Final report for SNE22-016-DC
Project Information
The goal of the project was to improve the quality of life, economic opportunity and environment of people in the District of Columbia. The project aimed to address the (National Institute of Food and Agriculture) NIFA goals of improving food security and mitigating climate change, and the Sustainable DC goals of increasing green-economy jobs by training, certifying, and expanding the metro's region's agriculture service provider network.
As consumers grow more aware about global food systems and the effect food production and access has on our ecosystems, regional agricultural producers have strived to provide consumers with local options grown within (or just outside) major metropolitan areas. Local food production increased with this program as small farmers training with us produced and sold over a $1,000 food and distributed fresh local crops in areas that do not have enough access to fresh food via farmers markets. This opening up of local production points--sought to positively affect the quality of the produce arriving at local retail outlets--reduced long supply chain constraints and furthered innovation towards supporting and restoring local agriculture systems.
This project began with a robust needs assessment among D.C. agricultural service providers and farmers to determine the specific educational needs related to urban food production. Needs assessment results and data were used to inform this project’s educational activities and to design the 2023-2025 State Plan for University of the District of Columbia.
Training and education through on-farm demonstrations, experiential training and workshops were provided for enhancing urban farmer and ASP knowledge on soil fertility with compost, insurance and business requirements, sustainable climate smart production, and direct distribution methods. The project trained 20 ASPs and 12 urban growers and farmers to then be able to teach, create, implement and help unlock more sustainable urban food production through further community workshops and services. Participation in these trainings leads towards Land Grant certifications for participants who achieve 15 hours of total training time. Small farmers and Agricultural Service Providers (ASPs) reported they were able to strengthen networks, meet more farmers and ASPs, and develop and enhance their connections, share/benefit from more knowledge transferring and gaining of more experiential skills in sustainable agriculture to benefit their community needs. This project was not required to set a performance target due to the short one-year timeframe. Despite this, 20 ASPs have already reported reaching 40 farmers representing $1,000,000 in gross sales. Twelve of these farmers representing $60,000 in gross sales implemented changes in their practices as a result. For example, one participant brought their knowledge of herbalism to be able to train others to process a raw crop of Calendula as a value-added product.
This project is one year in length and therefore outcomes and a Performance Target are not required. Project Objectives are provided here instead:
A needs assessment will be completed that identifies the needs of agricultural service providers and their clients as related to agroecological crop production to enhance urban agriculture. Needs assessment results and data will be used to inform this project’s educational activities and to design the 2023-2025 State Plan for University of the District of Columbia.
10 urban growers will move through the training sustainable crop production practices learned through a certificate program to provide, advise and bring more fresh fruit, vegetable, and supportive plants into urban agriculture cultivation amongst the Washington metropolis. The aim is to a create a team of Agriculture Service Providers (ASPs) to then serve metro growers needs in urban food production.
Possible crops of focus will include blueberries, thornless black berries, alpine strawberries, pole beans, kale, sweet and white potatoes.
In this one-year project, the project leader conducted the educational program described here while also designing and implementing a needs assessment that will inform both the specific topics offered in the later months of this project and the 2023-2025 State Plan. This needs assessment determined the type, number, size and location of farms potentially affected or involved and the size and type of the service provider audience that will be engaged.
Problem or Opportunity: This project proactively addressed the critical need and opportunity to (a) boost fruit and vegetable production in the region, (b) promote and capture the growing need for more urban food production and community need for more access to fresh nutritious food, and (c) build resilience into local food systems experiencing external shocks that disrupt produce diversity and supply chains in and around the region by up-skilling and empowering urban growers through connecting community members to farmers, and (d) broaden the menu of producers’ crops by creating more urban climate smart and agroecological food production.
Proposed Solution: Recognizing the need, challenges, and encouraging trends, and the benefit of creating an Agriculture Service Provider program and network for interested agricultural producers, specifically master gardeners, urban growers and regional farmers located near or within Washington, DC. In order to increase the resilience of urban farmers, the SARE State Coordinator and the Center for Urban Agriculture and Gardening Education (CUAGE) intended to conduct training workshops in urban agroecological production. The SARE State Coordinator recruited a group of carefully-selected trainees from metropolitan Washington, DC who participated in a series of workshops, hands-on farmer trainings held at UDC’s Firebird Farm Agricultural Experiment Station and Urban Food Hubs, and consultations.
This SARE state project supported the ASP program by conducting a comprehensive suite of training workshops. The project trained 20 ASPs and 12 urban growers and farmers to then be able to teach, create, implement and help unlock more sustainable urban food production through further community workshops and services. The linkage not only provides an opportunity for the university to fulfill its land-grant mission pertaining to cooperative extension, but also sets up incidences of knowledge-exchange between the university’s staff and D.C.’s burgeoning farming communities. Participation in these trainings lead towards Land Grant certifications for participants who achieve 15 hours of total training time.
Project beneficiaries consist of (a) economic; opportunity of up-skilled urban growers into urban growers, (b) social; greater food access to community members, and (c) environmental; all farms and gardens that will benefit from these sustainable agriculture knowledge carriers that will be located inside the District of Columbia’s borders.
Service Provider Interest: The SARE state project focused on agroecological and climate smart fruit and vegetable varieties. All participants learned and practiced ASP principles and share the knowledge that enables the delivery of more sustainable plant production and distribution systems to create more growing and access to fresh nutritious food to help mitigate food scarcity.
The needs assessment portion of the project determined the type of the service provider and farmer audiences that will be engaged, the specific knowledge and skills they will learn, and the type of educational activities that service provider participants will offer their clients as a result of their participation in this project.
Educational Approach
Engagement:
UDC agricultural faculty and staff as well as agriculture professionals from DC and relevant non-profit organizations were met with, surveyed, and/or reached out to and invited to share needs within local agriculture and food systems. Urban Agriculture is an evolving industry and many people would like to join or be apart of agriculture but lack access to opportunities, resources and paths to support and enter into the industry of agriculture. However, through outreach and learning from existing urban farmers and agriculture service providers, we find that local agriculture can be better supported through inclusion of more local community producers and local community consumers as they are both physically and mentally connected to agriculture in their current lives and can be community drivers for understanding production and distribution industry priorities. This information can lead urban farming knowledge and would be beneficial to bring to agriculture service provider that are also working for communities. Recruitment strategies will include phone and electronic invitations via email listservs and mailing lists, website postings, newsletters and other appropriate publications. Engagement was sought to include voices from at least 3 persons from 2020 National Black Farmers Cooperative, 3 persons from National Latinos Farmer & Ranchers Associations, and 4 persons from District urban farmers.
We worked with partner organizations to identify mechanisms and programs for increasing and accelerating implementation of good agricultural practices and systems through invitation via surveys, meetings, and communication with local farmers, service providers and local communities. Their input helped develop this educational plan.
The educational activities establish and develop baseline results of this work which has started to be offered to these same groups. Finalized Curricula subject areas have been finalized and will be enhanced with feedback from urban farmers, agricultural service providers and partners.
Learning:
The program operated on spaces from UDC's Firebird Farm, and across Urban Food Hubs. Our lead farmers brought farm training spaces into agroecological production along with ASP trainees. As this process began, 10 trainees were enrolled in the below education activities which ran concurrent to field work processes. Trainings were held across multiple access points at our headquarters Firebird Farm, UDC Urban Food Hubs in 3 of the 8 wards of the District of Columbia and via online meetings so as to create more accessibility for urban community growers and farmers to be able to easily participate. Incubator plots were planted and maintained by ASP's at Firebird Farm. Possible crops of focus were narrowed to certain varieties of specialty crops which were driven by urban farmer and community crop needs. This hands on approach allowed ASPs to develop field production experience and training, and encouraged ASP's to offer their own workshops to the public.
Certificates and workshops were developed from needs shared from ASP, urban farmers, local agriculture community and local food systems community (chefs, wholesale buyers, community consumers, partners). Those that shared needs and those that participated in experiential and application training are supporting the community by serving as mentors and workshop leaders. The ASP's are invited to remain active amongst future ASP trainee cohorts (beyond this project’s end date), so experience and network can be enhanced.
Through a series of on-farm demonstration/workshops urban farmers, asps, community growers, community consumers/partners learned (a) about sustainable agriculture in urban and peri-urban landscapes that seek to maximize yield and enhance community resilience, (b) to grow and distribute speciality crops from within D.C. communities, and (c) other knowledge areas and skills as determined by the results of the needs assessment and ongoing listening sessions. Feedback will be reviewed and incorporated into the later months of this project and the 2023-2025 UDC State Plan.
The workshop topics are aligned with the following certification programs:
-
- Production Systems
- Materials and Methods
- Market and Distribution
The above programs include these aspects:
-
- Options for planting and timelines
- Soil fertility
- Essential nutrients and pH conditions needed for optimal soil fertility
- Preparation of a soil for transplanting
- Cultivation Practices, Irrigation, and Water Conservation
- Sizing plants for urban agriculture production site
- Trellising and pruning
- Mulching and soil run-off
- Water resource management
- Pest Management
- Pollination and Pollinators
- Integrated pest management
- Disease prevention and management
- Species diversity
- Stormwater runoff and erosion control
- Harvesting, processing, storage, and food Safety Principles
- Sustainable urban agriculture business development
UDC also hosts Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) workshops taught by partner organizations.
