South Dakota Beginning Farmer Training and Linking Project

South Dakota Beginning Farmer Training and Linking Project

Summary

The South Dakota Farm Beginnings Course began in October 2009 and classes have continued all winter. Currently we have 12 operations taking the course and the classroom portion of the course will be wrapping up shortly. We are having a good response to the request for mentors for course participants and well on the way to producing a Farmer Network document that course members and other farmers can use to find experienced farmers to use as knowledge resources.

We’ve hosted our first farm tour at the Garden Goddess Greenhouse in Milan, MN. This small greenhouse provides winter greens for 18 families mostly through a Community Supported Agriculture arraignment. We have nearly a dozen Farm Beginnings participants and staff attended the farm tour. A short video of our visit can be seen at our website: www.dakotarural.org.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Expected short-term outcomes of the South Dakota Beginning Farmer Training and Linking Program include:
1. Ten to twenty participants (family units) in eastern South Dakota will increase their working knowledge and their skills in goal setting and values clarification, whole farm planning, financial planning, time & money, record keeping, sustainable farming methods, marketing, business planning, and connecting to resources.

Twelve family unit class participants were actively participating in the classroom trainings at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010. Participants met in Brookings, South Dakota bi-monthly between October 2009 and December 2009. The classes continued until March 2010, and the complete coursework included goal setting and values clarification, whole farm planning, financial planning, time & money, record keeping, sustainable farming methods, marketing, business planning, and connecting to resources. Eleven families will graduate from the program in August.

2. Ten to twenty participants (family units) will gain awareness of potential mentors, experienced farmers and ranchers who possess relevant skills and training to support participants’ learning needs.
The establishment of the mentor relationships was not scheduled to take place until after the December 2009 time frame of this report. However, students and trainers were making mentorship connections from the very beginning of the class.

At this time all students have a mentorship relationship with an established sustainable farmer. These mentorships are developed to reflect the needs of the students. Three of these relationships have developed into a linking relationship where the mentor is directly helping the student begin farming.

3. Ten to twenty participants (family units) will increase their awareness of opportunities in South Dakota to obtain land, equipment, or other resources by linking with retiring or continuing farmers and ranchers.

Dakota Rural Action released the Farmer Network booklet with 20 established farmers listed and 11 Farm Beginnings students listed.

4. Dakota Rural Action will have an increased understanding of the needs of beginning and small-scale farmers and ranchers in South Dakota; the challenges of bringing intensive beginning farming training to South Dakota; the effectiveness of using web-based tools to overcome those challenges; and the opportunities and obstacles associated with helping beginning farmers link with retiring and/or existing farmers and rural communities to find land, machinery, and other resources.

Dakota Rural Action has publicized Farm Beginnings in many different ways. Attached are a few clippings from daily newspapers, weekly newspapers and a television station.

Students are using a e-mail list serve to communicate with each other and DRA staff. Many students and mentors are using the SD Local Foods Cooperative as a marketing tool for their products. www.sdlocalfood.org/shop.

At least three of the mentorship relationships have resulted in linking opportunities for Farm Beginnings students. DRA has included a farmer classified section in our newsletter to help Farm Beginning Students and sustainable farmers reach each other and quickly find their needs. One Farm Beginnings student put an advertisement in this forum for chicken equipment and got a quick response that took care of all her needs at a very reduced price.

We’ve also used YouTube and our website to promote a video of our first farm tour at the Garden Goddess Greenhouse in Milan, MN.
I will address intermediate and long term objectives in our final report.

• KMEG Farm Beginnings Story June 09.pdf
• Farm Beginnings 7-31-09.pdf
• 2010 Farmer Network Resource Book
• Brookings Register story announcing Farm Beginnings

Accomplishments/Milestones

• Twelve farm family units participate in the winter classroom Farm Beginnings Course.

  Over 20 sustainable agriculture farmers, extension personnel and experts present at the Farm Beginnings Classroom Courses.

  Two established farmers listed in the Farmer Network Booklet.

  Eleven Farm Beginnings Students listed in the Farmer Network Booklet.
  Raised over $4,500 from rural businesses and supporters for student scholarships.

  Eleven Farm Beginnings student families entered into mentorship relationships with established sustainable farmers.

  At least three Farm Beginnings student families are discussing or involved in linking arrangements with established sustainable farmers.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

One criticism of our program has been the low number of farm families enrolled in our program. There are a couple of responses to this criticism. The first is quality vs. quantity. In 2002, there were almost 25% fewer South Dakota farmers and ranchers under the age of 45 than there had been in 1997. (USDA-NASS, 2004) This is an alarming rate of loss. A program with strong result like Farm Beginnings helps move real people into agriculture in a successful way.

Secondly, this program also needs to be evaluated at least in part along with the other work of Dakota Rural Action.

Our South Dakota Local Food Cooperative is entering is second active month. During the first month nearly $1,500 worth of food and products were sold through this new venue. Over 50 members have joined the coop and the coop currently has drop sites in Brookings and Sioux Falls. June will be the second month of operation for the cooperative.

Dakota Rural Action’s third edition of the Local Food Directory was released this spring and has over 100 producers and farmers markets listed within it’s pages. This simple booklet helps bring together direct market producers and consumers.

We are beginning to work on farm to school programs to help bring locally raised food to our schools.

Dakota Rural Action has a strong base of members across the state supporting these programs. We have over 500 memberships representing 790 people.

Collaborators: