Improving the viability of beginning farm enterprises by strengthening Northeastern farm incubator projects

Improving the viability of beginning farm enterprises by strengthening Northeastern farm incubator projects

Summary

While interest in sustainable farming is growing throughout the Northeast, resources, services and support for beginning farmers (BFs) can be piecemeal and sporadically offered. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition reports three major challenges faced by BFs; access to land, access to capital, and access to education. BFs lack opportunities to try their hand at farming with minimal risk, while access to land and capital infrastructure can seem out of reach in the Northeast due to high land prices. The experiential education offered on Incubator Farm Projects (IFPs) can be accessed while earning income from a farm business. The approximately 25 incubators located in the Northeast are an accessible training model for the hundreds of beginning farmers who can’t afford to take advantage of university-based programs or those with high tuitions; especially for socially disadvantaged producers, low-income individuals, immigrants, and refugees. IFP farmers can get the tools and resources they need to be successful, and the increase in demand for IFPs in recent years demonstrates that they fill an important role in BF training, particularly as learning to farm on the family homestead becomes a thing of the past. IFPs address challenges faced by BFs by providing land access, equipment and infrastructure, and farm-based education. These programs are relatively new and highly specialized; requiring tailored professional development to ensure effective project administration. 

As beneficial for BFs as IFPs can be, farmers ultimately enroll in IFPs to become independent business owners. IFPs can do a better job of transitioning BFs with the financial literacy and business acumen they need to transition to successful, independent operation. Most IFPs focus on basic production and marketing skills – Incubator Project Staff (IPS) know how to teach someone to grow and sell a wide variety of produce, but may not be as well versed in analyzing detailed financial records and navigating the complex fields of applying for credit and leasing land. Transitioning farmers onto their own operations requires the capacity to assess farmers’ knowledge base upon entering the program and move them along clear benchmarks towards desired outcomes.

This project will engage approximately 40 IPS from 20 IFPs in comprehensive trainings to develop rigorous evaluation tools and transition farmers off the training site. Through 4 field schools, follow up online meetings, online resources, and a facilitated community of practice, IPS will learn how to establish goals and clear metrics that lead to improved services. Farmers will access higher quality training and support through IFPs, making them more likely to achieve their goals and graduate fully equipped to succeed as independent business owners.

Objectives/Performance Targets

40 staff of 20 Incubator Farm Projects (IFPs) develops standardized performance metrics, evaluation tools and data collection methodology related to key program educational components, and uses these tools to improve the quality/quantity of educational programs and resources provided to 250 farmers.

20 staff from 10 FIPs uses the new tools and methods to document the progress towards independence of 100 farmers via established benchmarks re: sustainable practices, yields, incomes, and access to capital, infrastructure and farmland.

Accomplishments/Milestones

1. 60+ staff and partners of 26 incubators receive notices about this initiative, including specific training and technical assistance (T&TA) agendas and 2-year activity timetables

We sent outreach materials about this initiative in June and October of 2014 to our national list serve of over 200 IFPs across the country, and then sent targeted emails to 55 individual contacts at 36 IFPs that we are aware of (some of which may not still be in operation) throughout the Northeast. We also followed up with phone calls to projects within the Northeast that did not respond to emails. All outreach recipients were sent our milestones, links to sign up for the initiative, and an invitation to register for the project orientation. This general outreach was in addition to our specific calls to incubators that will be hosting our field schools and serving on the project advisory committee.

2. 20 incubators apply to the program and are accepted as project participants

We received applications from 24 participants from 15 IFPs. Additional projects expressed interest in engaging with the project and we anticipate more will come on board as we progress through the project activities.

3. 40+ staff and partners from 20 incubators sign agreements to participate in 2-year program, including field schools, web meetings, implementation, consistent tracking, and reporting

In the early stages of the project we received commitment letters from 18 core participants from 10 incubators, and 6 additional participants from 5 incubators who have agreed to engage at a more limited level. This was a total of 24 participants from 15 incubators.

