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 aims to 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 2year 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 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.

The third and fourth Field Schools on the topic of Access to Capital and Access to land were attended by 12 IPS from 7 projects. Reduced participation is attributable to staff turnover in four of the organizations committed at the onset of the grant, the decision of one of the participating organizations to re-structure their training program away from the incubator model, and the shutting down of another project originally committed.  In order to manage these disruptions, we worked to onboard the new staff at partner organizations through one-on-one calls and follow up, which did lead to continued participation from two projects; however the original number of committed staff is still below our original expectations.

However, with the expansion of the evaluation tool pilot to the national IFP community, we have been able to establish a level of participation (19 projects) adequate for piloting the tool for shared measurement that was developed by Northeast incubators. This exceeds our original goal of ten projects.  As we refine the tools that we’ve developed as a group, and complete case studies, we anticipate meeting our performance target as additional staff and incubators come on board to 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 and two Field Schools in 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, 2015 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.  The next day, a field trip and farmer panel took place at Cultivating Community’s incubator farm in Lewiston, Maine.

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.  A farm tour of the Intervale Center’s incubator farm program showcased their Food Hub, Equipment Cooperative and infrastructure for farmers.  A farmer panel also showcased their engagement with the Incubator and services received.

 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 upon 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”. The “Framework for Shared Measurement” was piloted by four projects over the winter of 2015.  Incubator Farm Project Reports were submitted, which report on aggregated responses to participant surveys.

The third Field School held April 14-15, in Emmaus, PA, focused on the topic of Access to Capital. Amanda Knackstedt from Farm Credit presented on lender perspectives on access to capital, focusing on what lenders expect from farmers when applying for financing, and how lenders can work with farmers to demystify the process of successfully obtaining startup capital. Lyn Franklin Klime from Penn State Extension presented on lessons learned from his time supporting beginning farmers at PSU, and focused on how to best work with farmers to access capital. Finally, Rachel Armstrong from Farm Commons presented on the legal dimensions of access to capital, and focused particularly on alternative methods for accessing capital, such as personal loans. 

On day two, participants worked to refine metrics related to access to capital, and provided feedback on the process of piloting the Framework for Shared Measurement. We adjusted language and order of questions based on feedback in preparation for the expanded pilot. A field trip to the Seed Farm incubator and apprenticeship training program and farmer participant panel showcased their approach and operations.

The fourth Field School was held in Cold Spring, NY on October 6-7^th,2016.  On the first day, we heard from Terrence Duvall of the Columbia Land Conservancy on options for land access and preservation for beginning farmers, as well as some of the pressures on land that are resulting in limited access to farmland. We received practical training from Jim Hafner of Land for Good on available resources, tools and partnerships for land access, and Noelle Fogg from New Entry discussed the process of working with farmers to set goals related to land access and their transition off the incubator.

On day two, we worked to develop metrics on access to land, and incorporate them into the existing Framework for Shared Measurement. This marked the completion of our work developing the tool in preparation for the national pilot.  A field trip to Glynwood Farm’s livestock incubator program and farmer panel featuring two livestock operations and a composting business gave participants a different enterprise perspective on the role of farm business incubators.

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 is 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 was piloted by four projects in the Northeast over the winter of 2015, and collected responses from 23 farmers. Because of the limited number of participants in this pilot, the tool has been released for a national pilot, and is currently being tested by nineteen IFPs. Incubator Farm Reports will be submitted to NIFTI on January 20^th, 2017 at which time we will be able to determine how many farmers and how many programs in the Northeast participated in the expanded pilot.

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 by 19 projects in the form of evaluation surveys, and farmer feedback is encouraged during this phase. Once the pilot is complete, IPS will discuss reasonable benchmarks for farmer progress.  A national call, planned for January 31^st, 2017 will gather all projects who participate in the pilot to discuss these benchmarks.  A national webinar based on the results of the evaluation survey will be held in late February 2017.

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.

Six web meetings have been held for project participants.

Meeting 1 | 11/12/14

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

Meeting 2 | 8/11/15

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

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.

Meeting 4| 3/28/2016

This call was opened to Northeast Incubators at large and reviewed the regional work that had happened to date, and opportunities for collaboration moving forward. On this call, recruitment and farmer assessment were identified as needs, and the linkages between these two topics were explored.

Meeting 5 | 8/11/16

This meeting was a training focused on Recruiting Prospective Farmers for participation on the incubator project. Identifying appropriate participants with the right combinations of skills and experience was determined by the group to be the first step in developing a useful evaluation process, because farmers coming in with similar capabilities are able to be measured by the same scales and systems.

Meeting 6 | 11/29/2016

This meeting focused on program updates, summaries from the National and Regional Field Schools, a review of the Framework for Shared Measurement, and discussion on how projects have improved/adapted their programs based on learnings from NIFTI gatherings.

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. These resources, totaling over 30 have been uploaded to the NIFTI resource library.

The Framework for Shared Measurement, which is the culmination of IFP work at the Field Schools, will be added to the resource library once it is piloted and reviewed by IFPs. Case studies related to farmer transition, which will be completed by spring 2017, will also be included in the NIFTI resource library, and shared widely.

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. The framework for shared measurement has been distributed to the national listserv of 281 IPS and was presented to over 20 IPS at the NIFTI National Field School on October 26^th , 2016 in Ann Arbor, MI. Once the Framework for Shared Measurement national pilot is complete, we will be able to track downloads from our site of this tool and the case studies generated from work in the Northeast.

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 receive. 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

Field School 3 | Access to Capital

• Ideally we will be better able to guide them through the process of accessing loans and other monies that can aid in the growth of their business. And if that goes well the hope would be that farmers could take the work we have done with them and use it to continue to grow their business even after they have left the incubator.
• Program staff feels better able to discuss the types of financing available and the procedures for obtaining that financing.
• Most farmers need access to credit to transition off the incubator or to invest in capital equipment. Better understanding the various programs and requirements is useful.

Field School 4 | Access to Land

• I’ve already used what I’ve learned at the training as I’m working with some land owners to set up a possible farming site. I also feel as if I can help my coworkers who are in charge of land acquirement in my organization with the knowledge I gain at the conference. The survey has also laid out an important resource to consider from everything from making business plans to assessing our program.
• At this point in time, the information will be archived. It is my goal that it will be revisited when the time is right, which will be when the planning process occurs. We are not there as of yet.
• Land access is a perpetual challenge for our program – the new perspectives, ideas, techniques, and reflections that emerged from this discussion will help us think about how to move forward organizationally and how to communicate these challenges with participants.
• We are actively involved in land access efforts in our region. The field school gave me some ideas for taking this a bit further, in particular @ the idea of mentoring/fee for service work that, I believe, will improve satisfactory matchmaking between landowners and farmers, and create more lasting relationships.
• The Intervale Center will continue to strengthen our land linking website by trying to add farmer profiles and make the website more user friendly. We may also incorporate New Entry’s land seeker questionnaire in to our current list of questions we ask for from land seekers. We will also work to collaborate more with funders like the Russel Foundation to leverage money to help farmers access land.
• We learned about methods and tools that will be useful in shaping conversations with farmers about what options are open to them re: land transition and access.

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. We have identified projects that are willing to work with NIFTI to develop case studies, and will pursue this objective throughout the winter months, for completion in the spring 2017.

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

Not yet begun, this will be finalized on January 20^th, 2017.

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

Not yet begun, this will be completed by spring of 2017.

Attachments:

NE NIFTI Packet NY

Field School Packet PA

PILOT Framework for Shared Measurement Exercise

• Portland, Maine Field School Packet
• Burlington, VT Field School Packet

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Two Field Schools in 2015 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. In 2016, two Field Schools resulted in increased knowledge of IPS on options for working with beginning farmers to access land and capital. 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.

On average between the two 2015 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 2016 Field Schools received the following evaluation:

100% agree that this training increased their understanding of financing options for farmers.

100% strongly agree or agree that this training increased their understanding of land access options for farmers.

100% strongly agree or agree that they will incorporate lessons from these trainings into their Incubator Project’s program.

100% strongly agree or 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. The Framework for Shared measurement has been widely received by IFPs as a useful tool, and in many cases it is the only formal evaluation that projects will administer to measure farmer progress towards non-production related goals. The tool was presented at the NIFTI National Field School to an audience of over 20 projects, 15 of whom signed up to pilot the tool, bringing our national total of participating organizations to 19, which is above our regional goal of 10.

This tool is useful on many levels to both established and start-up IFPs. Established projects are able to identify areas of strength and weakness within their programs, and determine if there are core areas of farmer learning, which will be critical to a farmer’s successful transition off of the incubator, that are not being addressed.  For example, very few incubators include education about a land search plan in their curriculum. Using the shared framework, projects will be able to identify that this is not something they are adequately addressing. When they report up to NIFTI on this finding, using the annual Incubator Farm Report, we will be able to direct them to resources shared by Jim Hafner at the fourth Field School which are designed to assist farmers in independently developing a land use plan.

For start-up projects, the Framework for Shared Measurement can be used as a template for building out a curriculum and identifying key partnerships. Each of the core metrics in the categories of connections, resources, farm documents and skills can be used as criteria for curriculum development. In areas where the necessary resources or expertise do not exist in house, outside partnerships or resources can be used to fill in gaps. Currently, NIFTI is working on regional partnership and activity guides that will assist IFPs in this process.

Once the national pilot phase is completed in late January, further analysis of the impact of this resource will be possible. A review of the pilot process will include both farmer and IPS feedback.

In addition to the Framework for Shared Measurement, this regional effort has resulted in the creation of a Guide to Incubator Farm Projects. The decision to create this guide resulted from evaluation discussions which identified the need to attract qualified participants who are well-suited to the projects in which they are participating. Recognizing the diversity of projects throughout the Northeast, the group identified the usefulness of a guide which shares program profiles and application information, including a description of desired participants. In order to create this guide, NIFTI organized a marketing and branding training for IPS, which was conducted by Myrna Greenfield of Good Egg Marketing. After participation in this training, projects worked to complete a profile that describes their program’s unique characteristics. This guide is currently being compiled by a graphic design assistant, and will be complete in late January 2017. Once complete, the guide will be widely distributed as an outreach and recruitment tool, and will also be used by IFPs to shepherd flexible applicants to the project that is the best fit for them. By working together on this project, IFPs hope to retain all potential incubator participants (New England’s farmers of the future!) by expanding their options.

Collaborators: