Progress report for EDS22-39
Project Information
“Honestly, one of the biggest things I spend my time on is not production, it’s troubleshooting equipment.” “We are so lucky to have someone who can repair tractors in our community, otherwise I don’t think the farm would have made it.” “There are so many pieces of equipment, I have no idea which ones are right for my farm or which ones to invest in first.”
These are quotes from Georgia farmers that Georgia Organics has heard in the past two months alone. While sustainable agriculture topics like integrated pest management and soil health boast a wealth of online, print, and farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing, practical information on tool use, maintenance, and selection is severely lacking.
This project will fill critical gaps in knowledge on sustainable farm production equipment through hosting on-farm demonstrations and workshops for hands-on learning. Georgia Organics will also produce and distribute accompanying instructional videos as an accessible and evergreen resource. Workshops and videos will be based on farm scale and go from small direct-to-consumer market farms (two and four cycle engines and hand tools) to larger, more mid-scale operations (ride-on tractors and attachments).
Georgia Organics will host four workshops and produce four videos on the following topics:
- Small (ex. BCS walk-behind tractor) use, maintenance, repair, and selecting attachments.
- Hand tool use, maintenance, repair, and selecting hand tools for the farm.
- Ride-on tractor engine repair, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
- Ride-on tractor attachments use, maintenance, and selecting which attachments are best for the farm.
Workshops and videos will feature farmers as teachers. Videos will feature Spanish language voice-over translation using native Spanish speakers. Workshops and videos will also include safety information and instruction on how to use tools ergonomically to minimize physical strain. A networking event will immediately follow in-person workshops to foster peer support networks.
Georgia Organics is excited to be already piloting tractor and implement education through an on-farm field day in partnership with Little Fox Tractor School and educator Sed Rowe of the Georgia Organic Peanut Cooperative. Little Fox Tractor school was founded by Lindey Kloepfer and Daniel Guzman to be a resource and education hub for small-to-mid scale growers with a specific focus on serving growers of color. Sed Rowe is a prominent Certified Organic hemp and peanut grower from Southeast Georgia. The workshop will focus on basic tractor use and safety, cover cropping methods using tractors, and techniques for improving soil health using tractors. This workshop will take place on November 14.
Project Objectives:
Objective 1:
Host four, in-person, hands-on workshops on the following topics:
- Small (ex. BCS walk-behind tractor) use, maintenance, repair, and selecting attachments.
- Hand tool use, maintenance, repair, and selecting hand tools for the farm.
- Ride-on tractor engine repair, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
- Ride-on tractor attachments use, maintenance, and selecting which attachments are best for the farm.
Objective 2:
Produce four videos on the following topics with accompanying Spanish translations:
- Small (ex. walk-behind tractor) use, maintenance, repair, and selecting attachments and tools.
- Hand tool use, maintenance, repair, and selecting hand tools for the farm.
- Ride-on tractor engine repair, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
- Ride-on tractor attachments use, maintenance, and selecting which attachments are best for the farm.
Cooperators
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Producer
- - Technical Advisor
Education
Utilizing ‘Farmer Field Days’ on four diverse vegetable operations of varying scales, Georgia Organics is offering farmers on-farm, experiential, educational instruction while providing considerations, and resources that touch on topics such as selection, maintenance, and usage of small engines, tractors, tractor implements, and hand tools in farm systems. These Field Days are scheduled at pivotal times in the growing season so that the farm hosts can demonstrate to attendees the usage and utility of the hand tools, specific tractor implements, and small engine tillers (BCS) being featured for the specific Field Days. Each attendee is given written educational resources and maintenance templates to take home with them and in certain cases, physical tools to use on their own farms. Surveys are collected at each Farmer Field Day to measure new knowledge gained and how immediately a farmer will be able to implement what they learned on their own farm.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Farmer Field Day One
On Monday, July 18th, 2022, Georgia Organics hosted a Farmer Field Day at Bugg Farm in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Eight farmers and seven agricultural professionals attended.
