Improving Whole Farm Planning Education in the Northeast

With our networks from program director Sarah Williford, having coordinated programs for beginning farmers with Holistic Management International (HMI) for 9 years, and the help of HMI's contact list, our original 79 TSPs who answered our survey, individual technical service providers' (TSP), and our networks throughout the Northeast, we promoted the Whole Farm Planning in the Northeast program to 60+ organizations. Approximately 20 of these organizations have had a TSP staff member with previous interest in Whole Farm Planning.  We researched and reached out to various organizations between Maine and Delaware who's TSPs might have interest in this program and contacted them via phone and email.

Our application was sent out along side our promotion/ description of the program.

The application asked for:

• Basic information- Name, Organization (Extension Agency, National Resource Conservation Service, Not-For-Profit, Farmer/Educator, Other), Address, & Contact Information
• A 500 word description of why you want to participate in this program.

The acceptance process to the program took into account, using a created matrix, this criteria:

• location of person
• area of expertise/focus as an technical ag service provider (TSP)
• kind of organization you work with
• number of years as a TSP
• previous experience with whole farm planning and holistic management
• whether you are farming or have farmed

Our aim was for diversity in all of the matrix areas. 

Other contributing factors to acceptance of applicants were their general enthusiasm for learning.  How they believed this program could and how they wanted it to benefit their work and their clients (farmers) lives.  If they had support from their organization and/or personal relationships to make the commitment to this program.

We had people from 10 Northeast states applied: ME, NH, VT, NY, CT, MA, PA, MD, WV, & RI.  We accepted participants from each of these states except for the two applications from RI (a farming couple) mainly because it sounded like the time commitment would be challenging for them.

State participant count:

4 PA, 9 NY, 3 ME, 4 VT, 4 NH, 2 MA, 1 WV, 1CT, 1 MD.

The organizations represented in our accepted applicants are: Farm Service Agency (FSA), Maine Farmland Trust-NFP, NFP-National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), Western PA Conservancy, Annie's Project with Cornell Cooperative Extension, NFP- Small & Beginner Farmers of New Hampshire, University of West Virginia Extension, University of New Hampshire Extension, Extension- University of Maine, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT), National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming, NFP- Farm Alliance of Baltimore, Cornell University, NFP- Vital Communities, Pennsylvania Conservation district, NFP-Maine Organic Farmers, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), Connecticut Edible Ecosystems, LLC - Consulting, & Walking Onion LLC.

We successfully were able to accept applicants with a diversity for all our matrix categories.

Here are the organizations represented for this program in their states in a table format:

We had a great 2.5 day residency in upstate NY titled Whole Farm Planning, Goal Setting and Strategic Decision Making. Our participants, Ag Technical Service Providers (TSP's), traveled from all over the northeast all the way from Maine and West Virginia and states in between.  The two experienced and engaging instructors were Phil Metzger from Norwich, NY, Whole Farm Planning Consultant: formerly with Central NY RC&D and Certified Educator with Holistic Management International and Sarah Williford from Walton, NY, instructor, consultant and practitioner of holistic management.  The instructors did a good job of using a mix of teaching/learning techniques, meaning a balance of large group, small group and individual work was included.

Agenda to the day can be found here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=15q8WdnN-7RSbzPHaH697TvV71poI-mVL

Objectives covered included:

• Identifying farm assets and key decision makers
• Creating a whole farm goal for effective decision-making
• Using key testing principles for making sustainable decisions

The key knowledge participants learned was:

• How to define resources they manage: ecologically, socially, and financially (a triple bottom line). And who is making decisions with them.
• How to put into practice planning for the future they desire considering the whole of their lives: whole life planning considerations being ecological, social, & financial. 
• How to consider components toward whole life planning and how to aid their farmers in doing the same. Components include values, behaviors & systems, and future vision which creates what is called a whole farm goal or holistic goal. Personal practice of this is powerful and lends itself to having experience & stories that then are extremely beneficial in their teaching and aiding farmers.
• How to make decisions using a testing matrix.  Test specific opportunities or problems towards their whole farm goal using a decision making matrix that uses the triple bottom line components. 
• How to monitor these decisions and create monitoring criteria.
• What to do next to continue this practice and improve how they benefit farmers.

The decision making matrix described above can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qj_DK9o-drFoHpVT5hZtpQ8OATFnlvLAz4raAq-2f7A/edit?usp=sharing

A major new skill/ability the participants left with was knowing to ask their farmers they are committed to for this program as well as farmers they work with day to day in their jobs what their values are, what they have & want, and what they are managing towards before offering expert advice.  

The participants received a binder of educational materials on whole farm planning and were later mailed 2 text books: At Home with Holistic Management: Creating a life of Meaning by Ann Adams & Holistic Management Handbook by Jody Butterfield, Sam Bingham & Allan Savory. The 4 participants who couldn't attend were mailed materials and caught up via 2 conference calls and an assigned mentor: Seth Wilner, a whole farm planning trainer at the University of New Hampshire Extension.  

Class follow up: Sarah Williford set up a Whole Farm Planning Folder is set up for participants to access Reporting system and educational materials including worksheets and powerpoints. A facebook page is set up for communication among participants, instructors and mentors. We also use email to communicate.

Communications with CADE: Sarah set up a Google Drive folder in CADE's google drive for CADE to access and use budget information and contacts of the participants for reimbursement of travel.  

January 26th 2018: 28 Participants engaged in our first monthly video conference  for Q&A and support, we recorded the call for those who couldn't make it and for review if people needed to listen to it again.  One of the main questions that came up was if we could have a pre-made agreement for the farmers and the Ag service providers to commit to that would describe what to expect from one another. We have since created this.  The Ag Service Providers all seem very motivated and have at least 3 farmers they are working with now and some have 6 farmers.  Their written reports are due Feb. 10th 2018, and our next support call is Feb. 23rd, 2018. 

By the end of the whole program in Oct. 2020, we interviewed all of the participants about effectiveness of the program and greatest benefits.  Each of them was most greatly moved by creating whole farm goals with their farmers.  Learning how to listen and observe for values. There is more about this in the summary of the program. 

One quote from a participant says "I am able to connect more with farmers now than ever before because I used to only talk about technical issues without looking at the compound problem. It makes me more human and trustworthy when working with farmers. I never took values and goals into planning before because I had never been trained or taught how to. This course helped me to put it all together. Now farmers are telling other farmers to talk to me. I feel a deeper sense of connection to my farmers and they trust me. The implementation rate for conservation practices has gone way up."

Our monthly video support calls began at 1 hour.  We quickly lengthened it to 1.5 hrs. in order to give time to hear from each participant.  Each person shares how it is going with their farmers and shares best practices and challenges.  Sarah Williford offers support on the challenges people face.  Example, in April 2018 after our Land Planning webinars, participants were struggling with how to move forward with a land plan during the farmers busiest time of year. Sarah recommended "connect with your farmers and just listen to what they have to say about their desires for their land and improved efficiencies and patterns for their business on their land.  Take notes and come back to these notes after our winter financial planning session.  Having documentation to show that you listened to the farmer's desires and frustrations will help build trust with them.  Then with the addition of financial planning component use the winter months to create a land plan with your farmers."

Each call is recorded and uploaded to a google drive where participants who can't make the call can watch and listen. 

Larry Dyer, an instructor of organic agriculture, four-season farming, hoop house (passive solar greenhouse) management, ecological pest management, whole farm planning, local community-based food systems, taught a great 6 hr course over the span of 4 weeks.  He had informative and engaging power points and was very effective in his webinar teaching.  Participants asked great questions and went away with information about holistic land planning and design and how to work with their farmers in doing a holistic land plan design.

This course provided key land planning principles and practices to help participants create a whole farm land plan and make land planning decisions effectively. This approach to land planning helped them explore key infrastructure/land improvement projects in the context of a whole farm goal. Participants developed management consideration lists, land plan options and explored tool options and the return of investment of the different land planning options.  

Participants were lead through these steps in learning how to engage famers in a whole farm land plan:

• Map a future landscape as outlined through the whole farm goal
• Develop a worksheet for key natural resource, production, and social issues affecting the land planning
• Create multiple land plan options
• Prioritize infrastructure development to increase productivity and profit
• Integrate land plan and financial plan to the whole farm goal
• Explore options how to fund the land plan

Topics of the 4 week course to accomplish these steps included:

• Mapping a future landscape description
• Defining key natural resource, production and social issues
• Designing for resilience and flexibility
• Understanding how to increase creativity in the design process
• Ways to use your resource base effectively in the land planning process
• Holistic and permaculture design principles
• Strategizing land planning implementation
• Monitoring a land plan to overcome roadblocks and achieve the desired results
• How to finance your land plan
• Integrating a whole farm goal and land plan with other farm plans
• Preparing maps and overlays

One exercise was this:

Ideas to Integrate

Using your Land Management Considerations Worksheet and your map, explore additional ideas you could integrate into land planning by examining each of these design principles.

