, and build soil health.Four objectives will support this long-term goal:* To ensure beginning farmers' long-term commercial success* To grow more new, well-trained farmers in the Chesapeake region* To add specializations -- urban, grazing as well as rural* To build a producer support network

APPROACH: The objectives of this project will be carried out with the following methods, followed by the proposed measurements:Consulting Program for intermediate-level farmers: FHCASA will develop a one-on-one Consulting Program that will train and match farmer Consultants with 15 Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP) graduates -- or Consultees -- per year (45 over 3 years).Entry- and intermediate-level business, marketing, planning, and production workshops: Subcontractor UME will offer a robust and focused set of education and outreach programs for FHCASA's first-year BFTP trainees, BFTP graduates, and other start-out and intermediate-level farmers in Maryland (UME programs will be open to the public). The goal is to reach 900 participants annually in workshops about starting a business, business planning, and farm production practices.Hands-on field and classroom training in how to work with high-value retail/wholesale outlets, post-harvest handling, distribution, and packaging: Conducted by Chesapeake Farm to Table (CF2T), an online marketplace and distributor of produce grown in Central Maryland. CF2T will provide technical assistance to BFTP graduates on post-harvest handling and packaging, speak during classroom sessions, train farmers how to work, communicate and sell to the restaurant industry; and provide intermediate farmers with a market outlet for their produce.Land-linking workshops and events: FHCASA will arrange events, such as "speed-dating" to connect intermediate-level farmers with prospective landowners, as well as workshops on lease and purchase arrangements.Financial and technical resources workshops and materials: FHCASA will arrange workshops with public and private purveyors of technical and financial resources for farmers, such as MARBIDCO, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit, NRCS, and Farm Service Agency.Triple the number of first-year trainees enrolled in the BFTP: FHCASA conducts its core BFTP activities, tripling the number of trainees it recruits, interviews, and trains to approximately 30 annually. Program consists of: 1) attendance at FHCASA's annual conference; 2) 10-part winter workshop series on how to start a small, commercial farm (and 5-part urban farming series for aspiring urban farmers); 3) 200-hour on-farm apprenticeship with an experienced farmer on his or her farm; 4) minimum of six FHCASA field education events that are also open to the public.Offer needs-based mini-grants and flexible scheduling for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers: We will conduct a series of activities-- including 10 needs-based mini-grants and scholarships regional farming conferences--to attract primarily socially disadvantaged and low-income trainees to the BFTP (currently, half our trainees are female; 30% minorities).Urban Farming Workshop Series and Apprenticeship Program: In partnership with the Farm Alliance of Baltimore, conduct 3 workshops per year on specific topics related to urban farming. These will be open to the public as well as BFTP trainees interested in this specialty. FHCASA and Farm Alliance will also co-run an apprenticeship program to place interested trainees on urban farms around Baltimore.Grazing Mentorship Program: Expand Maryland Grazers Network's Mentorship Program by using its wide network to recruit more mentees and mentors for the program and assist MGA staff in setting up matches, interviews, and complementary programming.In-person networking: FHCASA will offer trainees and graduates scholarships to regional events and also arrange its own group field trips, hands-on workshops, and education programmingOnline networking: FHCASA and UME will create and manage online tools for education, outreach, and social networks (5,000 people reached).The following Measurements will be collected through: BFTP Trainee Surveys, BFTP Graduate Surveys, and Pre- and Post-Surveys of workshops, consulting, and marketing intensive participants.# of first-year BFTP trainees enrolled and graduated per year# participants in state-wide workshop series# of intermediate farmers connected with experienced farmer consultants# participants in landlinking events# intermediate/ beginning farmers reached via business, marketing, planning, and production workshops# trainees and graduates participating in CF2T training and marketing# new farm start- ups as a result of program# beginning farmers who continue work in farming following the program# beginning farmers who improve business/production practices following the program

PROGRESS: 2016/08 TO 2019/08