 The participant pool has thinned slightly since original commitments were made, but the number of projects increased from the first Field School to the second. The first Field School on the topic of Basic Financial Literacy was attended by 20 IPS from 11 projects. The second Field School on the topic of Advanced Financial Literacy was attended by 17 IPS from 13 projects.

 Currently, the level of participation is adequate for the development of shared metrics and piloting of a shared process for evaluation. As we refine the tools that we’ve developed as a group, we anticipate meeting our performance target as additional staff and incubators come on board to participate in events and utilize shared evaluation tools. 

4. 20+ incubator staff and partners from 10 incubators attend project orientation meeting at NESAWG pre-conference session to provide feedback and finalize benchmarks

NESAWG session had limited interest from participants – due in part to an exceptionally busy conference season and limited program resources – so we cancelled it in favor of a webinar-based orientation call which took place on November 12, 2014. We had 13 participants on the webinar from as many organizations, exceeding our target goal for organization attendance, but not for individual staff. We expect that each incubator project only felt the need to have one staff person attend. We received excellent feedback from incubator staff on the two outcome survey drafts we circulated for feedback in advance of the webinar and also were able to answer questions regarding program logistics.

5. 40+ incubator staff and partners form 20 incubators participate in 4 field schools over 2 years that primarily address farmer transition and incubator and farmer metrics (as described)

Northeast IFPs gathered for two Field Schools in 2015. The third Field School is scheduled to take place at The Seed Farm on April 14-15, 2016. Each Field School consists of a day and a half of training and workshops, and a half day reserved for a farmer panel and incubator farm tour.

The first Field School, hosted in Portland, Maine on May 7-8^th, focused on the topic of Basic Financial Literacy. The agenda is attached. Julia Shanks, a food system consultant based out of MA, provided an interactive training on the basic components of Financial Literacy. Claude Rwaganje of Community Financial Literacy, presented on his partnership with Cultivating Community and how he has worked with their refugee farmers to develop important financial and business planning skills. A panel of funders from diverse organizations presented on what characteristics they look for in a farmer when considering providing them with a loan.  

After these trainings, participants began the process of developing a shared language of evaluation by participating in a brainstorm. The prompt for this activity was to “imagine what financial literacy related connections resources documents and skills a farmer should possess upon graduation from the incubator.” This engendered a lively discussion on what IFPs should be expected to deliver to their participants by way of training and technical assistance. The results of this brainstorm were used to develop a sorting survey, through which core metrics were identified.

NIFTI staff worked with a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) consultant, Lydia Oberholtzer, to help break down core metrics into area, aspect, internal or external measurements, and how to measure. Final metrics will aid evaluation at two levels of detail:

National Level: gauge trends in IFP programming, illustrate collective impact and assist NIFTI in developing relevant training materials.

Program Level: determine efficacy of programs and the skills/knowledge gained by participants, assist program in developing strong curriculum and training.

The second Field School, hosted in Burlington, VT on September 10-11^th, 2015 focused on the topic of Advanced Financial Literacy. Mark Cannella, from UVM Extension, provided a workshop on Financial Literacy, with a detailed breakdown of the documents and skills necessary to instill strong financial management in beginning farmers. Nick Bullock of Yankee Farm Credit shared information on farmer preparedness for loans.

 After the skills-based trainings, attendees participated in a showcase of their existing evaluation processes and a workshop on developing program-level metrics in the previously agreed up on core areas. Workshop time was structured around the following questions:

 “How are Incubator Farm Projects currently evaluating their programs?”

“How can we incorporate shared metrics into existing evaluation practices?”

“How can we collect information on shared metrics?”

 Prior to the training, each project developed an Evaluation Process Map. These were shared and discussed.  A group activity was used to formulate program level metrics, and these were workshopped collectively. The result of this exercise was the basis for the “Framework for Shared Measurement”, which is currently being piloted by the IFPs.