The Farmer Field Day included an Accelerator Program ‘Open House’ and tractor implement demonstration. The Accelerator program, made possible by private funders, allowed Bugg Farm to purchase new tractor implements critical to the productivity of their farm operation. Because of this funding, we were able to highlight the selection process and demo the purchased implement, along with other implements already on the farm, to attendees thinking about investing in new tractor accessories.
Attendees will learn about the Accelerator Program while touring Bugg Farm to hear about their Accelerator-funded investments (a new wash/pack station and tractor implements). Afterward, they visited Addis Bugg’s pole barn where he walked them through each implement he had on the farm and an overview of when he used them, how much he used them on an annual basis, and which ones he found the most important to his operation. Implements included a bush hog, a mulch lifter, a bed shaper, a plastic layer, a rototiller, a spader, and a disk harrow. The attendees go to watch Addis Bugg do an in-the-field demo of the bush hog, the rototiller, and the bed shaper and afterward, got to hear from two current and previous Accelerator farmers about their year-long experience in the program.
Attendees walked away with:
- An understanding of how to qualify for, apply, and utilize the Accelerator program in various ways
- An outline of considerations and uses for various tractor implements
- Having watched various tractor implements being used ‘in the field’
- Templates for tractor maintenance (1ct.)
- Tractor Implement Handout (Vernon Grubinger) (1ct.)
- Tractor Implement and Functions Overview (1ct.)
The Farmer Field Day was closed out with a survey for all attendees to measure impact and each attendee received a copy of all the printed educational materials covered during the Field Day.
Farmer Field Day Two
On Monday, September 26, 2022, Georgia Organics hosted a two-part Farmer Field Day at Gaia Gardens (Polyculture Productions) featuring a BCS tractor demo, a look at uncommon hand tools, and a hands-on demonstration of tool sharpening fundamentals. Nine farmers and ten agricultural professionals attended the workshop.
In part one of the Field Day, attendees began their day with a walking farm tour provided by Stephanie Simmons of PolyCulture Productions. Following the tour, attendees learned about the BCS tractor's functionality and advantages and witnessed the BCS in action. Stephanie then went over some of the unique tools she frequently uses on her farm (a gridder, seeder, broad fork, wheel hoe) and discussed strategies for tool selection and the importance of regular maintenance checks.
In part two of the Field Day, attendees settled into their lunch break while Spike Fullerton of Sweet Hone Atlanta talked about the physics of sharpening tools, the benefits of keeping them sharp, maintaining a sharp edge, and basic safety. Field Day participants received a Work Sharp Field Sharpener and Spike stayed on the premises for attendees who needed their tools and knives honed, giving them a demo of a powered tool sharpener. All attendees went home with a sharpening tool of their own and walked away with:
- An example of intentional communities coming together around farming and greenspace
- An in-field demo of the BCS tractor and its attachments
- Considerations when choosing the right tools for a farm operation
- Exposure to unusual farming tools
- A fundamental understanding of blade and tool sharpening
- A scheduling template for tool maintenance
- A sharpening toolkit
The Farmer Field Day was closed out with a survey for all attendees to measure impact and each attendee received a copy of all the printed educational materials covered during the Field Day.
Learning Outcomes
Farmer Field Day July 2022 Survey Results (Selecting, Maintaining, and Using Tractor Implements)
Did you gain knowledge about the considerations and uses for various tractor implements today and watch them being demonstrated 'in-the-field'?
10 out of 10 said ‘Yes’If you checked yes, do you think that this knowledge or experience will improve your operation?
10 out of 10 said ‘Yes’Did you gain any knowledge from the handouts given to you today (the function of various tractor implements, and a tractor implement maintenance schedule template)? (Check all)
9 out of 10 said ‘Yes’ for tractor implements; 9 out of 10 said ‘Yes’ for the tractor implement maintenance schedule templateIf you answered yes to the previous question, do you think the knowledge in the handouts will improve your operation?
10 out of 10 said ‘Yes’Can you use anything you learned in this field day immediately on/for your farm operation?