Target Audience: During this reporting period, grant partners have collectively served beginning farmers with a wide range of experience levels (from entry-level to advanced) across Maryland, in both urban, peri-urban, and rural settings, with specific outreach to low- income and socially disadvantaged aspiring farmers. Wherever possible, free registration and scholarships were provided to enable access to classroom and on-farm workshops, year-long training programs, and conferences, to ensure access for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers. In addition, several classroom workshop series and on-farm experiential learning opportunities that were designed specifically for urban growers and women farmers were provided. Changes/Problems:There were no major changes or problems encountered. On the contrary, our collaborative exceeded initial goals set in the proposal and the success of our work together has encouraged us to extend these program offerings to new farmers across the Chesapeake region, beyond just Maryland. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?*Introductory program for entry-level beginning farmers with minimal experience: FHCASA launched a new 12-month Level 1 tier in its Beginner Farmer Training Program (BFTP). This tier is designed to provide an immersive experience to aspiring farmers who are at the very beginning of their careers. From the beginning, our program emphasizes a sustainable approach to farming. FHCASA and other grant partners provide diverse programming for these trainees, free of charge, to enable access for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers, in particular. Level 1 trainees attended the annual FHCASA conference, chose from over 20 annual farm field days, attended a 10-part classroom series, and 4 hands-on intensives. (Over 3 year grant period, a total of 116 participants) *Intensive on-farm training for intermediate-level beginning farmers: Level 2 of FHCASA's BFTP is designed for beginning farmers who have already been exposed to introductory concepts of sustainable farming and are now seeking a full season of on-farm training to augment their practical learning. Each Level 2 trainee is matched with a vetted Training Farm that FHCASA has carefully selected. Level 2 trainees receive 200 hours of on-farm training for a full season at their designated training farm. FHCASA also provided needs-based farm startup mini-grants of $1,000 each, prioritized for socially disadvantaged and limited resource Level 2 trainees. Level 2 trainees also attended the annual FHCASA conference and chose from over 20 annual farm field days, and attended a 10-part classroom series.(Over 3 year grant period, a total of 46 participants) *Consulting program for intermediate to advanced beginning farmers: FHCASA launched a 12-month, one-on-one consulting program through a new Level 3 tier in its BFTP. This tier is designed for beginning farmers who are further along in their careers, who own and/or manage a farm. Trainees are matched with experienced Farm Consultants who provide a full year of individualized consulting and support, both on production and business/financial issues. Level 3 trainees also attended the annual FHCASA conference and chose from over 20 annual farm field days, and had the option of attending a 10-part beginner classroom series or the 4-part Wheels Up intermediate series. (Over 3 year grant period, a total of 58 participants) *On-farm training opportunities at urban farms in Baltimore City: FHCASA and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore partnered closely to select training farms in Baltimore City to host Level 2 FHCASA BFTP trainees who were specifically interested in urban farming. (Over 3 year grant period, 6 new training farms in Baltimore brought on board) *Grazing Mentorship Program: FHCASA and Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Maryland Grazers Network (MGN) coordinated to provide Grazing Consultant matches for Level 3 BFTP trainees who are specifically interested in building sustainable and profitable grazing operations. (Over 3 year grant period, 11 grazing mentor matches made) *UME provided a new program, Wheels Up, for farmers with 3 or more years of farm business experience. The program consisted of 4 class sessions plus one-on-one consultation support by appointment at the conclusion of the training. Class component included revisiting farm missions and goals and handling change in a business, addressing production and human resource challenges, understanding what a financial statement can tell you, and developing diversified marketing strategies. Since each participant would come with a different priority for their business, they each created their own learning contract to be completed by the conclusion of the project. (Total participants over 3 years: 21 farmers) *"Cultivate Baltimore": urban farming workshop series held in Baltimore, MD, focusing on production, business, and community aspects of farming in the city. Co-hosted by Farm Alliance of Baltimore, UME, and FHCASA. In addition to programming, scholarships were also provided each year, prioritized for socially disadvantaged and limited resource beginning farmers. (Over 3 year period, total of 15 workshops, total of 281 participants) *"Starting a Small, Intensive, Commercial Farm for Local Markets": a 10-part winter workshop series co-hosted by FHCASA and UME in Baltimore County and Baltimore City annually. Provided core classroom curriculum for FHCASA's BFTP trainees as well as beginning farmers in the general public. Chesapeake Farm to Table played integral role in series planning and presented at several of the sessions. (Total number of workshops over 3 years: 30. Total number of participants over 3 years: 351 farmers) FHCASA hosted a sister series on the Eastern Shore of MD in 2018 and 2019, a total of 20 sessions. In 2017, we also partnered with the University of Washington DC to webcast the Baltimore workshops for beginning farmers in DC. (Total workshops: 10. Total participants: 29) *One-on-one entrepreneurial coaching provided by UME for beginning farmers across MD. (Over 3 year period, total number of coaching sessions: 98) *Scholarships prioritized for socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers to attend the University of Maryland Eastern Shore small farms bus tour and annual Small Farm Conference. (Over 3 year grant period, 70 individual scholarships provided) *Entry-level