6. 20 incubator staff and partners use tracking materials to establish baseline metrics on multiple project elements (programs, admin., farmer outcomes)

The original baseline survey distributed by NIFTI was completed by all participating projects. Feedback related to this survey was mixed, with many projects reporting that certain information was difficult or impossible to gather, and that the survey was too time consuming and not user friendly.

In response to this feedback, the survey has been simplified and will be combined with the collaboratively developed Incubator Farm Project Report. The Incubator Farm Project Report is based upon the Framework for Shared Measurement and makes use of mutually agreed upon core metrics.

The Incubator Farm Project Report is due from all projects by February 26^th, and results and feedback will be shared on a web meeting.

7. 20 incubator staff & partners together with 100 farmers develop farming transition goals and developmental benchmarks with farmers to track over project period & beyond

 The 11 projects that participated in the first field school serve a total of 250 beginning farmers. These projects participated in collaborative activities to develop core metrics of farmer success. These core metrics are currently being piloted in the form of evaluation surveys, and farmer feedback is encouraged during this phase. Once the core metrics have been vetted, IPS will discuss reasonable benchmarks for their attainment. The third Field School, to be held April 14-15^th, will focus workshop time on developing farmer transition goals based on a shared definition of success.

 8.  40 incubator staff & partners participate in web forums, technical assistance exchanges, to help implement multiple tracking metrics and farmer transition
planning steps.

AND

9.  40 incubator staff & partners use organized online and informal meetings and communications for shared learning and peer-based networking (Community of Practice)

Our first webinar, “Teaching Financial Literacy to Beginning Farmers” was attended by 12 IPS from 7 of our core participants and was subsequently viewed online by all beneficiaries.

Three web meetings have been held for participants.

Meeting 1 | 11/12/14

A brief orientation to the project, target milestones, and participant expectations.

Meeting 2 | 8/11/15

https://tufts.webex.com/tufts/ldr.php?RCID=ba8971d0208f6945ea80c7c6790d6cbc

This meeting served to recap the evaluation work done at the first Field School, and outline the process for refining the original brainstorm into core metrics. This meeting also presented the central questions to be explored at the second Field School.

Meeting 3 | 11/20/15

https://tufts.webex.com/tufts/ldr.php?RCID=ae6b9d325ff20703c2b616233148f1c1

This meeting served to review the Draft Framework for Shared Measurement, which is the product of the collaborative M&E work conducted at the first two Field Schools.

10. 20+ incubator staff & partners contribute content to be posted to centralized resources clearinghouse

All participating IFPs have submitted their existing evaluation tools and evaluation process maps, as well as the tools they use to teach financial literacy. NIFTI staff is in the process of uploading these resources, totaling over 30, to the NIFTI resource library.

The Framework for Shared Measurement, which is the culmination of IFP work at the first two Field Schools, will be added to the resource library once it is piloted and reviewed by IFPs. This is anticipated to be completed by summer of 2016.

11. 50+ incubator staff & partners access and use downloadable manuals and toolkits, interactive forums, webinar recordings, and FAQs organized by topic area

Over 200 resource materials are available on our website in a searchable database. IFP staff has been notified that they have access to these resources, although we have not yet measured their utilization.

12. 20 incubator staff & partners apply tools, skills, and other shared experiences to incubator and farmer development activities

The staff of IFPs involved in the Field School has reported specific ways in which they intend to utilize the trainings received. A follow up survey, to be administered in the spring, will track progress of program development. The following list describes intended program changes resulting from the professional development trainings offered at each Field School.