1. Mimic healthy ecosystems.
2. Keep soil covered. Reduce tillage.
3. Build/maintain soil health (reduce imports).
4. Design to maximize solar energy.
5. Design for ease of management—especially for daily elements like water, livestock moves.
6. Design for diversity of plant and animal species.
7. Design for effective use of biological tools—i.e. grazing animals
8. Design for all aspects of Holistic Goal (especially keeping in mind quality of life.
9. Design for flexibility (increased rather than reduced possibilities.
10. Design for the specific locality: climate, hydrology, geography, topography, soils, ecology, slope, aspect, etc.
11. Design for whole ecosystem/farm rather than solely for specific crops

During the April 2018 support call it became clear that most participants were seeing what busy lives their farmers had and that they were not in a planning space, they were in a doing space as the season began.  Sarah Williford guided the participants to listen to their farmers needs on improved efficiencies for their farm.  "Now is the time farmers notice the changes they need to improve their lives through land planning, but they are not stopping to write it down.  You can do this for them. Through a brief call, email or follow them around while they work. Listen and take notes." After the financial planning session, and with the notes the ag service providers have from listening to their farmers, they will be able to more effectively create a land plan, during the winter months when planning is appropriate.

Participants continued to work with farmers in creating a holistic land plan throughout the rest of the program.  Some farmers needed to work on their financial plan before making decisions and moving forward with a land plan.

By the end of the program, our 17 graduates worked with their farmers on land plans, however only 7 of them listed land planning as one of the main topics that they worked on and completed with their farmers.

Whole Farm Planning in the Northeast Evaluation Report executed by Ann Adams PhD, Executive Director of Holistic Management International.

Below are the Executive Summary, Key Outcomes, Program Strengths/Positive Outcomes, and Participant Suggested Program Improvements. Also some notes about additional quarterly reports required by participants.

Executive Summary

HMI administered a first year program survey to the 27 participants of the Whole Farming Planning in the Northeast program in collaboration with CADE. Twenty-two respondents completed the survey for an 82% response rate. Eight states were represented in the survey responses which included: NY, PA, NH, VT, ME, MA, CT, and MD. Respondents worked for: NRCS (1), Extension (6), and NGOs (15).

Responses show that there was a very high shift in participant perception of their ability to help the producers they serve in implementing Whole Farm Planning. Whether they are helping with on-farm goal-setting or land planning (100%) or on-farming decision (95%), these participants have gained improved skills in helping facilitate the learning and implementation of these planning processes.

The participants have also spent considerable time engaging in these various planning processes with their own scenarios to further deepen their practice, knowledge increase, and ability to facilitate. Ninety percent had completed a whole farm goal and have also experienced improved decision-making on their farms and within their agricultural educator professional activities.

Ninety-five percent of participants also felt that they had forged relationships through this program that has positively impacted them as an agricultural professional.

The evaluation tools we developed were from previous tools we had created from our other programs as well as getting feedback from the Program Director, Sarah Williford, and mentors in the program.

While there are improvements that could be made to the program, overall satisfaction and increased knowledge, behavior changes, and tangible outcomes for participants were very high as noted both in response to yes/no questions and comments given.

Program Strengths/Positive Outcomes

Participants found the format of the program to be well developed overall. They particularly were appreciative of the mentor component which allowed them to get support from seasoned agricultural professionals with a depth of knowledge and experience with Whole Farm Planning, but also to have small group learning opportunities with their peers within the mentor facilitation. They felt they gained a lot from the peer to peer learning from their colleagues and from their mentors. Having the full depth of Whole Farm Planning (all aspects of the farm explored) was also a critical piece in these conversations. These conversations have broadened participants’ understanding of farming issues at a variety of scales and to explore and understand new farming practices.

Participants also felt like they had been given a facilitation tool that helped them connect and communicate more effectively with producers and understand the values behind their decisions to better support them effective decision-making.

Participant Suggested Program Improvements

Participants definitely preferred site-based learning to online, although there was a variety of feedback on how to best structure that site-based learning, the desire for more in-person time was requested. While the mentoring was helpful, some participants felt they needed even more tools on how to support farmers in a facilitative role without doing all their work. More facilitation tools and planning example templates to have farmers completed was requested. Participants also suggested more structured on the large group calls that happen between sessions to provide more focus on skill-building and tool/resource sharing.

