Learning on the Land: A Texas Farm-Based Education Handbook

Commodities

Practices

The purpose of this project is to
teach Texas farmers how to host successful, educational youth
programming on their farm by co-developing a comprehensive
handbook and field testing its contents. The vision for the
Farm-Based Education Handbook stems from direct inquiries from
Texas farmers looking for support in expanding their offerings.
This handbook will be co-developed by the Texas Center for Local
Food (TCLF) and a team of diverse Texas farmers who represent a
range of backgrounds and skill sets, including  those new to
farm-based education and those who already run successful
programing. The team will craft the learning objectives, content
outline, and review the handbook at different points of
completion. 

The Texas Farm-Based Education
Handbook will guide curious, community-minded farmers through a
step-by-step process in creating successful farm-based education
events. These events may include field trips, summer camps, and
more. Handbook contents will be informed by farmer feedback, but
we expect to include three sections: (1) Youth engagement
strategies, (2) Farm exploration curriculum, and (3) Sample
recipes. Our goal is to build an easily customizable curriculum
broad enough to cover different operational farm types and
regions across Texas. The curriculum will be modular, and
accommodating to farms with limited resources, as lessons will
not require specialized equipment or materials beyond common farm
and household items. The handbook will also cover how to connect
with student/youth groups, practical marketing tips, and example
outreach materials. The handbook will be informed by, and
complimentary to, two introductory Agritourism business courses
on TXFED.org, TCLF’s online learning network. 

The Texas Farm-Based Education
Handbook contributes to two of SARE’s sustainability pillars:
profitability and quality of life. Farm-based education is a
valuable opportunity for farmers to generate revenue, diversify
income streams, and build community connections.

Farmers will be actively engaged
throughout the process; TCLF will host two field day gatherings,
reaching approximately 40 farmers to evaluate and improve the
contents of the Texas Farm-Based Education Handbook. The
field-day gatherings will be held at two different central Texas
farm sites and be educational opportunities for farmers
interested in learning how to host youth programs and wondering
where to start. There will be ample time included at these field
days to gather feedback from participants on the accessibility
and applicability of the handbook’s curriculum. 

Throughout the project, TCLF will
conduct outreach to disseminate the handbook and share lessons
learned to a broader audience of Texas farmers and educators,
reaching at least 100 people before the project end date. The
final version of the handbook will be available as a free PDF
download in Spanish and English. 

Equity is a critical part of our
mission and has been intentionally designed into all of our
programs. For the Texas Farm-Based Education Handbook, we will
center diversity, equity, and inclusion in several ways: ensuring
engagement and participation of historically underserved
producers, prioritizing Spanish translation and outreach,
ensuring the handbook and promotional materials follow
accessibility standards, and covering materials, examples, and
considerations for a diversity of farms and ranches.

1. Collaboratively develop a Texas
   Farm-Based Education Handbook with a team of four Texas
   farmers.
2. Host two field day gatherings reaching an expected 40 farmers
   to evaluate and improve the contents of the Texas Farm-Based
   Education Handbook.
3. Conduct outreach to disseminate the handbook and share
   lessons learned to a broader audience of Texas farmers and
   agricultural educators, reaching at least 100 people before the
   project end date.