and intermediate business planning, marketing, and production workshops and one-on-one technical assistance: UME, FHCASA, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), Farm Alliance of Baltimore (FAB), and Chesapeake Farm to Table (CF2T) individually and collaboratively the following educational programming for beginning farmers: Ready to Take Root Series, introductory sessions on berries, hops, and niche crops; entrepreneurial coaching; Frederick County, MD Small Farm Series; Urban Farmer Winter Meeting in Baltimore; Women in Ag Conference; Annie's Project, focused on women in ag; Wheels Up; Starting a Small, Intensive, Commercial Farm for Local Markets 10-week classroom series; Urban Farm GAP Training in Baltimore; Small Tractor Field Day; Food for Profit Wednesday Webinar Series, focused on risk management topics; One-on-one direct farm consultations; Basic Leasing Economic; IPM and Vegetable Crop Production Evening Twilight Tour; Beginning Grape Growers Conference. Over the 3 years of the grant, there were 5,356 total participants in this cumulative programming. *UME's multiple online platforms for beginning farmers had a reach of more than 300,000 combined page views and subscribers. The platforms include: Beginning Farmer Success website, beginning farmer videos (on plasticulture, spring vineyard pruning and beginning farmer success), social media, and a beginning farmer email listserv. In 2019, this grant enabled UME to update and republish the Maryland Beginning Farmer Guidebook, which is also made available online on the Beginning Farmer Success website. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Partners worked closely to share results about our collaborative grant programming via organizational websites, newsletters, email lists, and social media. For outreach specifically to urban farmers in Baltimore City, Farm Alliance of Baltimore has a strong network and does valuable outreach through its email list and in-person events. For reaching beginning grazers, the Maryland Grazers Network's has a robust community that it is able to reach through its newsletter and email list. Through UME's county offices and UMES, we are able to reach beginning farmers across the state, including on the Delmarva peninsula. The Beginning Farmer Success website hosted by UME (which was funded by a prior BFRDP grant) provided beginning farmers with links to each project partner's website, as well as downloadable publications. 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? After several years of collective experience providing beginning farmer education across Maryland, our project team assessed that more targeted training was necessary to ensure the long-term success of our new farmers. The needs of aspiring farmers at the very beginning of their farm learning journey are radically different from those of an established farmer who has been running her own operation for 3-5 years, and yet both fall under the definition of "beginning farmers". Over the course of the three year grant period, our collaborative made tremendous strides in building state-wide, stair-stepped programming for beginning farmers at mulitple stages, from entry-level to more advanced. We developed and refined programming for entry-level farmers across the state, making a concerted effort to conduct outreach to socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers and whenever possible, to make the programming free or low-cost. We also developed new, programming targeted specifically at beginning farmers at the more advanced end of the spectrum: individualized, year-long consulting with an experienced farmer consultant, business workshop series designed for those 3+ years in, one-on-one entrepreneurial coaching, and more. We have built a robust suite of educational training opportunities for new farmers throughout Maryland. We offered multi-modal programs, from online to on-farm learning, of varying duration, from individual workshops to year-long training alongside and experienced farm mentor. The grant enabled us to build a robust team, each of us bringing a unique set of strengths Through close collaboration, over the course of our 3 year grant period, we were able to reach more than 5,500 participants. Below are some quotes gathered via survey from participants in FHCASA's BFTP: "The BFTP has been a real life changing experience for me. It's given me hands on experience and the confidence to take on a new career in farming knowing I am supported by a network of knowledgeable people in the field that want to see me succeed." "I have spent the decade since I graduated from college working in horticulture and agriculture and the thought of starting my farm was always a bit of a daunting pipe dream. When I found myself moving back to MD a farmer told me about the FHCASA and the Beginner Farmer Training Program, I figured it was worth a shot. From my acceptance into the program things just fell into place I was able to secure land within two months through connections I made in the program , I was able to attend several field days that addressed very specific topics I had questions about and most valuable of all was the once a week training day on Butterbee Farm. Our training not only encompassed traditional farm work but also valuable sessions like crop planning, farm finances and the ability to talk openly and transparently to a farmer about starting and running a business. I have worked and managed a handful of flower farms in my career but have always had unanswered questions about the business of it all, but not after my training at Butterbee. Having just ended for the 2018 season I have walked away feeling