Participants did struggle with not having the whole curriculum up front as they began working with their producers because the nature of Whole Farm Planning is the interconnection of all farm plans. If participants only had learned one module they would then have to tell their producer that they could help them in time with another module after they learned it. Likewise, if they had just learned a module and were not fully confident in their ability to implement the process, it was difficult to help a producer through that process. While some participants wanted the whole curriculum up front this was not something others wanted. Having the mentor groups to help people through their challenges helped, but was still uncomfortable for some participants. In particular, some participants wanted the financial planning module up front because this planning process is of such interest to many farmers. There was some suggestion of additional resources for participants who want to learn some of the modules in advance so they can integrate these processes more quickly. Having the modules more tightly spaced up front was a suggestion offered.

Note: Since the report feedback we have

• supplied participants with the whole curriculum in paper/binder form and electronic form.
• provided additional worksheets that are to use as facilitation tools/guidelines.
• provided additional worksheets & templates for TSP to use when working with farmers.
• surveyed participants on desired focuses for the Support Calls to help with skill-building and tool/resource sharing.
• Encouraged participants to create new tools, worksheets and power point presentations that incorporate what they have learned with what they already use and know works when they work with farmers.  Participants have been doing this.  More info about this in the Summary and Outcomes of the program.

TSP's also submit quarterly reports to Sarah Williford and their assigned mentor.  We respond to these reports and work with the TSP's and support them as needed through emails, phone calls, and in person meetings.

The questions we ask on these reports are:

Name of Participant

Name of Farm/Farmers

Report for Month/Year

1. What questions did your farmer have for you? What challenges are they having?
2. How did you use your newly acquired knowledge and skills from your training to help this farmer?
3. From your new whole farm planning knowledge, in your opinion what additional support might your farmer need?
4. What are some objectives that your farmer has noted or that you have discerned? What whole farm planning knowledge and skills that you have attained will you use to assist them?
5. What help do you need from the project leader, your mentor, or instructors? Do you have additional comments?

We had a reinvigorating Holistic Financial Planning course taught by Crystal Stewart, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, and Jean-Paul Courtens, Whole Farm Planning practitioner, Roxbury Farm. 21 students attended and 4 who were absent will be taking an online course to catch up. We covered a 9 step holistic financial planning process and focused on enterprise budgets after getting a good feel for what participants needed most guidance on in working with farmers on financial planning. We had 3 live case studies to work with that got the TSP participants to have a "with your farmer at the kitchen table" experience doing financial planning.  Sarah Williford received great verbal reviews during and at the end of the course.  Participants left re-energized and ready to work with their farmers.  The financial planning really brought all we've been learning so far together. 

Please find agenda here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bBz_oYJPHDdFezochMJhJ4JmM-thJbwM

And here is an image of the 9 steps for Holistic Financial Planning:

9 step financial planning process 

The participants continued working with their farmers on financial plans through to the end of the program. All of these topics intertwine with one another and financial information and goals help the farmers make more wholistic decisions for their farms:

• Whole farm Goal Setting
• Decision Making
• Financial Planning
• Land Planning

 Progress depended on frequency of meetings TSP's have with farmers as well as the farmer's personal progress.

Participants submit quarterly a Record of Assistance to Farmers chart that highlights which steps are completed for each farm they are working with as well as their own practice in these areas. The Record consists of categories of the whole program's topics and includes markers in the financial planning of:

17 participants accomplished financial plans with at least 1 of their farmers.  20 participants use enterprise analysis, balance sheet and weak link analysis with their farmers and at least 6 TSP's developed their own tools or worksheets that incorporate holistic financial planning into the financial tools and teachings they were using prior to this course.

Our 4 mentors worked more in depth with participants who were struggling or had interest in learning holistic financial planning in more depth.  Some participants do financial planning as their job, while others were brand new at it.  One mentor worked with their cohort in depth as a small group, while others worked one on on with participants.  We even have one participant who will be presenting to the rest of us through and Oct. 2020 webinar her teaching the 9 steps of financial planning after doing an in depth one on one learning with her mentor.  The best way to really learn is to teach!

One participant writes "This was the first time where I was working one on one with farmers and they were willing to share their financial information and goals. We haven’t in the past sat down and worked with farmers looking at the whole business. As I finish this course, this is the direction I want to go and I am getting support from Penn State to do that. Farm Management Educator. Currently, I am the only educator in Penn Extension who is trained in Holistic Management. Being a part of the program will help me raise more awareness about this process."

