Progress report for ENE23-186
Project Information
Problem or Opportunity and Justification
West Virginia’s farmers currently rely on the seasonality of farming and the volatile nature of the farmers market direct sales method for the majority of their income. According to a report prepared in 2013 by the West Virginia University Food Justice Lab and the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition, 78% of farmers in the state who grow specialty crops list farmers markets as their primary sales outlet. Many farmers could help stabilize their income if they were either producing value-added products themselves or production planning for value-added products being produced by a manufacturer. This presents an opportunity for farmers to both increase profit and have more stable and forecastable income. Additionally, the passage of the 2018 and 2019 Cottage Food bills, and the increase in tourism activities due to the New River Gorge National Park designation in the state have both increased demand for value-added products produced by West Virginians.
Unfortunately, the process for achieving process authority in West Virginia is unclear to potential value-added producers. To date, the clearest way to become a retail level value-added producer is to work with another product creator who has navigated the process itself. Many service providers in the state are uncomfortable coaching potential producers when the process itself is not clearly written down in a check-sheet form.
Solution and Approach
Future Generations University, in conjunction with several partners including process authorities at Virginia Tech, is proposing the creation of a Value-Added Regulator Toolkit and Training Manual for service providers to utilize when working with potential farmers who are interested in scaling to retail scale with value-added products. Additionally, the university will build a training program which centers around an accompaniment model of coaching service providers who are working with farmers, by existing value-added producers. The training program will be offered over a 9-month period with one module delivered either in person or virtually every other month. Each module will cover a component of value-added product creation and then participants will be expected to execute coaching of farmers in their community while being mentored by the value-added product makers. 50 service providers will participate engaging a total of 100 farmers in coaching through two training cohorts. Of the 100 farmers engaged, it is expected that 50 will have a product approved through process authority and ready for retail shelves.
Over a three-year period, 50 service providers will be trained to assist 100 farmers in creating value-added products which then are approved for process authority in West Virginia.
Farmer Target: Of the 100 farmers, 50 will either create a value-added product themselves suitable for retail shelves or will sell to makers of a value-added product.
This project aims to decrease grower/farmer risk, while increasing revenue opportunities indirectly through service provider training. Growers in West Virginia typically have 2-3 direct farm sales opportunities at farmers markets, restaurants, or farm stands. This is problematic, since a 2014 study by Farm Credit of the Two Virginias demonstrated a need for 8-10 retail outlets to be considered financially viable. The recent 2018 and 2019 Cottage Food Laws have inspired emerging entrepreneurs to create diverse value-added products.
By producing value-added products, farmers will have additional market opportunities and opportunities for year-round sales. Value-added products are often shelf stable, and able to be sold outside of the growing season. Producing for other value-added makers also provides an additional opportunity for farmers who can plan for guaranteed income instead of taking their chances at weekly farmers markets, where sales projections vary widely from week to week. The opportunity to scale up production of value-added products has been limited by the state of West Virginia’s lack of streamlined system to create more value-added product producers.
Farmers and value-added makers have requested assistance from service providers to certify value-added products for years, but this has been exacerbated with the passage of the West Virginia Cottage Food Bills in 2018 and 2019. These bills, originating in 2015, opened up income opportunities for small-batch product creators by simplifying the process and allowing for usage of home kitchens in low-risk products as long as the product was labeled. Service providers such as extension agents and health officials have been teaching classes in home food preservation for decades. However, the rules and regulations to take products to a commercial retailscale are far more stringent, and there is no existing regulatory training program or document to assist them. Demand for a streamlined training program for service providers to coach potential productcreators through the steps to process authority is increasing. Additionally, WestVirginia has no actual process authority, so the process itself is further complicated by needing to know where to send product samples for testing.
This demand is a result of increases in community kitchen infrastructure, interest from small growers, and the rising demand of local products by both residents and tourists. Initiatives that have been initialized by partner nonprofitorganizations are being slowed due to lack of clarity on process authority. For example, the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition is currently working with partner businesses to build a project in the southern coalfields with value-added makers and community kitchen infrastructure, but lacks the expertise on training the kitchen manager, and this toolkit would remove these barriers to success. Similarly, a survey of 35 West Virginia University and West Virginia State University extension agents showed that although many are knowledgeable about home food preservation, only 5 total understood how to obtain process authority for a food product.
This existing policy framework and emerging labor force present an opportunity. Value-added production enables additional processing at a higher price point, while taking perishable goods and turning them into shelf-stable products which become available year-round to consumers. The process to create these small commercial outlets is complicated and full of regulatory language. A resource guide to help farmers navigate this process does not exist for West Virginia or neighboring states. Future Generations is poised to offer this opportunity to service providers by basing a larger value-added framework off of its work with maple syrup regulation: the university wrote the manual for the state department of agriculture inspection of sugar houses and has been training service providers and maple producers for 3 years.
This project will create, test, and extend a comprehensive Value- Added Regulatory Manual Resource Toolkit for West Virginia. It will establish a training and coaching program for service providers, who then work with farmers or processors to develop products. It is anticipated that this project will train 50 service providers, who will in turn reach 100 West Virginia farmers, during the project performance period. Of these 100 farmers, it is expected that 50 will create and reach the process authority approval checkpoint of product creation. At this point, the value-added products are ready for retail sale and distribution.
Future Generations University, along with its partners at the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition, Virginia Tech, and several current value-added maker farmer producers, proposes the creation of a regulatory toolkit and training manual for service providers within the state of West Virginia. Additionally, the University will build both an in-person and virtual training opportunity for service providers that will take them step by step through the value-added product creation process, so that they can then coach farmers in their own communities. This will simplify and streamline coaching opportunities for service providers who are regularly working with farmers who want to diversify their product lines into value-added products beyond basic farmers market sales. No such training program currently exists within the state. Service provider interest is high, based on anecdotal evidence, with many not knowing the information or who to talk to forscaling up value-added product lines.
Educational Approach
Value-Added Coaching for WV Agricultural Service Providers will establish a Regulatory & Resource Toolkit for West Virginia. It will then test and refine this resource toolkit in iterative improvement through training two pilot cohorts of service providers during the second and third years of the project. Each cohort shall have between 20 to 30 participants, with a target of 25 per cohort, resulting in a total of 50 trained service providers at the end of the project period. The training program will guide service providers through both the knowledge areas that they need to know as well as connect them with existing resources and tools to assist potential value-added makers.
Service providers will include traditional extension-based service providers, but also may be individuals such as community kitchen managers, managers of value-added cooperatives, as well as farmers who are working together to build value-added product lines. Service providers will be recruited from existing relationships as well as social media and email blasts. Future Generations University has strong relationships with extension agents, commercial producers, and educators and maintains a regular email list of interested parties.
Engagement:
Future Generations University is poised to recruit the 50 service providers from its existing network of extension personnel and other service providers. The University has been conducting trainings for technical and other service providers for the past 4 years surrounding both maple syrup production and nontimber forest product economic development and has amassed a network. Additionally, the university has good relationships with the state department of agriculture and both university extension systems to further recruit members of each cohort. There will be 2 separate cohorts of 25 individuals each, resulting in 50 total service providers being trained. Service providers will sign a document which indicates that they intend to complete all components of the training. Service providers will be provided support from mentor value-added makers who are being contracted to do this coaching as they go through working with their own farmers who are creating value-added products. Cohort members will have access to materials during and after their training, with additional materials updated as they become available.
Learning:
Each training cohort will be a 9-month cohort-based program, where providers will receive 5 in-person training sessions, or virtual sessions, held at multiple locations throughout the state. Experts will cover topics such as value-added processing regulations, recipe formulation, local sourcing, marketing, and financing. Additionally, cohort members will have the opportunity to participate in regular virtual meetups and online modules they complete on their own time. Providers will be expected to be coaching at least 2 value-added farmer producers during the second half of their training. Future Generations University will offer a value-added coaching toolkit binder, which holds all necessary forms and instructions to create a value-added product for retail sales. These may be duplicated for use with individual value-added makers. This binder will be created specifically in conjunction with the advisory committee, including the two process authority experts from Virginia Tech. The training manual will complement their work and provide their resources for individual producers to be utilized by service providers in coaching.
Evaluation:
Each in person or virtual training component will have a survey related to knowledge gained for service providers to complete, for a total of 5 evaluations of the curricula components for each cohort. Additionally, both the service providers and mentor food-based business coaches will complete regular quarterly evaluations of their processes with coaching farmers. Information related to the farmers who are being coached will be gathered such as products that are being created and where along the development cycle the farmer is in obtaining process authority.
At the end of each cohort, university staff will interview and check in with 15-20 farmers who have been coached to evaluate their experience with the service providers. Rather than serve as a punitive opportunity, this will serve as an opportunity to design the program so that it fits the next cohort of service providers who will be working with new farmer producers.
Milestones
1) Engagement: March 2023-February 2026- Advisory council meets monthly during the first six months of the project period and quarterly afterwards to ensure that the Value-Added Training Manual toolkit and class creation are on target and in compliment to other trainings. This will be tracked by meeting notes and attendance.
Status: In progress
Accomplishments: Advisory council began meeting in March 2023 with a series of one-on-one meetings and check-ins to bring the team together. Two of the advisory council members, both at Virginia Tech, are also working on a larger project of which this advisory council meets with regularly to ensure that both projects are moving forward seamlessly.
2) Learning: March 2023-February 2024- An in-person and online module-based tool will be created by Future Generations during year 1 in conjunction with advisory council and current value-added makers who are contracted throughout this process. This will be tracked by the creation of the training program for service providers.
Status: In progress
Accomplishments: The toolkit for service providers is in progress and a first draft is anticipated to be completed by February 2024. This toolkit forms the basis of the workshop series and training program for service providers.
3) Engagement: January-February 2024- First cohort of 25 service providers will be recruited to attend the training program offered as in-person or virtual trainings every two months focused on different components of both creating a product and getting it to market. This training program will contain topics such as batch recipe development, achieving process authority, labeling and market opportunities, and accessing local produce and product for use in recipes. Success here will be measured by attendance of service providers.
Status: In progress
Accomplishments: Workshop locations have been secured for the first cohort and recruitment is set to begin at the end of January for the workshop series.
4) Learning and Evaluation: April 2024-January 2025- First cohort attends training program either in person, offered at multiple sites, or virtually online over a Zoom platform during year 2 of the program. The program will consist of 5 separate trainings, and each member of the cohort must attend each training once, whether in person or online. Service providers will provide feedback for the second cohort. Success will be measured by a survey based on knowledge gained at each training.
Status: Not yet begun
5) Learning and Evaluation: April 2024-January 2025- First cohort will work with at least 2 farmers each who are interested in value-added product creation to develop and obtain process authority for a product over the second year. It is expected that 25 farmers (50%) will successfully create a product as coached by service providers. This will be measured by service provider feedback from coaching sessions and regular reporting as to where their farmers are in the process.
Status: Not yet begun
6) Learning and Evaluation: April 2024-January 2025- Existing value-added makers within the state will be contracted to serve as mentor coaches and support for the first cohort of service providers who may be working with value-added product creation for the first time during the second year. This will be measured by contracted coach feedback as well as service provider survey related to usefulness of the mentor coaches.
Status: Not yet begun
7) Evaluation: January-February 2025: Based on feedback from first cohort of 25 makers, value-added coaching mentors, and the farmers themselves, the toolkit and training manual will be updated by Future Generations staff and advisory committee. This will be measured by the creation of a second version of the toolkit and training manual for service providers. Cohort 1 service providers will have access to the updated toolkit and training manual.
Status: Not yet begun
8) Engagement: January-February 2025- Second cohort of 25 service providers will be recruited to attend the training program offered as in-person or virtual trainings every two months focused on different components of both creating a product and getting it to market. This training program will contain topics such as batch recipe development, achieving process authority, labeling and market opportunities, and accessing local produce and product for use in recipes. Success here will be measured by attendance of service providers.
Status: Not yet begun
9) Learning and Evaluation: April 2025-January 2026- Second cohort attends training program either in person, offered at multiple sites, or virtually online over a Zoom platform during year 3 of the program. The program will consist of 5 separate trainings, and each member of the cohort must attend each training once, whether in person or online. Service providers will provide feedback for the continuation of the program. Success will be measured by a survey based on knowledge gained at each training.
Status: Not yet begun
10) Learning and Evaluation: April 2025-January 2026- Second cohort will work with at least 2 farmers each who are interested in value-added product creation to develop and obtain process authority for a product over the third year. It is expected that 25 farmers (50%) will successfully create a product as coached by service providers. This will be measured by service provider feedback from coaching sessions and regular reporting as to where their farmers are in the process.
Status: Not yet begun
11) Learning and Evaluation: April 2025-January 2026- Existing value-added makers within the state will be contracted to serve as mentor coaches and support for the second cohort of service providers who may be working with value-added product creation for the first time during the third year of the program. This will be measured by contracted coach feedback as well as service provider survey related to usefulness of the mentor coaches.
Status: Not yet begun
12) Learning and Evaluation: Ongoing- Of the 50 total service providers in the program, it is expected that all will complete the cohort model, with each service provider working with an average of 2 farmers and one mentor value-added coach. It is expected that of these 100 total farmers, 50 will actually develop a product and receive process authority authorization, with the intent to enter a retail market. This will be measured by the number of farmers whose products which are fully through process authority.
Status: Not yet begun
Milestone Activities and Participation Summary
Participants in the project’s educational activities:
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
50
50 service providers will be trained to assist 100 farmers in creating value-added products which then are approved for process authority in West Virginia.
100
Year one has consisted of planning and creating the curriculum for service providers to use with both value-added makers and farmers. This project is on task and target so far, with anticipated performance targets being met in years 2 and 3 of the grant.
Performance Target Outcomes - Farmers
Target #1
50
50 farmers will either create a value-added product themselves suitable for retail shelves or will sell to makers of a value-added product.