confident about the vitality and sustainability of my farm, my business and myself as a grower." "As a second year trainee in Future Harvest CASA's Beginning Farmer Training Program (having also completed level 1) I would like to express my support of and gratitude towards this very important organization in the Chesapeake Bay region. Through the BFTP I have taken concrete steps such as raising and processing a test run of broiler chickens (which was a direct result of a field school workshop on chicken processing), planning and growing a variety of vegetable and flower crops to explore what would be a good fit on a production scale, and working directly with Future Harvest staff to develop a clearer picture of how my specific farming venture will be structured. The individual attention and guidance I have received from staff regarding my goals and business planning has been so important and helpful in how I am proceeding in applying what I have learned from all the resources; field days, on-farm training, Facebook community conversations, local networks, to the establishment of my farm business. In my experience, the BFTP has not been just a prescribed set of requirements that all trainees must complete, it has been tailored to individuals situations, previous experience, and personalities, and continues to build an amazing network of sustainable farmers in the region which ultimately sets up each trainee for success after the 'formal' training levels have been completed." "Before joining the program, I knew how to care for my own garden, and that's it. Now, I understand what a full year at a farm looks like. I have learned about marketing, financing, and of course farm specific knowledge like IPM, crop rotation, soil heath and amendments. I have been very thankful for all the opportunities that the program afforded me and I look forward to seeing where this path takes me."

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2016/08 TO 2019/08
1. Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Maryland Beginning Farmer Guidebook: A guidebook to help Beginning Farmers explore, refine, develop, and implement a successful farm in Maryland. (Updated guidebook printed and published online at: https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/ images/programs/newfar mer/Maryland%20Beginning%20Farmer%20Guidebook.pdf)
2. Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Maryland Beginning Farmer Success website was improved and updated during this grant period: https://extension.umd.edu/newfarmer

PROGRESS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
Target Audience:During this reporting period, grant partners have collectively served beginning farmers with a wide range of experience levels (from entry-level to advanced) across Maryland, in both urban, peri-urban, and rural settings, with specific outreach to low-income and socially disadvantaged aspiring farmers. Wherever possible, free registration and scholarships were provided to enable access to classroom and on-farm workshops, year-long training programs, and conferences, to ensure access for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers. In addition, several classroom workshop series and on-farm experiential learning opportunities that were designed specifically for urban growers and women farmers were provided. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As a result of this grant, FHCASA was able to launch a new 3-tier structure for its Beginner Farmer Training Program (BFTP), which provides comprehensive classroom curriculum and hands-on learning for beginning farmers at differents stages in their careers. The program grew tremendously, jumping from 21 trainees last year to 71 in 2017. Levels 2 and 3 of our program, in particular, emphasize the importance of farmer-to-farmer mentoring and training. Level 2 of FHCASA's BFTP is designed for beginning farmers who have already been exposed to survey concepts of sustainable farming and are now seeking a full season of on-farm training to augment their practical learning. Each Level 2 trainee is matched with a Training Farm that FHCASA has carefully selected, based on their demonstrated use of sustainable growing practices and ability to manage a financially viable farm. Level 2 trainees receive 200 hours of on-farm training for a full season at their designated training farm. (15 Level 2 trainees) Level 3 of the BFTP matches intermediate and advanced beginning farmers with an established Farmer Consultant. This tier is designed for beginning farmers who are further along in their careers, who own and/or manage a farm already. Trainees are matched with experienced Farmer Consultants who provide a full year of consulting and suppor, both in-person and remotely, via phone and email. (18 Level 2 trainees) This grant has also enabled University of Maryland Extension (UME) to launch its "Wheels Up" program (took place in February 2017), which was designed for farmers with 3 or more years of business experience. As their businesses have grown and matured, critical issues have surfaced that were never anticipated in the original start-up plans. These beginning farmers now know what their businesses strengths and weaknesses are, but not how to correct or improve their situation. Very often the timing of these growth decisions comes simultaneously with increasing demands of family, community, and/or off-farm employment. The "Wheels Up" program was designed to help farmers identify the critical decision points in their business development continuum, anticipate personal and professional demands, and develop action strategies that will work best given the farmer´s individual