In January 2019 Sarah Williford took a survey to get ideas of what may be most beneficial to use our support calls for in addition to what we have been doing. She suggested guest speakers: TSP's with whole farm planning experience and farmers working with a participant willing to share an issue they face with the group and be a case study on the call. We have decided to do both of these. 

In Feb. 2019 we had Elizabeth Marks, NRCS biologist and HMI certified educator as our TSP/whole farm planning guest speaker. She shared a Powerpoint of key factors that she focuses on during site visits with farmers.  There was time for questions from participants about situations they have found challenging. 

On the dates of March 7,14, 21 & 28 for 1.5 hours each class, totaling a 6 hour course, participants learned about holistic marketing and business planning from Cindy Dvergsten of Colorado. Cindy is a holistic management practitioner since 1993 and teacher since 1995.  She is a life long farmer of a myriad of animal enterprises as well as hay and vegetables. Her teaching and work is usually with Native Americans, primarily Navajo, new and beginning farmers, local food systems and non-profits, and folks who are involved in family based agricultural operations.

Topics included for this course included:

• Key business model and planning concepts,
• The various direct marketing channels and opportunities and challenges of each,
• The importance of market research for developing a marketing plan,
• Pricing and promotion,
• Understanding your competition,
• Resources for business planning,
• The value of business and strategic planning.

Agenda and power points for the course as well as a the Smart Goals worksheets can be viewed here:

NE WFP Marketing & Business Planning

Cindy's power points were loaded with information and exercises that provoked lots of good questions and sharing from the participants. Cindy had participants use a real farm for all of the class exercises. Participants chose either their own farm if they are farmers, or a fabricated example of something they would love to farm if they were a farmer, or one of their farmers' farms or enterprises.

Three of the exercises that were especially effective for learning were How to do a target market analysis, creating SMART goals, and doing a SWOT analysis.

Example of SWOT analysis slide below:

Participants finished the course with a tremendous amount of information to continue absorbing and worksheets that they have worked with themselves and understand in order to bring these same theories and exercises to their farmers.

We have 22 regular participants at this point.  Those who are not involved anymore still occasionally stay in touch and have had a variety of reasons to discontinue their learning with us, including life changes & busyness.

Our active participants have been working with their farmers continuously. Some became a bit overwhelmed with the magnitude of marketing learning.  The project leaders and mentors have encouraged the participants to stick with some foundational information for marketing including choosing target markets.  And to remember that their holistic goals are their guiding lights in decision making around all aspects of holistic planning, including marketing and business planning.

Each participant is working with their farmers at a necessary pace in order to create the most effective behavior influences. Their work with farmers in marketing and business planning will be ongoing until the finish of this program.  And most likely and hopefully beyond that!

We had a support call where 2 participants shared working with their farmers on testing a decision.  One participant who works with CISA in MA shared with the group a tested marketing decision: MA has mandated all egg farms to raise cage free eggs.  The largest egg producing farm in MA is now transitioning to cage free and is working on how to market their product during the transition while some of their eggs are raised cage free and some are not yet.  Ordering cartons in bulk is important for them financially, as well as being honest and true to their customers.  In the final test, they decided to see if they could request an order from the carton company for 1/2 the order to say cage free and the other 1/2 to remain the same.  They are fully transitioning to cage free by the mandated date and keeping the size of their operation the same.

A Year two survey was conducted and reported by Holistic Management International.

Below are some of the key outcomes from Year Two of the Program:

Impact of Program on Participants

From both a quantitative self-reporting perspective and the qualitative responses provided, there was significant impact perceived by the participants of the program. Key impacts included: improved decision-making, improved ability to facilitate discussions about producers’ decision-making, and understanding and utilizing a whole systems approach to empower farmers.

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The report is very helpful for the project leader, Sarah, to read and receive feedback and make necessary changes to structure or clarifications to the participants.  

There was positive feedback comments for the project leader and mentors.

There was positive feedback for the subjects covered by instructors and for the instructors themselves. 

As project leader, the area that is most useful for me is the feedback regarding suggested changes in the program. 

One participant says, “More emphasis on supporting students to develop an individual work plan for how to use HM tools and content in the context of our individual workplace expectations and constraints. We all work in different agencies and settings, and the nature of our work and relationships with farmers differs. As a result, the expectation that we would all work with 5 producers to implement all of the Holistic Management modules that we learned about turned out to not be very realistic. It might have been more practical to ask each of us to develop an educational program that would utilize the tools and content that we learned to meet the needs of our specific farmer audiences.”

