Progress report for WRGR23-006
Project Information
The FACTS (Farmers Addressing Challenges Through Training and Science) project will disseminate the outcomes of at least five SARE research projects that explored soil building and enhancement, including drought resilience, through the use of cover crops, no-till, solar tarping, and biomimicry, and their subsequent suggested sustainable agricultural practices, to beginning farmers through hands-on trainings, workshops and mentorship in Colorado and New Mexico. Beginning farmer trainings will be provided through the lead applicant, GoFarm, in Colorado. Post-training, stipend-supported mentorships will be provided by project partner, the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN),with a focus on supporting women and non-binary beginning farmers in Colorado and New Mexico.
The FACTS project will begin in April of 2023, and run for 18 months, through October, 2024, and will use the established infrastructures of GoFarm’s Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP) and Whole Farm Planning Course (WFPC) as well as WFAN’s Harvesting Our Potential (HOP) mentorship program.
GoFarm’s Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP) will provide agricultural and entrepreneurial training to aspiring farmers looking to launch their own farm businesses. GoFarm’s BFTP includes a 2-year Incubator Farmer program and the 16-week WFPC. WFPC classes are taught by local farmers, tailoring Western SARE research and other publications to provide regionally-specific guidance for starting a farming business in the Denver metropolitan area. Local farmers further support BFTP participants through GoFarm’s paid mentorship program. In addition to one-on-one mentoring, GoFarm also coordinates 12 on-farm workshops to supplement in-class learning during the WFPC.
WFAN’s Harvesting Our Potential (HOP) will provide access to 1) paid mentorships; 2) virtual educational events; and, 3) networking opportunities for aspiring or beginning women and non binary (WNB) farmers/ ranchers in the Western SARE region. Participants will build skills, relationships, and confidence to become successful growers.
- Break down barriers to becoming a farm owner/operator by providing hands-on training and support, including business skills, to beginning farmers looking to start their own farming operation
- Assist 5 farmers annually with launching their own farming business through GoFarm’s Incubator Farmer program
- Provide holistic farm business plan development services to up to 15 individuals annually through GoFarm’s Whole Farm Planning Course
- Partner with the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) to provide 6 post-training mentorships across Colorado and New Mexico
- Create a safe space for historically marginalized communities in farming to learn regenerative practices and techniques that will ensure their long-term success
- Increase the use of cover crop in the Denver and Albuquerque metro areas as a way to improve soil health without synthetic inputs
- Provide organic cover crop mixes to beginning farmers, ensuring at least 5 acres of urban farmland in the Denver metro area is cover cropped annually to improve soil health
- Facilitate over 800 hours of mentorship with GoFarm and over 300 hours of post-training mentorships/site visits/skills sharing with WFAN over the course of the project
Agriculture in Colorado and New Mexico faces many unique challenges, even to the area’s most experienced farmers. From frequent extreme weather events (including drought, hail, and high winds) to rising costs of living, farming in CO and NM presents numerous challenges. For new and aspiring farmers entering the profession is an exceedingly difficult task.
A recent survey from the National Young Farmers Coalition found that 78% of American young farmers (farmers under age 40) do not come from farm families. Acquiring the necessary skillset to run a successful farming operation can be especially challenging for these farmers without a long background or family history in farming. Women, nonbinary folks and farmers of color, in particular, face heightened barriers to land access and entering agriculture as a profession (less than 2% of U.S. farmland is owned by BIPOC farmers). Western SARE provides research on regenerative agricultural practices (cover cropping, crop rotation, soil ecology, et al.); however, this information is not necessarily easily understood and applied by beginning farmers with limited experience in the field.
To ensure this information is accessible and applicable, FACTS project will create safe, educational spaces to train these historically marginalized farmers and ensure they are successful in starting their own operations. GoFarm and WFAN will facilitate hands-on training and career development provided by experienced local farmers that will promote the adoption of SARE research on regenerative farming, including drought resilience practices, through the use of cover crops, no-till, solar tarping, and biomimicry. Beginning farmer trainings will be provided through the lead applicant, GoFarm, in Colorado. Post-training, stipend-supported mentorships will be provided by project partner, the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN),with a focus on supporting women and non-binary (WNB) beginning farmers in Colorado and New Mexico.
GoFarm Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP)
- April - October 2023: Mentorship from Local Farmers
- 250 hours of mentorship for GoFarm’s current 10 incubator farmers
- 150 hours of mentorship for GoFarm’s WFPC participants
- Host up to 12 on-farm workshops to complement the curriculum of the WFPC
- October 2023: Evaluation
- Gather survey responses from WFPC and Incubator participants to identify improvements that can be made for the next cohort of BFTP participants.
- October 2023 - March 2024: Whole Farm Planning Course
- Recruit local farmers to present and teach the 16-week WFPC.
- Room rental and equipment for WFPC
- April - October 2024: Mentorship from Local Farmers
- Repeat mentorship programming as stated above in 2023 with improvements implemented per participant evaluation surveys.
- October 2024
- Room rental and equipment for WFPC
WFAN HOP Mentorships
- April - June 2023: Recruitment, Training, and Matching.
- Work with partner organizations to recruit 3 mentors in CO and NM
- Train mentors using tailored curriculum
- Recruit and interview 3 prospective mentees in CO and NM
- Match mentee/mentor pairs based on mentee goals and logistical needs
- July - October 2023: Program Implementation
- Mentorship pairs meet regularly according to mentorship agreements and SMART goals
- Plan initial visits to Western SARE farms/ranches
- Administer mid and end-of season mentorship evaluations
- November 2023 - March 2024: Networking and Educational Events
- Host virtual networking/educational events for farmers/ranchers
- Fund HOP mentees’ free registration to WFAN annual conference
- March - September 2024: Renew Cycle
- Recruitment, training, matching, and program implementation components will repeat as above (3 additional mentor/mentee pairings), adjusted as needed based per evaluative data
September 2024: Program Completion
- Compile and co-submit the final program report to SARE
Cooperators
- (Educator)
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Facilitate over 800 hours of mentorship with GoFarm and over 300 hours of post-training mentorships/site visits/skills sharing with WFAN over the course of the project
Facilitated 139 individual consultations between mentor-mentee pairings for a total of 388 hours. Mentor-mentee pairings discussed all things farming from business, to soil health, to production.
FACTS uses one-on-one mentorship to provide applied knowledge in regenerative farming methods. While Western SARE research can be helpful tools for farmers, there are often slight variations in best practices when applying said research depending on the microclimate and regional demographics of each farm. Our mentorship model allows experienced farmers to educate beginning farmers using this research as a basis, but while also providing specific recommendations for the region they are farming in.
At GoFarm, mentors can access a one-off basis based on the beginning
farmer’s needs. Farmers can work with a mentor consistently throughout the season or focus a few hours on a specific problem/question they may have. Mentors are then compensated monthly depending on the number of hours spent with mentees.
At WFAN, the Harvesting Our Potential (HOP) provided access to 1) a paid mentorship; 2) virtual educational events; and, 3) networking opportunities for one beginning women farmer in the Western SARE region. The beginning farmer has begun building skills, relationships, and confidence to become a successful grower.
Break down barriers to becoming a farm owner/operator by providing hands-on training and support, including business skills, to beginning farmers looking to start their own farming operation
GoFarm had 27 individuals enrolled in our Whole Farm Planning Course where participants have learned crucial farming and farm business management skills. Specific classes included:
Orientation to GoFarm's Beginning Farmer Training Program
Realities of Farming Farmer Panel
Mission, Vision, and Values: Defining Your "Why"
Plant Classification
Risk Management for Farmer-Business Owners
Equity and Justice pt. 1
Farm Business Models, Markets, and Pricing
Farm Irrigation and Water Management
Production Planning
Promoting and Branding Your Farm Business
Growing Starts Under Lights
Flower Farming
Preparing Land: Addressing Bed Prep, Tillage and Flipping
Soil Health Panel Discussion
GoFarm’s Beginning Farmer Training Program (BFTP) provided agricultural and entrepreneurial training to aspiring farmers looking to launch their own farm businesses. GoFarm’s BFTP includes a 2-year Incubator Farmer program and the 16-week WFPC. WFPC classes are taught by local farmers, tailoring Western SARE research and other publications to provide regionally-specific guidance for starting a farming business in the Denver metropolitan area. Local farmers further support BFTP participants through GoFarm’s paid mentorship program. In addition to one-on-one mentoring, GoFarm also coordinates 12 on-farm workshops to supplement in-class learning during the WFPC.
Facilitate over 800 hours of mentorship with GoFarm and over 300 hours of post-training mentorships/site visits/skills sharing with WFAN over the course of the project
The project team produced four webinars on various topics that relate to soil health in the Western U.S. which totaled 90 minutes of instruction. Webinar topics include: basic soil biology fundamentals, introduction to building organic matter through cover crops, challenges facing new growers in the West, and specialty food crop production while building soil health. In addition, we produced an accompanying guide summarizes learnings from the webinars.
The following packet of materials was created with diversified speciality crop producers in mind. These regenerative growers – that often push the limits of smaller acreage and full-year farming -- are hungry to build restorative systems that catalyze healthy soils – and also have valuable experiences to offer new farmers in the west.
FACTS webinars combined with workshops and mentorship to provide region-specific recommendations for adopting regenerative agricultural practices. These training and educational events draw on Western SARE research and adapt it to site-specific recommendations to improve the efficiency of regenerative farming practices in the specific microclimate the farmers are operating in.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
The project team facilitated 139 individual consultations totally 388 total hours. These consultations were primarily 1-on-1 meetings between mentor and mentee pairs. In addition, we produced 3 webinars on soil health in the West. Lastly, we hosted 11 workshops during the reporting period covering the following topics:
- Compost-making
- Farm Tour
- Intro to Biological Soil Assessments
- Flower Farming
- Farm Tour
- Meet & Greet with local farmers
- Agricultural Workers Rights
- Chatfield Compost Production Facility Tour
- Seed Saving
- Season Extension
- Compost Tea and Extract Making
In total, 31 farmers and ranchers were engaged across mentorship pairings, workshops, and classes.
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
Through our Whole Farm Planning Course (WFPC) thus far, our class participants have learned crucial farming and farm business management skills. Our workshops have imparted valuable hands-on learning in many aspects of farming. Through our collaboration with local farmer mentors, our participants have gained important and tailored advice from experienced growers. The gathering of participants and mentors has resulted in community-building and the strengthening of our local farm community. GoFarm’s WFPC curriculum will be influenced by the research gathered and presented on during the Western SARE project including webinars.
We will publish the webinars shortly and distribute these to many more farmers via online distribution.