Final report for EDS21-26
Project Information
The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate and lasting impact on farms in the Southern Appalachians. Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) works with more than 800 farmers across Western North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. In a late March 2020 survey, farmers reported facing immediate financial hardships that could result in farm business closures or bankruptcy if disruptions to their market outlets persisted. Many farmers, (especially those who sold primarily to institutions, restaurants, and agritourism) expressed the need for assistance with transitioning their farm business models to produce for new and additional local market outlets in order to diversify and manage risk.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, ASAP has been creative and responsive to help farmers and customers continue to connect in a rapidly shifting market environment. While it is unclear how long the virus will remain a health threat, we know it will leave a lasting impact on our farms and how they market and sell their products. Since March of 2020, ASAP has assisted farmers to help them quickly adapt their business models and diversify to meet market realities. We are currently working with farmers to assess the effectiveness of diversification and adaptation strategies. Farmers are innovative and resilient and through this SARE R&E project we built on what farmers have learned, what is working and what is not, and identify the strategies and approaches that are emerging to create best practices for farmers based on real-world conditions. Through peer-to-peer learning sessions, targeted workshops at our annual Business of Farming Conference, specific resources and guides, one-on-one support, and training events in the field or virtual webinars, ASAP delivered assistance and education that is validated through farmer’s lived-experiences and delivered in ways that meet farmer’s needs and situations.
Using what they learned through workshops and/or 1:1 support, farmers developed and implemented new direct marketing strategies for their farm businesses, strengthening the viability of their businesses, and are more economically stable despite shifting market conditions.
Objective 1: Collect and analyze farmer input on challenges and opportunities in adapting their business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future changes in the market environment. It is critical to have farmer input and feedback as the effectiveness of tools and strategies can vary widely across the mountain region and can be influenced by a wide range of factors ranging from technology to community connections. Innovation rarely comes from those thinking in the theoretical and this project combines the theory and strategy of risk management with the learned experience across a broad network of farmers. This project relies on farmer input to determine strategies that are proven effective.
Objective 2: Conduct farmer-to-farmer learning opportunities. Trust and relationships are essential across training, technical assistance, resource development, and dissemination of information for farmers. With families, land, and livelihoods so deeply interdependent, it is difficult to communicate the complexities that go into owning and/or operating a farm business. Because of this, farmers are more receptive to the experience and perspective of other farmers. There is a lot of respect across the farming community for the amount of risk that goes into shifting production or marketing models, and that is one of the reasons it is crucial to engage and involve farms in both the assessment and development of learning opportunities for other farmers.
Objective 3: Create physical and digital resources to share best practices. There are numerous tools and resources available around every aspect of farming, yet to stay relevant there needs to be continued time and energy put into the creation and adoption of resources to meet changing and emerging needs. The pandemic provides a unique opportunity to identify characteristics and strategies that are proven effective in the face of immediate and dramatic change. Resources developed from this project will not only address the immediate needs of farmers responding to the disruptions of the pandemic but distill the traits that build farm resiliency that will sustain farms going forward.
Education
Over the course of this grant, ASAP worked closely with our farmer network and partner agencies to provide resources, training, and technical assistance. ASAP is uniquely able to provide direct marketing support through educational initiatives and community connections. We have worked for over two decades to support farmers in the Southern Appalachians by building farmer capacity to access market opportunities and creating connections in the local food system. We have a demonstrated record of listening and responding to farmer needs and providing best practices through our annual Business of Farming conference, on-farm workshops, peer-to-peer learning, toolkits, and other printed and digital resources and promotions.
Our completed project objectives depended on listening directly to the farmers to understand their needs, responding to questions, and creating opportunities for them to connect and learn from each other. All of our resources stemming from this project were directly informed by farmer input and were designed for dissemination in both physical and digital format. This ongoing and responsive relationship, designed to meet the changing needs of farmers in our region, has served to effectively collect input from farmers to direct our programming and share best practices regarding risk management in selling to direct markets.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Based on Year 1 assessments, Year 2 of this project featured adapted services and resources to meet farmer, farmers market, and farm business needs. This included, designing and updating farmer-to-farmer learning, training materials, tools, and resources based on farmer input, feedback, and evaluation. Farmer outreach was conducted, and tools and resources disseminated through project partners and ASAP network/communications, reaching at least 880 farmers (meeting the goal of 1200 through sharing of project collaborators).
Fifteen one-on-one consultations to farmers around marketing strategies, market planning and assessment were conducted in year two, in which we were also able to collect lessons learned and best practices. Over the course of the project, 31 one-on-one consultations were provided.
A total of 4 farmer-to-farmer learning sessions on marketing strategies, effective tools, and lessons learned were planned, implemented, and evaluated in year 2 of this project. These farmer-to-farmer learning sessions included a targeted working group participating in ASAP’s Appalachian Grown Farmer Resilience Project (AGFRP), a project designed to directly support and learn from farms navigating disaster recovery. Farmer-to-farmer learning sessions stemming from this AGFRP group included Managing Impacts on the Farm from Flood Water which took place on farm in Buncombe County on June 2nd, 2022, 14 farmers participated in this workshop, and an FSA and Soil & Water Q&A among climate impacted farms which occurred on September 27th, 2022, 8 farmers participated in this learning opportunity.
Project partner NC Extension hosted two farmer-to-farmer learning opportunities during this reporting period, the first of which occurred on August 9th, 2022 taking place on-farm, in Buncombe County. This learning session focused on production and marketing strategies for niche products, most prominently culinary and medicinal herbs (16 farmers participated). The second NC Extension led farmer-to-farmer learning workshop occurred February 6th, 2023 on farm in Burke County, focusing on production strategies for direct markets (30 farmers attended).
ASAP’s annual survey of farmers was again conducted in year 2 of this project, and survey findings were analyzed to determine how farmers are continuing to adapt to emerging and ongoing challenges and opportunities, and what tools/resources have been most valuable. This survey was disseminated to over 800 farmers, and 176 surveys were completed, a report summary is included within this report’s supplemental materials. Some noteworthy trends, figures, and feedback from this survey include: 39% of farmers cited improved marketing as a factor that influenced expansion into new markets, 62% of farmers cited increased production as a factor that influenced expansion into new markets (up from 34% last year), and 85% of farmers reported production costs increasing. In terms of demand and direction of future programing and trainings: 48% of farmers said they wanted to learn more about 'pricing products', 43% want more about 'direct marketing opportunities/strategies/risks', and 41% want more 'business planning / recordkeeping strategies / financial risks' from ASAP workshops & 1:1's. Results and farmer feedback from this survey and conference evaluations will continue to inform future training and resources development.
ASAP designed and implemented 3 workshops at the annual Business of Farming Conference, incorporating farmer-to-farmer learning during this reporting period. The 2023 Business of Farming Conference, a full-day training. took place Saturday, February 11th at the Mission Health / A-B Tech Conference Center in Asheville, NC. This conference featured 14 workshops covering marketing, farm financials, and market outlets and enterprise diversification, as well as a lunchtime Grower-Buyer Meeting, and free 1:1 consultations with regional agricultural resource providers (including the Small Business Center and NC Cooperative Extension). Workshops of note that featured farmer-farm learning included: Planning for Long-term Farm Success, Intro to Land Access, and Cooperative and Collaborative Approaches to Farming. ASAP’s updated Farmer Toolkit was distributed to all attendees of the 2023 Business of Farming Conference, and was also made available as an online resource.
Learning Outcomes
From ASAP’s 2022 Appalachian Grown Producer Survey: 39% of farmers cited improved marketing as a factor that influenced expansion into new markets.
From ASAP’s 2022 Appalachian Grown Producer Survey: 62% of farmers cited increased production as a factor that influenced expansion into new markets (up from 34% last year).
From the 2023 Business of Conference attendee evaluation: 94% of attending New and Beginning Farmers learned new marketing strategies.
From the 2023 Business of Conference attendee evaluation: 92% of attending New and Beginning Farmers learned business planning/recordkeeping/legal strategies to minimize risk.
Project Outcomes
Over the course of this two year project:
Short Term Outcomes:
- ASAP gained input and feedback from 452 farmers to inform our understanding about what particular direct marketing strategies work, or do not work for small farms navigating the changed markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other changes in the market environment and why.
- Successful direct marketing strategies were identified and incorporated into ASAP’s workshops, educational materials, and resources reaching 881 farmers in ASAP’s network, as well as shared more broadly through NC Cooperative Extension and Small Business Center.
- Farmers networked and learned from each other’s successes.
- 244 farmers learned and 167 made plans to implement new and modified direct marketing strategies. These are based on reported numbers. Due to low response rates for evaluation and surveys over the course of the past two years, we predict this was higher than reported.
Intermediate and Long Term Outcomes:
- Using what they learned through workshops and/or 1:1 support, 171 farmers developed and implemented new direct marketing strategies for their farm businesses.
- Through these strategies,166 farmers strengthened the viability of their businesses and are more economically stable despite shifting market conditions.
