Expanding Opportunities for Community-Based Educational Programs in Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching

Expanding Opportunities for Community-Based Educational Programs in Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching

Summary

The 1997 agricultural census identified 73% of the farms in Washington and 60% of the farms in Idaho as small farms, ranging from 1 to 179 acres. Along with this substantial audience of current small acreage farms, an increasing number of people who would like to farm on small acreages are seeking guidance from county extension educators. Washington and Idaho extension and academic programs available to these audiences are limited, especially in the areas of resource evaluation, financial planning, business management, and direct marketing strategies. From our experience working with small farmers and ranchers, we see the needs of those wanting to start a small farm or ranch enterprise to include goal planning and resource evaluation, an overview of farming and ranching options, and a “real life” look at what other farmers and ranchers are doing.

The Cultivating Success program was developed to provide beginning and existing farmers with the planning and decision-making tools, research skills and support necessary to develop a sustainable small acreage agricultural enterprise. Cultivating Success is unique in that it uses a community-based, experiential approach to learner education.

The overall goal of the Cultivating Success program is to increase the number of economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable small acreage farms and ranches in the Washington and Idaho. To advance this long-term outcome, this project will focus on the following objectives:
1) Increase agricultural professional’s knowledge of concepts and issues related to a sustainable food system and the role that sustainable small acreage producers play in that system; 2) Develop and effectively disseminate an integrated set of sustainable small acreage farming and ranching educational materials to increase the number of sustainable small acreage farming programs; 3) Increase the capacity of agricultural professionals to establish meaningful, experiential, and community-based programs in sustainable small acreage farming and ranching; and 4) Increase the local impacts of sustainable small acreage farming and ranching programs by providing on-going support and technical assistance to extension and other agricultural professionals.

To accomplish these objectives, we propose to 1) develop a complete and easy-to-use curriculum package to encourage use by agricultural professionals in the western region, 2) provide workshop and field course opportunities to broaden perspectives of the food system, 3) provide training and mentoring for agricultural educators so they are able to effectively understand and adopt a community-based, participatory, and experiential learning program to enhance sustainability of small acreage farmers, 4) provide materials and guidance to agricultural professionals about helping farmers to be effective teachers and mentors for on-farm apprentices.

This project involves both formative and summative approaches to evaluate the curriculum, training effectiveness, and increase of knowledge and capacity of extension educators to conduct meaningful educational opportunities for existing and potential small acreage producers. A professional evaluator will help develop effective pre and post tests for workshops and field course, solicit input on the curriculum throughout the project to evaluate and continually refine the materials, and conduct phone interviews six months after the workshops to access the effectiveness of the training and materials.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The overall goal of the Cultivating Success program is to increase the number of economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable small acreage farms and ranches in the Washington and Idaho. To advance this long-term outcome, this project will focus on the following objectives:
1) Increase agricultural professional’s knowledge of concepts and issues related to a sustainable food system and the role that sustainable small acreage producers play in that system; 2) Develop and effectively disseminate an integrated set of sustainable small acreage farming and ranching educational materials to increase the number of sustainable small acreage farming programs; 3) Increase the capacity of agricultural professionals to establish meaningful, experiential and community-based programs in sustainable small acreage farming and ranching; and 4) Increase the local impacts of sustainable small acreage farming and ranching programs by providing on-going support and technical assistance to extension and other agricultural professionals.

Accomplishments/Milestones

One phase of this project is focused on the development of tools to expand the program to other instructors. A draft version of the instructor manual for Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching Overview course has been developed to include learning objectives, lessons plans, assignments/class activities, guest speaker suggestions, resources, and PowerPoint presentations. Suggestions from pilot instructors provided valuable feedback and suggestions for improvement – those changes are currently being incorporated. The student manual was piloted for the first time in fall 2003 and is also being revised.

The Field Analysis of Sustainable Food Systems course was piloted last summer (with other funding). It was attended by six academic students, two non-profit group staff, and two instructors. The course will be offered again this August. The instructor handbook is being developed, the syllabus has been revised, and a reading list for instructor and students compiled. Additional sections being developed include a timeline and suggestions for field stops, description and implementation of the instructional process, and suggested interactive discussion activities. A website for students and instructors is available at http://classes.ces.wsu.edu/soils445/

The On-Farm Apprenticeship course has not yet been piloted to students. A rough draft of the Farmer Mentor manual has been developed and reviewed and is currently being revised. This manual is geared to farmers who want to offer curriculum-based apprenticeships.

Washington and Idaho extension educators who are part of each state’s Extension Small Farm Team were surveyed about their interest and availability for a train-the-trainer workshop related to sustainable food systems, small acreage farming, and use of the Cultivating Success curriculum. The first workshop is scheduled for June 25, 2004, in Renton, Washington. Approximately eight educators will attend this all-day training. This workshop was organized based on critical need for educators wanting to instruct one of the courses this fall.

Other surveyed educators indicated a preference to hold trainings in the fall/winter of 2004/05. These two trainings will be more widely publicized and will be open to interested educators from WA, ID, and other states in the western region.

All workshop attendees will be invited to participate in the weeklong Field Analysis of Sustainable Food Systems course offered this summer (2004) and in 2005. Notices about the field course and invitations to attend have been distributed to all WSU and UI Extension faculty.

The Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching (SSAFR) Overview course was offered through distance education from the on-campus (Moscow) site to two distance locations (Sandpoint and Twin Falls). The program coordinator arranged logistics and contacted instructors in WA and ID before and during the 15-week course to find out how things were going and to ask what assistance they needed. She regularly sent them teaching materials as requested. The UI campus instructor (and CS project team member) regularly communicated through phone and email with new facilitator/instructors at the two distant locations in Idaho.

The Cultivating Success web site has been developed and is available at URL http://cultivatingsuccess.ag.uidaho.edu . We are currently reviewing content and redesigning it based on input. Teaching materials should be available on the website in the fall of 2004.

Flyers about the Cultivating Success program have been mailed to WSU and UI Extension Small Farm Team members, the advisory committee, and other interested individuals. The program coordinator has personally called and talked to 20 educators in Washington and Idaho about the opportunity for the professional development training.

We have extensive evaluation data related to the educational program itself. However, we have not completed our evaluation for this phase of the project focused on expanding the teaching base and developing tools that will assist extension educators and others in delivering the program.

During the first year, we gathered input related to the SSAFR Overview course materials. Phone interviews were conducted with instructors mid way and following the course and input on the content and effectiveness of the course materials was sought. Input has been assessed and changes have been made to the curriculum based on instructors’ input.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

UI and Rural Roots staff members who participated in the Field Analysis of Sustainable Food Systems last summer report that taking this class broadened their perspective on sustainability in agriculture and increased their understanding of our food systems and the factors influencing how our food system functions.

Training done for extension educators in Puyallup and Moscow in June of 2003 resulted in increased understanding of the program and how to effectively offer the course. Four new educators committed to offering a course as the instructor (or as a facilitator at a distance site) in the fall of 2003.

New course instructors for the SSAFR Overview course have indicated how useful the teaching manual is and how it has made it possible for them to offer this course because they would not have time to develop the curriculum themselves. They also appreciate the support from the overall program coordinator who provides support in logistical areas such as registration, advertising, evaluating, and website.

Producers and other students interested in farming or ranching have been overly enthusiastic about this program. All courses have received positive evaluations, and we regularly receive calls from throughout the Inland Northwest about our program and locations.

From June 2003 to July 2004, a total of 209 producers and students took one of four Cultivating Success courses offered in nine different locations throughout Washington and Idaho.

Collaborators: