Progress report for OW24-006
Project Information
In the PNW, organizations like Rogue Farm Corps, Headwaters Incubator Farm, and Extension programs offer instruction in sustainable farming. However, no organization comprehensively addresses the business decisions needed to scale up small agricultural enterprises. Our Coalition of 200+ farmers who practice small-scale, diversified farming, consistently report an absence of resources to help them make critical business decisions. Common examples include understanding laws around hiring labor, providing employee benefits, and finding financial and legal professionals that understand the unique challenges of diversified, direct-to-consumer agriculture.
In 2022, these farms generated $24 million in locally consumed food, benefiting our communities and local economy. Yet, this intensive farming often leads to high farmer burnout, with over half of them closing within 6 years. Key reasons include job dissatisfaction, managing too much with limited resources, and handling administrative tasks beyond their expertise. Our project aims to address these challenges and promote farm business sustainability.
This project enhances the farming community quality of life by 1) identifying farmers’ critical business needs and existing gaps, 2) developing resources and solutions to address those needs, 3) establishing a peer-to-peer network to communicate experiences and share best practices, and 4) facilitating opportunities for farmers to obtain and implement these solutions. By strengthening the business capabilities of PNW farmers, the number of sustainable farms thriving beyond 6 years of operation will increase, promoting biome stewardship: "Our environmentally sensitive and direct to consumer farmers are only sustainable if they can keep running their farm businesses year after year." (SARE grant ONC23-118)
Through participation in the peer-to-peer communication framework and access to our resource database, we aim to achieve specific outcomes enhancing farmers' quality of life, bolstering their financial resilience, and fostering the growth of small sustainable farms for responsible land stewardship. As emphasized in SARE grant project ONC23-118, "Sustainable direct-to-consumer farmers thrive by sustaining their farm businesses year after year."
Research Objectives
Objective 1: Using a farmer-centered approach, perform needs assessment: on which business decisions do farmers need the most assistance to sustainably scale their operations?
We will collaborate with a core team of farmers (the project Producers) who have experience scaling up their operations, to develop surveys, and facilitate focus groups and listening sessions to identify our regional farmers’ most pressing business challenges.
Objective 2: Synthesize data and develop curriculum materials to respond to the greatest business needs as determined in Objective 1.
Quantitative and qualitative data analyses will be conducted on the information collected in Objective 1. Each identified topic will be investigated by cataloging best-known-methods, interviewing farmers and agricultural professionals, and identifying professionals that can lead information sessions and trainings, among other potential outcomes.
Objective 3: Design educational series to communicate findings in effective and accessible format.
Farmers have reported “webinar fatigue”, reluctance to wade through uninformative websites, and frustration with “waiting on hold for hours” to get answers specific to agricultural questions. Using information gleaned in Objective 1), the Farmer Core Team will assist in applying SARE’s “Sustainable Agriculture through Sustainable Learning” best practices to develop educational formats and delivery approaches that our farmers are most likely to consume. These are anticipated to include such formats as peer-to-peer learning circles, working sessions with professional advisors, panel discussions, training sessions, and development of a resource library.
Education objectives:
Objective 1: Create a farmer-friendly resource library to archive learnings.
Housed on the existing PNWCSA “Farmer Resource” website, this will allow for the findings of this project to be accessible to all agricultural professionals.
Objective 2: Facilitate the peer-to-peer learning network.
Led by the Farmer Core Team, a peer-to-peer learning network will be established amongst agricultural stakeholders. By hosting in-person events on their farms, and communicating through a listserv, farmers growing their businesses will interact with each other and share their experiences, providing educational and social support for their fellow farmers.
Objective 3: Increase knowledge and understanding of business decision making among farmers.
PNWCSA and the Farmer Core Team will offer a series of educational sessions and workshops addressing needs identified in Research Objective 1. Delivery method and pedagogy will be aligned to specific topics to maximize value and accessibility.
Objective 4: Empower more farmers to make better-informed business decisions, improving their economic well-being and quality of life.