situation and goals. The program consisted of 12 hours of class time plus "one-on-one" consultation support by appointment. Class components included: revisiting mission and goals and handling change in a business, addressing production and human resource challenges, understanding what a financial statement can tell you, and developing diversified marketing strategies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project team uses a combination of in-person and online tools for outreach and communication to beginning farmers across Maryland. FHCASA utilizes its website (the BFTP section of our website has had 4,369 views since August 2016), email list (which has 7,206 subscribers), and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, which together have 12,057 followers). FHCASA also uses its in-person events to share information about its program and results--our large annual winter conference that attracted ~800 attendees this past January, 20+ field events at farms throughout the Chesapeake region each year, and classroom series that we co-host with University of Maryland Extension (UME), Farm Alliance of Baltimore (FAB) and other organizational partners in Maryland. FHCASA presented about its program and this collaborative grant project at the September 2016 National Small Farms Conference at Virginia State University. We have also been fortunate to have a number of press outlets cover the growth of the program, including Lancaster Farming, The Delmarva Farmer, and Edible DC. For outreach specifically to urban farmers in Baltimore City, Farm Alliance of Baltimore has a strong network and does valuable outreach through its email list and in-person events. For reaching beginning grazers, the Maryland Grazers Network's has a robust community that it is able to reach through its newsletter and email list. Through UME's county offices and UMES, we are able to reach beginning farmers across the state, including on the Delmarva peninsula. UME distributes quarterly newsletters, an email listserv with 373 subscribers, and 536 followers on Facebook. The Beginning Farmer Success website hosted by UME (which was funded by a prior BFRDP grant) provides beginning farmers with links to each project partner's website, as well as downloadable publications, which continue to be popular. Two particularly popular pages on this site include the Beginning Farmer Success Guidebook and First Steps to Farming, which together reached 10,405 individuals between September 2016 and July 2017. The Beginning Farmer Success Youtube channel had 94,267 views in the same period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Each project member has met or greatly exceeded its target goals for number of participants served. We will continue to coordinate on and refine our outreach efforts, but since participation is high, our focus will be on ensuring that we are capturing participant feedback through surveys and interviews. This grant has enabled FHCASA and UME, in particular, to launch new programs and/or implement large changes to existing programs. Therefore surveying, combined with thorough program evaluation by staff and advisory committees will be necessary to ensure that the project continues to improve as we move into years 2 and 3 of the grant.

IMPACT: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
What was accomplished under these goals? Ensuring New Farmers' Long-Term Commercial Success: A Comprehensive Beginner Farmer Training Program for Maryland is a collaborative project led by Future Harvest - Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (FHCASA), with close collaboration with 5 partners: University of Maryland Extension, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Farm Alliance of Baltimore, Maryland Grazers Network, and Chesapeake Farm to Table. The overarching goal of this project is to provide targeted training for beginning farmers at varied stages of their careers--from entry-level to advanced--with the aim of producing more commercially viable, sustainable farms across Maryland. After many years of collective experience working with beginning farmers in this region, our project team assessed that more targeted training is essential to ensure the long-term success of beginning farmers. We have built a robust suite of educational and practical training opportunities for new farmers throughout Maryland. We offer programs that are year-long commitments with training beside an experienced farmer, other programs offer a classroom workshops, and yet others focus on building connections among our growing wave of passionate beginning farmers themselves. To date, we have reached nearly 1500 farmers. We are well on our way. Detailed information on accomplishments and activities: Introductory program for entry-level beginning farmers with minimal experience: FHCASA launched a new 12-month Level 1 tier in its Beginner Farmer Training Program (BFTP). This tier is designed to provide an immersive experience to aspiring farmers who are at the very beginning of their careers. From the beginning, our program emphasizes a sustainable approach to farming. FHCASA and other grant partners provide diverse programming for these trainees, free of charge, to enable access for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers, in particular. (33 participants) Intensive on-farm training for intermediate-level beginning farmers: Level 2 of FHCASA's BFTP is designed for beginning farmers who have already been exposed to survey concepts of sustainable farming and are now seeking a full season of on-farm training to augment their practical learning. Each Level 2 trainee is matched with a Training Farm that