2013 Annual Report for ENE13-127
Breaking Barriers: Building Capacity to Provide Tractor Education
Summary
To succeed, farmers must understand the equipment needs of their enterprise, how these needs may change as the business grows, and how to meet these needs safely and efficiently. Unskilled equipment operation can put farmers at serious physical and financial risk. Lack of knowledge about farm equipment can limit farm scale and productivity, and therefore the farm’s ability to provide a sustainable family income.
Yet, new farmers increasingly come from non-farm backgrounds and have limited experience with machinery. Equipment, for example, was the second-most common challenge (after time management) identified by 140 Northeast beginning farmers who answered an open-ended question in a 2010 survey. In a fall 2012 survey, over 90% of 53 beginning farmer respondents indicated that inadequate tractor education was a barrier to the development of their current or planned farm businesses. Over 60% indicated they would need substantial training in tractor use and safety to feel competent, and over 80% indicated they would need substantial training in tractor maintenance and mechanization strategies to feel competent.
In many places, access to tractor education is limited. In Vermont, tractor education programs are primarily geared to youth seeking farm employment; the old model of Extension agents sharing the latest tractor and mechanization information on farms has practically disappeared.
This capacity-building project will develop a new, collaborative model for providing tractor education. It will train and support 40 agricultural service providers— including representatives from Extension, agricultural nonprofit organizations and educational institutions, state and federal agricultural agencies, vocational/technical education center staff and experienced farmers—to work across organizations to deliver education that helps farmers gain practical skills, realistically assess and communicate their equipment needs, and make informed decisions, all of which will improve farmers’ efficiency, safety and satisfaction with their businesses. Through online learning hands-on training, and follow-up support, participants will gain skills, knowledge and understanding, enabling them to offer comprehensive farm mechanization training for farmers.
After completing training, participants will gain experience as paid trainers themselves through two farmer trainings organized by project staff. Participants will receive ongoing support to work one-on-one with farmers on mechanization strategies, and to organize future trainings.
Objectives/Performance Targets
20 agricultural service providers work in teams to deliver tractor safety, use, maintenance and farm mechanization education to 108 farmers and farm workers; 12 service providers work individually with 40 farmers on farm mechanization plans; 2 collaborating organizations incorporate the tractor education curriculum into their ongoing adult education program.
Accomplishments/Milestones
During this reporting year (Oct-Dec. 2013), we completed outreach and promotion to recruit project participants and are poised to begin training in early 2014. We named the program “Ground Work.”
Sixty-four agricultural service providers and educators applied to participate. We accepted 43 people. The resulting group is diverse in terms of geography, their prior skills and experience, and the types of farm audiences they deliver education and technical assistance to. Based on feedback from the project team and key stakeholders, we modified our schedule so that Year 1 online and in-person training will be completed by July, and participants could start working with farm audiences in the fall of 2014.
We have also established the Ground Work Website, which will be home to an online resource hub for tractor and mechanization information.
Because tractor and mechanization questions were included in beginning farmer surveys we conducted in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013, it made more sense to complete the project’s in-depth interviews with key stakeholders before conducting another farmer survey. The survey responses will inform the development of farmer-oriented resources. The project team also felt it made more sense to focus our service provider needs assessment on project participants.
Milestone: 160 agricultural service providers and 380 farmers learn about the tractor education program and receive an online survey about their learning needs and current level of knowledge. (Oct-Nov. 2013)
Accomplishments: Using list-servs, e-newsletters, direct email, and hand-outs at events and conferences, we distributed registration and program information to an estimated 500 agricultural service providers, ag educators and farmer educators in Vermont and the 12 Northeast states.
Milestone: Fifty service providers and 90 farmers respond to the survey; eight service providers and 12 farmers participate in in-depth interviews. (Dec 2013)
Accomplishments: 64 agricultural educators and service providers responded to promotion by applying to participate in the program. In-depth interviews have been conducted with 8 agricultural service providers/educators and one farmer. The remaining interviews will be completed in early 2014.
Milestone: 36 ag service providers (who include 6 farmer educators) submit applications to participate in the program.
Accomplishments: We selected 43 individuals as program participants. Additionally, two applicants will participate in the project as co-trainers. All 45 will complete an online needs assessment survey by Jan. 10, 2014. Everyone who was not accepted into the program has been invited to make use of the online resources we will be developing.
The group includes individuals from MA (3), ME (2); NH (3), NY (11), PA (1), RI (1), and VT (22).
Participants’ primary affiliation/occupation: Extension/Land Grant University personnel (9), farmers (4), managers of commercial and educational farms (5), nonprofit organization personnel (12), instructors from high school technical education centers (4), and instructors from college educational farms (3).
Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes
Collaborators:
Community and Agriculture Program Coordinator
University of Vermont Extension
617 Comstock Rd.
Berlin, VT 05602
Office Phone: 8022232389
Website: http://www.uvm.edu/newfarmer
Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Agricultural Safety and Health
The Pennsylvania State University
221 Agricultural Engineering
University Park, PA 16802
Office Phone: 8148657157
Website: http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-safety
Extension Specialist: Maple and Farm Safety
University of Vermont Extension
29 Sunset Dr., Suite 2
Morrisville, VT 05661
Office Phone: 8028884972
Extension Community Development Specialist
University of Vermont Extension
617 Comstock Rd.
Berlin, VT 05602
Office Phone: 8022232389