10 out of 10 said ‘Yes’Farmer Field Day September 2022 Survey Results (Selecting, Maintaining, and Using Small Hand Tools and a BCS)
In this field day, did you gain knowledge or learn something new about any of the topics below? (check all that apply)
6-BCS; 8-Blade Sharpening; 6-Unique Tools; 1-none of the above; 5-unansweredIf you checked any of the above, do you think that this knowledge or experience will improve your operation?
1-no; 8-yes; 5-unansweredDid you learn anything new or gain knowledge about the considerations and best practices for choosing the correct tool for your farm operation?
2-no; 7-yes; 5-unansweredDid you learn anything new or gain knowledge about tool maintenance and upkeep?
2-no; 7-yes; 5-unansweredDid you learn anything new or gain knowledge about tool sharpening?
9-yes; 5-unansweredHow likely are you to use the Work Sharp Field Sharpener after today?
7-Highly likely; 2-Very likely; 5-unansweredDid you learn anything new or gain knowledge about the BCS tractor and its attachments?
7-yes; 2 no- 5-unansweredThe key areas where we found the most significant change in knowledge, skills, and awareness around hand tools and tractor implements, both anecdotally and in writing, was learning the reasons why it is important to have regular maintenance. Attendees of the Field Days learned that maintaining tools and implements not only keeps them sharper longer but also allows for more precise cultivation and usage. The recommendation around hand tools was not to let the dirt dry on metal surfaces because dirt is acidic and can rust metal. Dirt also blocks the sharp edges of the tools as well as implements. Tractor implements should have bolts frequently tightened and the PTO shaft greased. Tractor implements and tools should be kept under cover and not left out to be exposed to rain or sun. Other knowledge gained that seemed significant to farmer attendees was understanding which tractor implements were important during different times of the year and using that to calculate which implement to bankroll first.
Project Outcomes
Tractor usage, and thus implement usage, affects soil health in concrete ways. Overcultivation and constant tractor usage leads to degraded soils and loss of topsoil if not used at the proper time. Also, tractors may get overused because of labor issues and the need to turn to mechanical cultivation to save time when sequential field and bed prepping is not properly planned for. When an implement or hand tool breaks at a critical time, it can mean the difference between getting a crop in the ground or having to wait two to three more weeks before planting. Georgia Organics believes this type of in-field education imparts farmers with the business acumen and nuanced, critical thinking skills to discern which tools are worth investing in and at what time they should be investing in them. With such high overhead and very low net profit, Georgia Organics believes it is vital for farms to keep up with the maintenance of their hand tools, small engines, and tractor implements to get the most out of these often times costly, farm investments. The Farmer Field Days also allowed for peer-to-peer socialization during a particularly harsh time of year (July) when many farmers lack social time and get burnt out. Attendees of the Field Day in July seemed relieved and happy to share company with other farmers and eighteen farmers forged new relationships between both Farmer Field Days.
Farmers greatly appreciated the opportunity to take a tool sharpener home with them after the September Farmer Field Day. Georgia Organics recommends that funding for these experiential, hands-on field days and workshops continue to be paired with relevant physical resources farmers can take home with them. Potential surveys to track impact and usage can be implemented to see if farmers 6 months to a year after the workshop are still utilizing resources distributed. Examples of this could be:
- Soil Corers (for teaching people how to conduct soil tests and best practices)
- Tool Sharpeners (for hand tool maintenance)
- Cover Crop Seed (25lb bag to be followed up with soil testing after cover crop has grown and is incorporated back into field)
- Seed Spreader (for Cover Crop Workshop)
These types of resources can get costly for small farmers and current USDA grant funding does not approve any of these expenses. SARE could fill a critical gap in promoting conservation practices AND equipping farmers with small investment capital support to more readily incorporate these practices into their business. Impact could 100% be tracked to prove its value.
Information Products
- Tractor Implements and Their Functions (Fact Sheet)
- Tractor Maintenance Template (Workbook/Worksheet)
- Tractor Implement and Soil Preparation Handout (taken with permission from Vernon Grubinger, Sustainable Vegetable Production From Start-up to Market) (Book/Handbook)
- BCS Features (Fact Sheet)
- BCS Attachments (Fact Sheet)
- Choosing the Right Tools for Your Farm Operation (Decision-making Tool)