- Over 51,000 acres of farmland stayed in production and out of development.
- Farmers continued to develop their production and market strategies to respond to the changing demands of the local market.
The purpose of this project was to provide educational assistance and resources to farmers on successful approaches to transitioning their farm business models to produce for new and additional local market outlets in order to diversify and manage risk during and in the aftermath of COVID-19. The years since project initiation have been telling in understanding longer term farm viability, as farms have needed to effectively assess the pivots made during pandemic years and determine which were just stopgap solutions and which have needed to be incorporated into their business plans moving forward. In quantifying this assessment, and shaping appropriate educational opportunities and resources, ASAP gained input and feedback from 452 farmers to inform our understanding about what particular direct marketing strategies work, or do not work for small farms navigating the changed markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other changes in the market environment and why. From this feedback, successful direct marketing strategies were identified and incorporated into ASAP’s workshops, educational materials, and resources. Within the offered workshop component of this project, centered around farmer to farmer learning opportunities, farmers networked and learned from each other’s successes, and in total over the course of the project 244 farmers participated in in person workshops, slightly lower than anticipated due to slow return to in person training in year one. Since COVID, the level number and types of surveys farmers have been asked to complete has expanded significantly, leading to survey fatigue and lower than typical response rates/learned. Even with this, 167 reported making plans to implement new and modified direct marketing strategies after training and we expect that to be a low count.
This project also reaffirmed that farms who have been effective at connecting with support services and resources, maintaining communications with their customer base, and understanding market requirements and bottom-line profitability have fared much better than those who have not. Consequently, through this project, using what they learned through workshops and/or 1:1 support, 318 farmers developed and implemented new direct marketing strategies for their farm businesses, and through these strategies, 166 farmers strengthened the viability of their businesses and are more economically stable despite shifting market conditions. In turn, over 51,000 acres of farmland stayed in production and out of development through the success of these farm businesses. ASAP will continue to harvest, cultivate, and share these successes and best practices with other farms, and as a result, farmers will be better equipped to continue successfully transitioning their businesses to respond to the shifting market environment and continue contributing to a thriving local food economy in the Southern Appalachians.
In analyzing additional social and environmental impact, over the course of this project farmers who maintained communications with a direct market customer base have fared best.The model that ASAP has developed over the last two decades to relocalize agriculture is grounded in the belief that when the distance between consumer and producer decreases, transparency in the food system increases and drives changes to the way food is produced. The more than 800 farms ASAP serves in the Southern Appalachians are smaller (over half grow on fewer than 50 acres), diversified, family owned and operated, use sustainable and humane production practices, and 92% sell some or all of their products through direct markets. Direct markets also facilitate conversations between customers and farmers. This creates opportunities for deeper relationships between customers who are aware of the numerous hardships associated with farming and invested in their success. ASAP’s research shows these connections also generate conversations around growing practices and contribute to more consumer awareness and advocacy for sustainable agriculture. And accordingly, through this project, farmers have continued to develop their production and market strategies to respond to the changing demands of the local market.
The reported number pertaining to deliverable “Number of farmers/ranchers who report changes in knowledge, attitude, skills and/or awareness” fell below our initial estimate for this outcome (estimate: 300 farmers, reported: 2022 farmers) most prominently due to two reasons; attendance cap on our 2022 Business of Farming Conference, and a low survey response rate from conference attendees. The 2022 Business of Farming Conference returned to being an in person event, a year after the conference switched to a virtual format during the pandemic. While the event was held in person in 2022, COVID related health protocols enforced by the event host capped conference attendance at a lower number than is typically expected at the event. As such, the number of farms who report changes in knowledge, attitude, skills and/or awareness was lower as well.
For both years (2022 and 2023), response rate to the Business of Conference attendee evaluation was less than expected evaluation response rate, only 62% of attendees completed the evaluation. In the future, extra measures will be taken to encourage evaluation completion.
Information Products
- 2022 Business of Farming Conference (BOF) Event Booklet (Conference/Presentation Material)
- 2023 Business of Farming Conference (BOF) Event Booklet (Conference/Presentation Material)
- 2023 Farmer Toolkit (Manual/Guide, Website)
- 2023 Appalachia Grown Annual Producer Survey Report (Decision-making Tool)
- (F2F) AGFRP Managing Impacts on the Farm from Flood Water - Eval Report (Course or Curriculum)
- (F2F) Growing Culinary Herbs - Eval Report (Course or Curriculum)
- (F2F) AGFRP FSA/Soil & Water Meeting - Eval Report (Course or Curriculum)