Through attending educational sessions, having access to materials in the resource library, and being part of a peer-to-peer learning network, farmers will be equipped to make higher-quality business decisions in a more efficient manner.
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor (Educator and Researcher)
- - Technical Advisor (Educator and Researcher)
- - Technical Advisor (Educator and Researcher)
- - Technical Advisor (Educator and Researcher)
Research
Objective 1: Using a farmer-centered approach, perform needs assessment: on which business decisions do farmers need the most assistance to sustainably scale their operations? (April - June, 2024)
- Establish a Farmer Core Team composed of regional small-scale farmers who have experience scaling their farms (already in place). To ensure that our farmers’ needs and priorities remain at the center of our work, the FCT will guide us in identifying the range of topics farmers need information on as they scale their businesses. These collaborative sessions will be held virtually to prioritize accessibility and to accommodate farmer’s planting schedules.
- Collaborate with FCT to develop a mixed-methods approach to data collection. (April - May, 2024).
The FCT will guide developing effective manners of gathering data from our regional farmers, including but not limited to designing surveys, focus groups, and listening sessions. Topics to be evaluated include, amongst others:
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- Business challenges
- Steps taken to address challenges - what works and what doesn’t
- Knowledge of existing resources
- Balancing seasonal workloads with time required learning/farm planning
- Accessibility of live vs. recorded events
- Farmer’s current preferred learning mediums and resources
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- Administer the survey. (May-June 2024).
- The survey's distribution will employ multiple channels to maximize outreach. Through our listserv, social media, email distribution, and partner network (including Rogue Farm Corps, Headwaters Incubator Farm, Friends of Family Farmers and others), we have access to over 500 regional small-scale sustainable farmers throughout Oregon. Outreach will include social media campaigns, paid promotion, email and listserv announcements, and leveraging the farmer networks of the FCT.
- Hold 3 listening sessions with our FCT guiding dialogue (May - June, 2024)
- We will hold listening sessions at our FCT members’ farms, where we will invite regional diversified small farmers to discuss the challenges they see in obtaining information to scale their businesses. These sessions will be targeted towards younger, beginning farmers who are just starting on the development path.
- Online sessions will also be held to accommodate farmers throughout the state.
- Hold 2 focus groups with our FCT guiding dialogue (May - June, 2024).
- The focus groups will be designed for selected farmers, 3 - 5 years into production, who have already sought information on business development. These farmers will have deeper insight into the challenges faced by small ag enterprises, and can add relevant context for addressing specific issues.. Focus groups will be facilitated by our FCT.
Objective 2: Synthesize data and develop curriculum materials to respond to the greatest business needs as determined in Objective 1.
- Synthesis
- For the surveys, closed-end questions will be evaluated using a structured 5-point Likart rating scale to develop a histogram determining the most common topics.
- Open-ended questions will be coded based on response frequency to gauge their relevance.
- Existing solution research: conduct literature reviews, internet searches, and interviews to identify solutions.
- Examine relevant SARE projects
- Consult technical assistance organizations (such as Farm Commons, Rogue Farm Corps, Headwaters Incubator Farm, etc.)
- Consult Extension resources
- Review technical journals
- Catalog existing solutions and barriers to access
- Summarize the solutions farmers have successfully employed.
- Document farmer experiences that have not been successful.
- Account for regional disparities in the effectiveness of resource access. For example: how might rural vs. urban farmers need different solutions?
- Record potential barriers to implementing solutions (for example, cost, time, or proximity).
- Identify established professionals and business development experts that can provide information to close the gaps identified in Objective 2 (1, 2, and 3).
- Identify professionals who have experience with small-scale agricultural business: attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, mentor farmers, etc.
- Determine their availability for leading information sessions or trainings, participating in panel discussions, etc.
- Design curricula frameworks for educational sessions to FCT.
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- Combining all the information gathered in Objective 2, develop a series of sessions addressing relevant topics.
For example, a potential topic could be exploring how to provide health insurance to farm owners and employees. A solution might be panel discussion featuring insurance company representatives, employment attorneys, and farm owners successful in offering health insurance.
- Combining all the information gathered in Objective 2, develop a series of sessions addressing relevant topics.
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- Present frameworks to FCT for review, comments, and to identify material to be added or deleted.
- Revise frameworks
Objective 3: Design educational series to communicate findings in an effective and accessible format.
- Farmers have reported fatigue with attending online meetings, wading through websites, and being on hold for excessive amounts of time in their search for information. This Objective aims to understand how farmers prefer to gain information, and to intentionally design our curriculum using strategic communication to make learning most accessible and effective.
- Analyze responses from Objective 1 to determine preferred/effective forms of learning/information access for farmers.
- Determine farmer preferences for mediums including webinars, face-to-face meetings, podcasts, online resources, reading technical bulletins, etc.
- Characterize the pros and cons of each format.
- Develop proposal for educational sessions that aligns topics with potential formats.
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For example, farmers want to learn how to incorporate their business, but need information about which business structure is most relevant to them. The easiest way for them to consume this information is a webinar that can be watched at any time. The information provided by an agricultural attorney and pre-recorded, then watched at any time.
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Or: beginning farmers need capital to build infrastructure. Should they take out a loan? What kind of loan? Is there a grant available, and what projects would that grant fund? This might be best handled in a peer-to-peer discussion group, where mentor farmers can talk about how they raised funds when starting their farm. This maximizes the ability for questions and conversations about very specific projects that can’t be covered in a webinar.
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- Present proposal to FCT for review, comments, and to identify material to be added or deleted.
- Revise sessions to incorporate FCT feedback.
- At the end of Year 1 sessions, incorporate participant feedback into curriculum adjustments and improvements for the Year 2 sessions. Revise sessions as necessary.
Objective 1: perform needs assessment.
Guided by the Farmer Core Team, we used two instruments to perform our needs assessment. First, we developed an online survey that collected data about business goals, managing a farm business, working with employees, marketing their products, and accessing capital. Second, our farmer core team hosted 4 listening sessions, with prompts matching the questions in the survey. We gathered feedback from 36 respondents.
Objective 2: synthesize data and develop curriculum.
We learned that farmers' top 3 goals are:
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- Improve farm profitability
- Pay themselves and their employees a living wage
- Improve production efficiency
In our research, we learned of 2 existing curricula that addresses these questions:
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- Know Your Cost To Grow: a year-long mentorship-based program that teaches farmers how to calculate the true cost of growing a particular crop. This helps them determine crop pricing, loss and gain leaders, and helps them plan for profit.
- Becoming The Employer of Choice (BTEC): a series of webinars developed by University of Wisconsin Extension and led by farmers. Sessions discuss employee issues and offer solutions on how to build a resilient workforce, including developing an effective hiring process, onboarding and training, effective reviews and feedback, and how to manage conflict.
Objective 3: Design Educational series
We opted to utilize the existing curricula rather than design our own, as both series have received positive feedback from former participants. Aligning with the results of the needs assessment, we offered both series as webinars, and then offered recordings of the sessions, to make them accessible to the highest number of farmers possible.
Research Outcomes
Small farms growing diverse products face unique business challenges when trying to scale up their enterprises. Calculating production costs for 50 - 70 different vegetables, and hiring a seasonal workforce that can perform a multitude of unique and complex tasks, requires developing an organizational infrastructure tailored to each farms' needs.
Based on our needs assessments, farmers cite their top three business goals for the next 5 years as:
- Improve farm profitability
- Pay themselves and their employees a living wage
- Improve farm production efficiency
Two curricula exist that can guide farmers towards developing a framework to accurately quantify costs and bolster employee management. Know Your Cost to Grow guides farmers towards calculating the true production costs of each crop, collecting input, time, and labor variables. With that data, farmers can plan for market pricing and understand loss and gain leaders, giving them the tools to make decisions that drive farm profitability and efficiency.
Becoming The Employer of Choice helps farmers manage an effective workforce. Farmers learn methods to develop a hiring process, train employees, give effective feedback, and manage conflict. Through developing a strong workforce, employee retention increases, training load decreases, and the farm runs more efficiently.
Our research also indicated that farmers need better access to professionals that understand the complexities of small agricultural enterprises. Future work includes developing a directory of advisors such as bookkeepers, accountants, financial planners, and lawyers.
Education and Outreach
Participation Summary:
Outreach analyses:
In our needs assessment, we quantified farmers' preferred methods of content delivery.
Farmers preferred mentorship, fact sheets, and hands-on workshops. The least desirable methods were searching via Google, and social media. It was noted that due to farmers being located rurally throughout the state, having seasonal work schedules, and weekend farmers markets, the most convenient time and method to convene was weekdays at lunchtime during the winter via a webinar.
Our timeline was designed to provide trainings during the winter of 2025 and 2026, with a pause during the main 2025 season (since most farmers won't have the bandwidth to attend trainings during peak harvest).
Our goal was to host 12 events during the winter of 2025. We hosted 6 KYCTG sessions, 4 BTEC sessions, 2 farm tours, and 3 Share Fair events.
Know Your Cost To Grow:
We worked with 11 producers throughout 6 sessions. Sessions were held on-line, as farmers needed to access the KYCTG website during the classes. In this series, farmers learn a step-by-step process for determining their crop-specific costs of production and a framework for using cost of production information for business planning and decision-making. Using a peer-to-peer mentorship framework, farmers will collect data throughout the growing season. They will reconvene during the fall to analyze and apply their data.
Becoming the Employer of Choice:
We worked with University of Wisconsin, Madison and Rogue Farm Corps to identify which BTEC sessions aligned with our farmers' needs, determined via the needs assessment survey. 4 sessions were offered between January 15th through February 11th, and they were attended by 78 farmers. Farmers reported the sessions to be highly engaging and relevant. Session trainers were farmers that had experience with the topic matter, so examples were germane and applicable. Also the format invited real-time questions and discussion, which was useful to participants.
Farm Tours
Responding to farmers' preference for hands-on workshops, we hosted two farm site visits. The first was at Full Plate Farm, in Ridgefield, WA. This farm specializes in growing winter vegetables. Farmers had the opportunity to discuss winter microclimates, cultivar hardiness, pest management, storage techniques, and greenhouse infrastructure.
The second was at Rainshadow Organics in Terrebonne, OR. This farm in the high-desert climate produces a full-diet CSA. Farmers learned about integrating livestock with vegetables, how to market full-diet CSA shares, and how to mitigate water usage with biodiversity.
These events are always popular as farmers have few opportunities for peer-to-peer networking, and appreciate sharing unique solutions to common challenges.
CSA Share Fairs
These events occur during late February and early March, and are designed to connect CSA farmers with their local communities, while educating the public about the benefits of Community Supported Agriculture. One highlight of the fairs is outreach to food-insecure families, who are able to purchase CSA shares with SNAP and apply Double Up Food Bucks to stretch their food dollars. CSA shares purchased with SNAP is the fastest-growing sector of the the market, and these events help connect farmers to this market opportunity.
Education and Outreach Outcomes
Education: involving the Farmer Core Team helped us quickly focus on topics that were most urgent to our regional farmers. Incorporating farmer feedback and experiences into our research and curriculum design made us aware of the existing educational opportunities, and helped us determine their relevancy to the needs identified in the assessment surveys.
While we were bound to virtual sessions for 2 of our offerings due to the nature of the material (KYCTG required computer access, and BTEC was taught by trainers who were located outside of Oregon), we recognized the need for peer-to-peer networking and mentoring. Hosting events like the farm tours and share fairs facilitate informal community-building for farmers who otherwise seldom find themselves together.
KYCTG requires ongoing mentorship throughout the growing season, and we are halfway through the first year of instruction. We will be able to better asses how our farmers' understanding of agricultural sustainability has increased when the full curriculum is completed in the fall.
Learning how to calculate true production cost for specific vegetables
Learning how other farmers respond to common environmental challenges
Learning how to attract and retain talented employees
Learning how to accept SNAP payments for shares