- Instructional Methods and Sequence for Instruction – The workshops included different instructional methods, for example, on-site farm teaching, live method demonstrations, discussions and consultations. Factsheets and handouts corresponding to the program material and/or demonstration are in progress (5 per growing season). Presentations, meetings and consultations were held as and when necessary and appropriate.
- Support Methods – Support was provided between and after events through regular post-training contacts by email, phone and in-person discussions. Indirect support was provided on a weekly basis. Record-keeping was initiated and in progress development to provide more templates and checklists. Factsheets and important information are in progress to be developed and provided through email newsletter, web meetings and/or via in-person meetings.
Evaluation:
The needs assessment component provided data and results that show a clear need for focused training and year-round access to educational programs for DC agricultural service providers and farmers in above topics. This needs assessment from urban farmers and asp training and their work with community producers, consumers, and partners has been completed in March 2023 and was incorporated to create foundations of 2023-2025 State Plan.
Evaluation of the educational activities was done with partners and volunteers to gauge knowledge gained by participants and any changes in perception related to experiential trainings and on-farm workshops/demonstrations throughout the year. Records of participation in educational activities were kept and feedback was gathered from participants who attended collaboration meetings, participated in experiential training (farming, farmers markets, composting for soil fertility, produce washing, and above listed agricultural aspects).
Milestones
Engagement
December 2022. 40 Ag service providers and farmers in the DC area will be reached out to and invited to participate in needs assessment. Existing partnerships with the National Latinos Farmers and Ranchers Association and 2020 Black Farmers Cooperative will be engaged to strengthen UDC's ASP certification and programs network.
Status:
Completed
Accomplishments:
The engagement was accomplished to match this work. Project activities and outreach were designed with direct input from leaders of National Latinos Farmers and Ranchers Association and 2020 Black Farmers Cooperative. Through surveys at workshops, tours, and open houses, small farmers and ASPs were invited to share feedback and/or were followed up with after first contact.
March 2023. 40 Ag service providers and farmers in the DC area will be reached out to and invited to participate in 5 workshops on demonstration sites and 5 virtual engagements.
Status:
Completed.
Accomplishments:
Needs assessments provided diverse perspective of understanding. Created opportunity for tailoring of education to meet audience. ASPs and farmers who provided feedback were invited to attend project activities.
Needs Assessment:
October 2022. Project leader will participate in needs assessment training offered by Northeast SARE staff, including development of an assessment plan outline.
Status:
Completed
Accomplishments:
Training was attended by SARE State Coordinator.
November 2022. Project leader will work with Northeast SARE staff to finalize needs assessment plan. Needs assessment will be integrated into project educational activities and will be conducted through other channels as well.
Status:
Completed
Accomplishments:
Needs assessment plan was developed with SARE staff.
December 2022- January 2023. 15 Ag service providers and 15 farmers will participate in needs assessment activities. Results will be used to develop State Plan for 2023-2025 project.
Status:
Completed
Accomplishments:
Needs Assessment completed through work with partners, urban farmers, and ASPs through follow-up emails, in-person meetings, meetings with project advisory committee members, and follow-up written correspondence. The needs assessment component provided data and results that show a clear need for focused training and year-round access to educational programs for DC agricultural service providers and farmers in above topics. This needs assessment from urban farmers and ASP training and their work with community producers, consumers, and partners has been completed in March 2023 and was incorporated to create foundations of 2023-2025 State Plan.
Learning:
May-August 2023. Through a series of 5 on-farm demonstration/workshops and 5 webinars, participants will learn (a) about climate smart agroecology in urban and peri-urban landscapes that seek to maximize yield and enhance community resilience, (b) to grow and distribute more crops into D.C. communities, and (c) other identified important knowledge areas and skills as determined by the results of the needs assessment and ongoing listening sessions.
Status:
In-progress
Accomplishments:
In-progress; needs assessment has identified needs of training and education. Educational activities included 10 Consultations, 8 On-farm demonstrations, 10 Workshop and certificate sessions and field days, and 10 meetings, interviews, surveys, hands-on field sessions with Farmers and ASPs. A total of 20 ASPs and 12 urban growers and farmers participated, for a total of 32 unique individuals. Participants also helped project staff with conducting market surveys to determine demand for certain crops, products, and production methods. Future work will include offering some of these sessions again at different sites (including online) and times to improve accessibility and flexibility.
Evaluation:
February-March 2023. The needs assessment identifies the needs of agricultural service providers and farmers as related to urban agriculture. Needs assessment results and data will be used to design the 2023-2025 State Plan for UDC.
Status:
In-progress
Accomplishments:
Needs Assessment completed through work with partners, urban farmers, and asps. More information to be gathered and shared for enhanced tailoring of training and education.
May-August 2023: ASP participants will be invited to respond to a survey and participate in a listening session led by partners and the state coordinator at the beginning and end of the project. Feedback will be reviewed and incorporated into next year's plans for project improvement.
Status:
Not Begun
Accomplishments:
Plans are in place for partners to hold listening sessions for a mix of current participants and new contacts.
Milestone Activities and Participation Summary
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
Advise farmers on soil health, processes and farmers market distributions.
$1,000 to $60,000
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 |
Farmers sharing knowledge about producing crops with other visitors, markets, students, and public about local small farming.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 40 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|
$1,000,000 |
| Activity | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultations | 10 | 10 | ||
| On-farm demonstrations | 15 | 15 | ||
| Tours | 15 | 15 | ||
| Workshops and field days | 10 | 10 | ||
| Meetings and interviews. | 10 | 10 |
Surveys were collected with Survey tools, consultations and meetings were recorded with note taking, journaling and follow up briefs. Over 40 assessments surveys were completed. When activities are conducted in outdoor settings or offsite at other farms, the documents may not always get brought back central office or be available with enough onsite copies to provide for the assessments. We hope to get several ipads and be able to store, pass around and utilize for verification and assessment purposes that can feed back to cloud stored Onedrive. This will also support a reduction in paper use via the needs of printing and copying.
Performance Target Outcomes - Farmers
Target #1
15
Enhanced knowledge of soil health, water use, and farmers markets
Under $60,000
12
Reduction of chemicals for soil health, processes and methods, and sustained consistency for farmers markets/distribution.
$60,000
Through workshops, on farm demonstrations, hands on training, we provide application knowledge for small farmers and ASPs to learn and develop skills to bring to their operations which are enhanced based off the practices of achieving local sustainable agriculture. For example, one participant brought their knowledge of herbalism to be able to train others to process a raw crop of calendula as a value-added product. Also, a number of chefs participated who sourced local raw crops to cook tasty and nutritious soups to feed community members.
12 farmers verified changes via follow up correspondence.
60 asp verified by signing in and attending workshops, trainings, or hands on trainings.
Additional Project Outcomes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Through working and engagement in assessments, from on-farm demonstrations, workshops, trainings, meetings, and survey, we have been able to evaluate needs to develop next state plan.
Additionally, we have been have to support 14 small urban farmers to produce more crops and further their goals to produce fresh local crops for their markets. We will continue to support these small farmers as we build and strengthen our programs.
Several farmers we work with were able to develop consistent production. This allowed the farmers be able to have crops to consistently bring to market in areas facing food apartheid. We worked together with representative with BIPOC communities to bring agricultural workshops to areas in and around Washington DC, including at our Urban Food Hubs and Firebird Farm.
Farmer participants growing at East Capitol Food Hub are temporarily hosting the nursery for Dreaming Out Loud's 2024 growing season.
An opportunity arose to upcycle and reuse hoop house plastic from East Capitol Food Hub to temporarily repair a greenhouse at Lederer Urban Farm after fire damage.
UDC is beginning to see the value of the project's small farmer participants as partners on other projects. Non-profit organizations are also seeing the value of working with this group.
Small farmers are supporting other urban growing communities who are asking for help with production and availability of crops and markets.
Strengthening our support with more trainings and workshops will help to establish wider Farmer and ASP audiences and engagement. By providing consistent and sustained commitment to positive action, partner farmers, and partner collaborators, we will be able to continue on a path of enhancing the diversity, cohesiveness and resilience that the industry of sustainable urban agriculture brings to our Metropolis.
SARE Outreach
We added and shared SARE Materials across city through out our Food Hubs. Materials were placed and housed in our Farm office and Agriculture Discovery Centers at Urban Food Hubs. Agriculture Discovery Centers are agriculture information resource libraries that seek to bring invaluable sustainable agriculture art and literature knowledge right to people and also serve to support by being administrative suites for anyone at our Food Hubs to use.
Materials presented at Workshops.
The SARE Farm Map that describes and illustrates a sustainable farm was displayed at workshop for Jadam Organic Farming and Korean Natural Farming at Firebird Farm. The Map was then transferred to one of our Urban Food Hub Nurseries for people to see and learn about sustainable agriculture.
Because of UDC's central location, the urban farm sites frequently host tour groups from across the country. Flyers, cards, and SARE publications were highlighted during tours and workshops that included ASPs from USDA, Congress, as well as other partners and stakeholders.
Shared SARE upcoming opportunities with small farmers and asps via email, flyers, and meetings.
Recieved information about SARE grant programs and information resouces:
| Audience | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service providers | 120 | 0 | 0 | 120 |
| Farmers | 70 | 0 | 0 | 70 |