In mid-NOV 2019 my budget reallocation request was approved by SARE and includes adding new milestones to this program.  We will be having 3-4 regional residencies as well as 2 online zoom in-depth learning calls.  During this time, one or more of these learning opportunities for our participants can include, creating an outline of a learning plan that can be used to work with farmers now and in the future of their work.

Other comments/ suggestions included lack of clarity around what is expected of them, timing of calls and classes not working for some participants and wondering how it was chosen, and questions about the order in which we learned the subjects. Also, one encouraging a different online learning platform.

These are all easy to connect with participants about and create clarity and aid them to feel empowered as a participant of this program.  I recently gave a demonstration at the Leadership and labor Management Residency on how to use google drive to most effectively access their portfolios, their commitment paperwork, and all of the class material and power points.

Some of the best comments received in this section were:

“I think it has been an excellent program, well coordinated and implemented from start to finish. I feel, as a result of participation, this I have a new skill set and a network of colleagues to call on for support.”

"I love this program and am sorry to think that we are approaching our final year.”  

A Picture of our Group. More photos below the text.

We had an amazing Final whole group residency.  16 participants attended and 2 are catching up online and with their mentors.  Seth Wilner of UNH taught this 2.5 day class on Leadership and Labor Management.  He is an instructor is very in tune with the class.  He is very engaging and insists on participation through is continuous interaction with the whole group.  His extensive knowledge and practice with whole farm planning along with his energetic teaching and humor kept everyone strongly engaged as a solo instructor for our entire two and a half days. 

The Agenda for the weekend included:

• Review
  • Concepts
  • Outreach
  • Practical application
• In action – Farmer panel
• Leadership
  • DiSC
  • Systems
• Next Steps moving forward

We were able to allot time for review based on participant needs and requests in person and through info gathered from the Sept. 2019 survey report conducted by HMI.

A major accomplishment that happened during the review and wrap up of the course was that the participants really grasped how Whole Farm Planning as a tool can benefit their work as TSP's and how to use what they've learned in this program to better their work.  

Seth covered DiSC personality assessments, that each participant took a test for ahead of our class time, and how this can improve leadership on the farm through understanding oneself, co-decision makers and laborers on the farm.

Seth's dynamic and digestible powerpoint can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8lL-YE6p-juZzVBMlN0ZXRDRlJxeFdEOGFUWHExLXpNa2ZJ/view?usp=sharing

Participants had many essential take aways from the weekend including:

• Increasing their ability to effectively help farmers implement Holistic Management and understanding Whole Farm Planning as a tool.

• Effective education concepts, adult learning.

• Outreach methods

• Increased conceptual understanding of the modules you covered to date

• Increase ability to assist farms improve their leadership systems

Here are pictures of some notes we made during group learning:

Notes from Dec session image 1

2 active participants were not able to attend and are catching up online and with their mentors.

Instructor Seth Wilner	Friday evening's Farmer Panel
	Good small group work!

  Our leadership and labor management session take aways are really focused on adult learning including reflective listening skills, observation and communication techniques. Adult learning techniques demonstrated extremely effective when asking the participants how they are now working with their farmers on leadership and labor management. 

The value setting and decision making that participants learned in session one of this program has infiltrated their learning and working with their farmers.Now when working with their farmers, looking at leadership and labor management strategies begins with identifying decision makers on their farms.

In our final interviews of our program.  All 17 graduates said something about how adult learning knowledge from our leadership and labor management session has improved how they work with farmers.

One participant says:

"Many people come in for help without knowing the right questions to ask, so part of our job is to dig down to understand what they really need.”“Now I don’t just give people answers; I build relationships with them. “

Another says:

“The way that farmers come to me, they generally come with an idea they have in mind – an idea or a challenge. One of the hardest parts of my job is figuring out what a farmer really needs, since they’re often asking for something different. After developing holistic goals with ~10 farms, I have started to instinctively know everything I need to ask about them and their business to understand where their logjams are, in order to get to a point of understanding their strengths and weaknesses so I can suggest the best possible next steps for their specific context. It took me working with a few farms to realize that essential principles of HM have been the most useful for me."

We then needed to change plans yet again due to Covid-19. Please see next milestone.

Our Ecosystem Process webinar given by Elizabeth Marks was in response to a request by some of our participants and was optional for participants to attend.  Understanding ecosystem processes is crucial to whole farm planning.  So those who wanted to have a better understanding of how to identify biological signs of a healthy or unhealthy ecosystem processes joined the webinar.  We had 12 participants. We had a dynamic conversation and lots of learning. 

We discussed healthy and unhealthy signs of Water Cycle, Mineral Cycle, Biological Community Dynamics, and Energy Flow.

Here is the powerpoint:

EcosystemProcessesHMI PPT 2020 Version Green

We had a wonderful meet-up of our Northeast mentee group in VT on Oct. 14th, 2020.  5 participants came in person along with their mentor Seth Wilner and myself, Sarah Williford. 2 participants joined for part of the day on zoom. We worked together as a group to read through what all participants said and pull out and discuss main impacts from the program and main obstacles participants had. It was beneficial for people to notice commonalities in the main impacts and obstacles.

Here is more detail from our day:

We opened by going around and each sharing some things we were hoping to get out of the day. Input desired for the day included:

• Resources people are using and how people are presenting information.  
• Learning about new tools people have developed and used.
• Stories of what people have done
• Just wanting to see faces and connect with peeps
• Learning about how much people have bent and manipulated the HM model and how its worked.
• A desire to learn more about financial risk management educational approaches

We then jumped in, with a backdrop of beautiful fall scenery, mountains in the distance, and a dozen-ish Belted Galloways grazing away a few hundred yards away at our host and participant Nancy's farm. 

We broke into groups of two and read excerpts of inputs taken from the 17 interviews you all participated in. 

We were looking for themes about how this program impacted the participants and how that could guide input/advice and resources you would give to any TSP colleagues seeking to learn about a holistic approach to whole farm planning (WFP).

• Many noted how listening for both what people were saying, and what they were not saying, was a theme and something they gained.
• Building relationships with farmers/producers was another key area that peoples’ skills and perspectives advanced.
• We discussed limits our work put on some because their job involved other things such as technical assistance on production topics, supervising others who did the farm visits, or writing specific plans such as a food safety plan. In these cases, its difficult to do any such HG, decision making, whole farm planning etc.  Yet tenets of HM and the skills and perspectives learned still seep in, just to a more limited degree. 
  • When providing technical assistance or other focused specific services, simply having a holistic perspective and having the multiple lenses of financial, environmental, and social (quality of life) has allowed folks to be more impactful than just making a recommendation.
• We again had a rich discussion about WFP and Holistic Management (HM) and taking liberty with HM and incorporating other processes.  This was fun and could have gone on for some time. In summary:
  • An HM foundation, infused with other approaches and tools, works well to develop some portion, or a full out whole farm plan.
    • Nonviolent communication techniques are one such beneficial additional set of tools
    • Financial analysis, ratios and benchmarks are another helpful set of tools
    • Even just a few testing questions can be helpful
    • Changing vocabulary when applying HM based on the gender, age, ethnicity, experience, commodity, or other factors can be helpful when working with farmers
    • Finding a way of leaving the deep, therapist-like sessions “at the office” and turning it off is a skill one needs
    • Stealth HM was discussed, meaning not formally using it, but gathering input so you can infer their values, resources, log jam, etc.
• We also discussed that the ideas of forging relationships and active listening and incorporating financial, environmental and social aspects into all the work we do with producers seems like common sense and second hand now.  Yet since so many mentioned it as an impact, it likely was not a common approach to doing one’s work beforehand.  Some shared stories about past colleagues who did not utilize such an approach and even didn’t support such and approach. 

Jason joined us after lunch and shared a tool he developed and uses.   The tool applies a SWOT analysis to the HM chain of production categories (natural resources/solar conversion, product conversion, market conversion).  The SWOT elements are in rows while the HM Chain of Production elements are down columns.  It provided a way of exploring a farm’s enterprise, their whole operation, or making projections for future enterprises. 

We then brainstormed questions we could use in our work with farmers to help build relationships and gain insight and information (subtly and/or directly)

See below for brainstorm. 

We closed our day with a discussion on how we all stay together. Email was definitely panned.  Some liked Facebook, some weren’t so keen on that. Some Google gig was discussed. No solutions, just a desire to stay together. 

Here is our brainstorm:

10/14/20 Brain storm to use Whole Farm Planning on site visits: What to ask your farmers during a site visit. And how to observe things with out asking questions.

What is the biggest risk to your farm?