FHCASA has carefully selected. Level 2 trainees receive 200 hours of on-farm training for a full season at their designated training farm. (15 participants) On-farm training opportunities at urban farms in Baltimore City: FHCASA and the Farm Alliance of Baltimore partnered closely to select 4 established training farms in Baltimore City to host Level 2 FHCASA BFTP trainees who were specifically interested in urban farming. Participating trainees were also provided with a tailored classroom curriculum focused on urban growing (see "Urban Farming Workshop Series" below). (2 participants) Consulting program for intermediate to advanced beginning farmers: FHCASA launched a 12-month, one-on-one consulting program through a new Level 3 tier in its BFTP. This tier is designed for beginning farmers who are further along in their careers, who own and/or manage a farm. Trainees are matched with experienced Farm Consultants who provide a full year of consulting and support. (18 participants) Grazing Mentorship Program: FHCASA and Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Maryland Grazers Network (MGN) coordinated to provide 5 Grazing Consultant matches for Level 3 BFTP trainees who are specifically interested in building sustainable and profitable grazing operations. (5 participants) Entry-level and intermediate business planning, marketing, and production workshops and one-on-one technical assistance: UME, FHCASA, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), Farm Alliance of Baltimore (FAB), and Chesapeake Farm to Table (CF2T) individually and collaboratively the following educational programming for beginning farmers: UME programming: Soils and Fertility Course (Jan 24, 2017); Small and Beginning Farm Program Series (Jan-April 2017); Pencil to Plow: multi-week entrepreneurial farm training course (Feb to April 2017); Women in Ag Conference (Feb 7-8, 2017); Annie's Project: the target audience is women in ag (Jan-May 2017); Food for Profit (Nov 29, 2016); 1-on-1 technical assistance and entrepreneurial coaching; Produce auction annual meeting (Dec 13, 2016); Beginning Grape Growers Conference (Feb 10, 2017); Good Agricultural Practices workshop (March 27, 2017); Integrated Weed Management workshop (September 9, 2016); Wheels Up: a new, intermediate-level workshop series, enabled by this grant (February 2017): The "Wheels Up" program is for farmers with 3 or more years of business experience. It is designed to help farmers identify the critical decision points in their business development continuum, anticipate personal and professional demands, and develop action strategies that will work best given the farmer´s individual situation and goals. The program consists of 12 hours of class time plus "one-on-one" consultation support by appointment. In total, all of the above programming served 964 participants UME, FHCASA, and Chesapeake Farm to Table (CF2T) partnered on: 10-week "Starting a Small, Intensive, Commercial Farm for Local Markets" classroom series, that serves FHCASA BFTP trainees and the general public (Jan-March 2017). CF2T presented at two of these classes, providing information related to production and whole farm planning for operations focused on specialty markets like restaurants. University of Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture "Sustainable Ag Tuesdays" presentation by UME and FHCASA (April 18, 2017) 91 participants for above UMES programming included: 2-Day Bus Tour: In August 2016, a two-day direct marketing bus tour was conducted to introduce, as well as, educate farmers on how to develop new markets for their own products. As part of the educational tour, a total of 52 small-scale producers and aspiring farmers traveled by bus to the Northern and Central Region of Virginia to visit diverse farm operations utilizing various marketing strategies to increase farm profits. 52 total participants, including 14 socially disadvantaged, 15 low-income, and 2 veteran farmers. 15 free scholarships for attendance were awarded with priority for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers Small Farms Conference: UMES hosted its 13th annual small farm conference for small-scale, beginning farmers and landowners on the Delmarva Peninsula. Along with sessions focused on production and marketing topics, participants also benefited from connecting with USDA agencies and learning about available programs. Approx. 150 total attendees. Approx. 65 socially disadvantaged farmers, and 10-14 veteran farmers. 15 scholarships for registration were awarded with priority for low-income and socially disadvantaged farmers FHCASA hosted its annual Cultivate the Chesapeake Foodshed conference, which attracted approximately 800 attendees. All BFTP trainees attended as well as many beginning farmers from the general public (Jan 12-14, 2017) Urban Farming Workshop Series: FHCASA, University of Maryland Extension (UME), and Farm Alliance of Baltimore (FAB) partnered to design and implement an 8-part workshop series called "Cultivate Baltimore". This workshop series ran from Feb to April 2017 and was intended for experienced city growers looking to take their urban farming businesses to the next level. (148 participants) Assistance and support for beginning farmers pursuing specialty markets: Throughout the year, Chesapeake Farm to Table (CF2T) provides one-on-one technical support to beginning farmers, including many trainees and graduates of FHCASA's BFTP, who are interested in joining CF2T's online marketplace, which aims to connect small, sustainable growers with restaurants and individual homes in and around Baltimore.

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