 Field School 1| Basic Financial Literacy

• I’ll incorporate financial literacy into our training program!
• I will work with our incubators on cash flow planning and other financial statements as they determine if they can transition out on to certain properties
• We will modify the type of information we collect from farmers on the Incubator; how we teach accounting/record keeping; and our expectations for graduating farmers.
• We’re hoping to incorporate workshops on financial literacy and accessing credit into our educational programming and Winter Conference.
• I really like the idea of collaborating with someone from the communities of farmers we work with to teach financial literacy in a way that is also relevant to farming and small business management. Thanks to the access to capital panel, I also have a better sense of when a farmer might need to be referred to expert help and what makes them more ready to apply for a loan.
• Our brainstorming of metrics set out for me a list of documents and skills to incorporate into our program.
• It helped me improve my financial literacy knowledge so I can work on those statements with farmers when they are planning a transition out on to a new farm.
• We have a clearer idea of the types of documents that farmers should be creating and we can outline that during the admissions process. If we require more information from them, like financial statements, we will be able to identify problem areas earlier in the process.
• Lessons will inform our evaluation strategy, which will shine a light on how we are doing towards learning goals. Lessons will also help us in how we direct participants to appropriate financial assistance.

Field School 2| Advanced Financial Literacy

• Suggestion of more business and financial literacy focus/more balance between farm skills training and business skills training.
• The intake, mid-term and exit evaluations will be incorporated into our plans, as will the importance of developing cash flow and Balance sheets during early part of incubatee training. Developing evaluation metrics will help to lay out clear objectives.
• I plan to have my incubator participants complete an annual balance sheet now so that I can see how their equity is growing in addition to their gross sales and net profit.
• Recognizing that creating a local food distribution system is challenging even in a foodie town in a foodie state, our program staff will be more active in facilitating relationships between farmers and local markets rather than putting all the responsibility on incubator farmers. Customized versions of the financial literacy tools shared at the Field School will soon be part of our farmer training program. Quantifiable evaluation metrics will soon be part of our program.
• Both the presentations and the comments by other incubator managers gave me a list of elements to incorporate into my program (Require balance sheets from Day 1; cultivate mentoring relationships; Intake survey to determine baseline…)
• I plan to create an ongoing evaluation process for our incubator farmers and other trainees to track their skills, goals, and progress. I hope that it will serve as a tool for both the trainees to track themselves over time, and for staff to understand how to be most helpful for each trainee.
• The basics of financial statements will be incorporated at earlier stages of the program and be used to build measureable goals
• Tracking the knowledge, skills, resources that each participant is gaining, and comparing them to the knowledge, skills, resources that are needed based on their long-term goals

13. 20 incubator staff complete and submit tracking data and project reports on agreed-to schedules that show progress in multiple domains

Baseline data has been collected. Analysis is forthcoming.

14. 20 incubator staff with some farmers develop and circulate case studies and success stories demonstrating qualitative changes to projects and farmers’ transitions’ to independence

Not yet begun

15. 20 incubator staff submit final evaluation data and reports summarizing metrics

Not yet begun

16. 20 incubator staff prepares final summary report describing project, goals, strategies, and outcomes; circulates widely

Not yet begun

• Portland, Maine Field School Packet
• Burlington, VT Field School Packet
• Framework for Shared Measurement

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Two Field Schools have resulted in increased knowledge of IPS on the components of financial literacy and strategies for teaching financial literacy to beginning farmers, as well as how to reinforce financial literacy lessons within the IFP program structure. With participating projects serving over 250 farmers, the impact of this work is multiplied well beyond the number of people in attendance at each Field School or web meeting.

On average between the two Field Schools, participants report that:

91% strongly agree or agree that this training increased their understanding of basic financial literacy.

90% strongly agree or agree that they will incorporate lessons from this training into their Incubator Project’s program.

91% strongly agree or agree that this training increased their understanding of metrics and evaluation.

100% strongly agree that the lessons from this training will strengthen their organization’s ability to help farmers achieve their transition goals.

The most tangible outcome of this training is the Draft Framework for Shared Measurement. This is the first step towards developing a common evaluation instrument with core metrics for IFPs nationwide. A reporting protocol is currently being developed to facilitate data gathering related to this tool. Once the pilot phase is completed in late February, further analysis of the impact of this resource will be possible.

Collaborators: