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INVESTIGATOR: Gonzalez, E.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI 65101

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MARKETING CAPACITY BUILDING TO ACCESS SPECIALTY AND HIGH-VALUE MARKETS AMONGST LATINO FARMERS IN MISSOURI AND NEBRASKA

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The educational activities proposed in this program will follow a workshop training approach consisting of 12 sessions. Seven of those 12 sessions will be in-class sessions and 5 will be on-farm demonstration sessions. Each session will be 2.5 to 3 hours in duration depending on the speakers' language and the materials to be instructed.While many participants will be conversant in English, most will comprehend technical material more completely in their native language. Therefore, we will present all sessions in Spanish with translation from Spanish into English and English into Spanish available as needed.The workshop will be centered in locations where high numbers of Latino producers reside. Farm visits will be conducted within a 25 miles of our main locations. We have a network of farmers with the appropriate characteristics to be host farmers in both states. Lincoln University owns one of the biggest research and educational certified organic farms in the Midwest region, and other research and educational centers will be available for demonstrations if needed. However, these sites are not ideally located for our planned activities.We have learned from previous program that the teaching approach mentioned above is appropriate for Latino farmer and rancher audiences. Like most producers, Latino producers usually have a full-time other job, either in the night or in the day. Few of them are fully self-employed through their farm and ranch businesses. The most available time for them to attend workshops is on the weekends or after work, so sessions will be planned for evenings and weekends. Having a few in-class sessions mixed with on-farm demonstration sessions helps participants to stay motivated. Having sessions every other week also helps them to be able to attend. In both states, classroom sessions will be held in the sorts of venues we have used previously, including community rooms, libraries and churches spaces. These social settings make producers to feel comfortable during training.

OBJECTIVES: This program seeks to enhance agribusiness entrepreneurship, sustainable practices, and organicfarming and ranching amongst new and beginning Latino producers in Missouri and Nebraska byhelping them to integrate business and production plans into a Family Agribusiness Plan to Operate(FAPO), regardless of size. Currently, these producers lack the knowledge needed to create a farmbusiness plan that also coincides with organic and sustainable production practices. By teachingorganics, we seek to open access to higher-paying markets for their products. We will directly train64 family farm owners living within four regions covering 20 counties in both states. We will useand develop existing curricula to instruct and replicate a 12-session educational program four timesin each state. Each session will include the expertise of farmer mentors, program instructors, andExtension speakers to create:a) 8 farmer mentors forums; b) 48 in-class sessions on agribusinessregulations, production, and marketing; c) 40 on-farm/on-ranch demonstrations and production skillsessions; d) 64 Family Agribusiness Plans to Operate (FAPO); e) 100 participants and familymembers consistently well trained; f) multiple partners including LU Coopearative Extension,CBO, NGO and farmers.Training, mentorships and one-to-one follow up activities will enhanceparticipants' agribusiness skills and understandings of natural and organic grown produce, as wellas their strategies to sell at high pay markets. This program's outcomes align with the primary goalof increasing the number of producers with enhanced skills, knowledge and tools, so they can makebetter informed decisions.

APPROACH: Approach A description of the activities proposed for each objective.To accomplish our first objective of developing entrepreneurship, production and marketing capacity among new and beginning Latino farmers and ranchers in Missouri and Nebraska, we will build on Program Director' Experience, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension Service's and the Center for Rural Affairs' recent involvements with the Latino farming community. We will educate Latino producers with an effective training which will match their learning and access needs that they have described to us. The activities of Objective 1 include developing and instructing a 12-session curriculum to enhance skills, knowledge on entrepreneurship, production and marketing training as well as adding direct farming experiences in not conventional production systems such as organic and naturally grown activities. Learning approaches will be supported by traditional classroom sessions, online teaching methods, and on-farm learning visits as follows:Session 1. Farm Mentor Panel (3-farmers). Entrepreneurship and the Family Agribusiness Plan to Operate (FAPO). Farmers experience on how to link agribusiness strategies with sustainable and organic agriculture practices in order to become profitable? Agribusiness law and business planning? In classroom.Session 2. Farming and ranching business plan development: introduction to production, financial, marketing and management plans. The understanding of farming legal structures, economic and financial benchmarking, assets, liabilities and markets. Assessing participants' farm resources to create the FAPO. In classroom and on-line session.Session 3. Understanding the economic and financial management of the farm. Financial tools, farm breakeven point, risk management informed decisions, record keeping, zoning, agribusiness law and accessing land for farming. What is the agribusiness potential of my farm? Creating a financial plan. In classroom and on-line session.Session 4. Pricing and marketing strategies for high value crops such as organic agricultural products and grass-fed livestock. Community involvement for accessing traditional and new markets. How can I introduce my produce to higher paying markets? Creating a marketing plan. In classroom and on-line session. Session 5. Production planning for high value, high margin crops and livestock. Grass fed livestock management/sustainable production methods and organic agriculture. How can a beginning farmer and rancher transition from his current production methods to sustainable and organic production methods? Production plan. On-farm session.Session 6. Developing a Family Agribusiness Plan to Operate. Production network development and accessing USDA programs. How will farm supporting government programs influence the sustainability of my farm and ranch? The management plan. In classroom.Session 7. Farming and ranching production and agribusiness strategies. What kinds of farming and ranching activities need to be improved, changed or eliminated in my operation? Farming brainstorm exercise SWOT analysis (canvas model). In classroom and on-line session.Session 8. Crops prevention diseases and integrated pest control management in specialty crops and grazing systems. To what extent a preventive crop disease plan and integrated pest control techniques help within my farming operation? How those tools affect my farm ecosystem and its cost-benefit ratio? On-farm demonstration.Session 9. Importance of pollinators in farming systems. Protecting and creating wildlife habitat with permanent crops (native plants, fruit trees and other perennial crops). How does the agro-ecological diversity of my farm influence profitability? On- farm demonstration.Session 10. Extending the growing season with high-tunnel greenhouses and other methods. On-farm demonstrations. How can high tunnel panels increase the profitability and sustainability of my farm? On- farm demonstration.Session 11. Value-added and specialty crops to add additional income to the farm/ranch. How do value-added products increase my farm's profitability? On-farm-industrial kitchen demonstrations.Session 12. Participant presentations of their agribusiness plans to other class members. A 5 to 10-minute presentation of their Family Agribusiness Plan to Operate their farms or ranches. Mentors, instructors commentary. In classroom.The accomplishment of the first objective will be strengthened by bringing a diversity of instructors and resources to the sessions. All sessions will include a guest speaker/representative from Lincoln University Cooperative Extension Services, a community-based organization, government agencies, or consultants. We will also facilitate coaching and farm mentoring (the program team has a network of potential farmers to provide mentoring). Additional coaching will come from nonprofit organization mentors, such as SCORE, Missouri Granjero Cooperative, and other organizations.The activities to accomplish Objective 2, Enhance producers' skills, knowledge and awareness of specialty and high margin markets products supported by sustainable and organic production methods will include the educational sessions covering production literacy of both sustainable and organic farming and ranching methodologies. As described in the curriculum outlined above, starting on session seven, participants will be taught how to develop production plans involving sustainable and organic farming and ranching strategies. We will cover topics such as plant disease prevention and integrated pest management techniques, soil and water conservation, pollinators in farming systems, season extension with high tunnel greenhouses and other methods, and adding-profit with specialty crops.The activities needed to achieve the Objective 3, guiding Latino farmers to understand, create, and use a Family Agribusiness Plan to Operate for improved production and marketing., includes tracking of participant activities from session 1 to session 12 of the program. Participants will receive an entrepreneurial kit to facilitate understanding and creation of business plans and how they relate to production plans. At each session of the workshop, we will relate the FAPO to the production and business information presented in each session.