How happy are you on the farm?

What’s your comfort level with debt?

Do you have a succession/transfer plan?

Do you know the trend of farm net worth? Does someone know?

Any farm certifications?

Is there off farm income/benefits?

Does the farm meet your family’s financial needs?

How is your family involved in the farm?

What are your goals for the farm/business?

Where do you want to be in X years? (Number changes new farmer vs. established, etc)

Can you increase production?

Can you sell everything you produce?

Do you own the land/have a lease?

Do you know your COP(s)?

Talk to me about the time management/efficiency of the farm.

Do you have a back-up plan if the farm doesn’t make it?

Do you have to own the farm? Can you meet your goals working for another farm?

Look for physical health (stooped over, etc)

Look at ergonomics of systems (ie.wash/pack area)

What rejuvenates you?

Do you have days off/take vacations?

What do you do with down-time/off-season?

Family plans (kids, grand kids)

Look for bare ground, capping, etc.

Look at condition of equip and buildings.

What energizes you about the farm?

What drains you about the farm?

What are/Do you have record-keeping systems?

Look for signs of good/bad communication.

Who has a stake in the farm?

Ask for org chart.

Look at body language (relaxed/tense)

Community dynamics (neighbors, relations)

Who so you look to for advice?

Type and quality of equipment.

Are you good at prioritizing?

Are you good at delegating?

Where on your farm do you lose money?

Do you have SOPs?

What does employee training look like?

If you can’t work, who can take your place?

What is your best skill?

What are your skill gaps?

Is production increasing or decreasing?

Is soil health increasing or decreasing?

How’s the water supply and quality on the farm?

Where are the property boundaries?

How are you with technology?

Is someone good with accounting/technology?

Look at farm layout/infrastructure.

Ask the farmer Where is south?

Three mentors and project leader Sarah Williford had a few zoom calls and worked out a guide to use when interviewing the participants of the program. We had Ann Adams of HMI add suggestions before we went ahead with the interview process. The compilation and report of all of the interviews executed by mentor and educator Elizabeth Marks and finished by project leader Sarah Williford is primarily what the Summary and Outcomes section of this report is made of.  Below are the questions we asked the participants.

The Guidelines and questions for conducting the interviews:

Program impact  - Over the next half hour let's discuss the impact this program has had on you as an agricultural service provider. How have you changed as a result of what you have learned? What skills and tools have you gained?  In these next questions try to ferret this out in a structured way.

1. Thinking back to before you joined this SARE PDP and reflecting to the present, let’s discuss how this program has changed your approach to your work.

• To jog your memory:
  • Has the subject matter you cover in your job changed or expanded? If so, how?
  • In your normal work, do you go about it differently? 
    • Ask different questions?
    • Have different approaches?
  • Do you use different questions and approaches methods? How do these methods influence the results?

1. Have you created any new materials (or use ones you received from your training) to support changes in your approach or work endeavors? How do these influence your engagement with farmers and what they get from the interaction?

• To jog your memory:
  • Templates?
  • Intake forms?
  • PowerPoint Presentations?
  • Fact sheets
  • Curricula?

1. How many farmers have you worked with or reached, in whole or part, utilizing whole farm planning (HM) as a result of this program?. 

Let’s break them down as follows:

• One-on-one visits
• Workshop/conference attendees
• Small group/cohort

1. What did your work or presentations focus on?

1. What differences has your work made for the farmers with whom you’ve worked?

• To jog your memory:
  • Business plans developed
  • Financial plans 
  • Marketing plans developed
  • Land plans developed 
  • Changes in enterprises
  • Changes in market channels
  • Increased profits
  • Reduced expenses, including choosing not to do something as a result of your work
  • Improved quality of life through shared values, improved communications
  • Improved efficiency through new systems and behaviors
  • Changes to farm layout and infrastructure
  • Enhanced environmental conditions through covered soil, or other new practices as a result of your work
  • Enhancements to record keeping systems

Curriculum Development – Some participants have desired to create a curriculum to help ag service providers work with producers in a holistic manner..  In helping to guide how this might look, let’s discuss the questions below. 

1. If you were training a new ag service provider, based on what you know, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

• Are there steps you would recommend to follow?
• Are there specific things you listen for in your work before making recommendations?

1. What tools or materials would you provide them?  

• What have you used that was effective?
• What have you developed that you would share

1. What does whole farm planning mean to you?  How does it come into play in your work? 

• If you mentioned it above, no need to repeat.