Cultivating Resilience - A Holistic Approach to Small-Scale, Sustainable Farm Success

Commodities

Practices

“Cultivating Resilience - A Holistic Approach to Small-Scale, Sustainable Farm Success” aims to support farm businesses through the start-up years and beyond by providing comprehensive education, training, mentoring, technical assistance, and support services to farmers in the Southern Appalachian mountain region. By implementing a year-round roster of programs, we aim to increase the number of successful beginning and expanding farm enterprises, specifically reaching more than 300 farmers & farm businesses with valuable production, business, marketing, finance, and networking training.

For 31 years, Organic Growers School (OGS) has been dedicated to serving farmers, consistently hearing about their need for specialized, one-on-one support to address specific challenges and create efficient systems that promote longevity, quality of life, and resilience in their farm businesses. This ongoing support prepares farmers to start farming, seize business opportunities, add or change enterprises, secure financing, achieve long-term land tenure, define marketing plans, meet income & quality of life goals, and become more resilient and adaptable in the face of a changing climate.

OGS requests $50,000 to implement programming that provides small farmers in Southern Appalachia with individualized support, comprehensive education, and coaching services to enhance farmer success and sustainability. Our programs are designed synergistically to offer a pipeline of farmer-led training that aligns with Southern SARE's goal to increase and strengthen education efforts in the sustainable agriculture industry and improve farmer quality of life. The suite of programs includes:

1. Organic Crop Management: A multi-part webinar series led by local farmers and agricultural resource specialists. Growers will gain the tools to manage soil health, weeds, pests, and diseases for whole-farm success in organic systems planning and be better prepared to transition to Certified Organic Production.
2. WNC Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT): A farmer-led network and series of on-farm workshops for farmers of all experience levels. Members learn about innovative methods of agroecological production, farm business, and management models.
3. Forest Farming Field Days: Three training sessions for farmers and landowners interested in diversifying their enterprises and income streams by utilizing non-timber forest product resources. Topics include technical, financial, and legal assistance spanning issues of cultivation, ethical harvest, aggregation, sales, and long-term forest farm planning.
4. Farm Beginnings® Farmer Training: A one-year, 200+ hour whole farm business training course for start-up farmers in the first three years of operating a farm business.
5. JourneyPerson Training: A one-year program for farmers in years 4-10, addressing the challenges of farm enterprises past the startup phase with mentorship, technical assistance, and cohort support.

OGS Farmer Programs provide a holistic, systems approach to sustainable land use and management, ecosystem processes, soil health, organic/agroecology production practices, business planning, enterprise development, financial literacy, labor, and marketing centered on the farmer’s quality of life goals. By offering these comprehensive services, OGS will enhance the success and sustainability of small farmers in Southern Appalachia, fostering a resilient and thriving agricultural community.

1. Organic Crop Management: Train 60 farmers through webinars to adopt climate-smart practices, focusing on soil health, weed control, and disease prevention for organic systems planning.
2. CRAFT Farmer Network: Provide practical agroecology experience to 60 farmers and 60 apprentices through 20 on-farm tours and round tables, fostering a farmer-to-farmer support network.
3. Forest Farming Field Days: Educate 120 farmers in 6 workshops on cultivating non-timber forest products.
4. Farm Beginnings® Training: Train 30 beginning farmers through a year-long, 200-hour program in Whole Farm Planning, Financial Planning, Marketing, and Business Management, with mentorship.
5. JourneyPerson Program: Offer advanced training, holistic financial planning, mentorship, and financial support to 16 farmers in years 3-10.
6. Equity & Audience Expansion: Provide sliding scale fees and scholarships, collaborating with regional allies to meet equity needs.