Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, extension, mentoring, networking, technical assistance, workshop
Proposal abstract:
Michigan Initiative 1: Strengthening the Success and Sustainability of Beginning Farmers
Michigan Initiative 2: Building Sustainable Agriculture Capacity with Historically Underserved Audiences
Michigan Initiative 3: Advancing Sustainable Approaches to Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.
Project objectives from proposal:
Michigan Initiative 1: Strengthening the Success and Sustainability of Beginning Farmers
One of our initiatives will focus on “beginning farmers and ranchers.” The 2022 MSU Beginning Farmer Survey of over 400 beginning farmers stressed that the 3 highest-rated ways to learn about farming are from mentors, farm visits, and farmer networks. SARE will fund mentor training and mentorship activities. SARE will offer travel scholarships for farm visits and support farmer networks with mini-grants. SARE will work with MSU programs such as the Beginning Farmers DEMaND series, Farm Recordkeeping for the Global Majority, as well as non-profits throughout the state that support beginning farmers. SARE will also support SARE grant applicants working on projects important to beginning farmers, including those to create apprenticeship opportunities and train farmers.
During the two-year plan of work period, we will offer SARE-funded travel scholarships, and where appropriate, mini-grant support to further educational programming that increases the sustainability and success of beginning farmers and ranchers.
Activities
- Funds will be used to support mini-grant projects and programs to:
- Identify, compile, and promote online resources for educators and beginning farmers.
- Marketing mini-grants to small nonprofits and other organizations with a train-the-trainer focus, conference track, peer-to-peer networking, and mentoring
- Develop and implement online and in-person education for the professional development of beginning farmer educators and food hub leaders.
- Sponsor activities that promote beginning farmer networks, mentorship, peer networks, and regional workshops (training for MSUE and other educators to manage networks and work with farmers to fund the direct work of peer-to-peer networking)
- PDP for educators of beginning farmers and food hubs through meetings and workshops.
- Funds will be used to support professional development travel scholarships:
- One regional delegation planning meeting per year.
- Two educators/year to attend a national or regional beginning farmer conference.
Expected Outcomes
- 25 educators will be trained in beginning farmer development topics
- 20 educators will use new information to answer client questions and address local issues.
- 20 educators and farmers will develop new contacts and partners for work.
- 50 beginning farmers will incorporate new knowledge into their production system.
- 25 beginning farmers will make a change on their farms to increase their sustainability
Evaluation
- Post-event evaluations will be conducted to determine changes in knowledge and intentions to act on new information.
- Educators will complete the Michigan SARE PDP post-event evaluation 1 - 6 months after workshops to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.
Michigan Initiative 2: Building Sustainable Agriculture Capacity with Historically Underserved Audiences
Interdisciplinary, multi-organizational collaboration and coordination are essential to promote sustainable practices among diverse audiences in Michigan’s food and agriculture system. These underserved audiences include BIPOC, veterans, Hispanic, and women farmers. The history of systemic racism within US agriculture has impacted circumstances, policies, and practices for farmers of color and tribal communities. Understanding and acknowledging these inequities is essential to engaging these groups. With Detroit as a national leader in urban agriculture led by farmers of color, Michigan is uniquely poised to uplift the voices of urban farmers and urban farm educators and to create professional development opportunities for farm educators. In addition, SARE can support urban farm and tribal educators in their work through professional development, mini-grants, and travel scholarships.
While many individuals within Extension, NRCS, and MDARD use SARE resources, many in these groups are unaware or have lost sight of the breadth of SARE and its resources. Professional development to re-engage these groups in mass by targeting their unique needs will strengthen the sustainable agriculture community in Michigan’s Historically Underserved Audiences.
SARE has an extensive list of sustainable agriculture resources for educators and stakeholders. These resources, while readily available, are not being fully utilized due to language and literacy barriers, cultural impediments, or a lack/loss of knowledge of their existence. Latinx farmers are one of the fastest growing farmer demographics and translation of additional existing SARE materials is a very important way to engage this community.
Educators would benefit from understanding the unique needs of veterans and veteran families when working with them around sustainable agriculture. Veterans can benefit personally from the financial and wellness opportunities in agriculture.
Activities
- Funds will be used to support mini-grant projects and programs:
- Sponsor activities that promote the understanding and needs of a diverse range of audiences.
- PDP for educators targeting the needs of historically underserved audiences through meetings and workshops.
- Deliver an MSU Extension Workshop program to reach a broader educator audience about SARE and SARE resources.
- That train Extension educators, USDA personnel, and others concerning land access specifically generational transfer, farm succession, land access for 1st generation farmers, farmland preservation, and conservation easements.
- Funds will be used to facilitate urban farm learning opportunities and offer support for farm educators working with urban farmers
- Funds will be used to plant cover crop demonstration plots at urban farms and hold soil health field days.
- Funds will be used to support professional development travel scholarships:
- Three educators/year to attend a national or regional agricultural diversity conference
- Funds will be used to purchase and distribute SARE resources (books, bulletins, thumb drives, etc.) to educators across historically underserved audiences.
- Walk-in Clinic works directly with stakeholders to understand their sustainability needs and create opportunities for interactions and environmental experiences for urban citizens.
- Funds will be used to advertise the virtual tour of marketing and business structure options that work
Expected Outcomes
- 50 educators will be trained in the availability and use of SARE resources
- 50 educators will use SARE information to answer client questions and address local issues.
- 20 educators and farmers will develop new contacts and partners for work.
- 100 farmers will incorporate new knowledge into their production system.
- 50 farmers will make a change on their farms using sustainable agriculture practices.
Evaluation
- Pre/Post-event evaluations will be conducted to determine changes in knowledge and intentions to act on new information.
- Educators will complete the Michigan SARE PDP post-event evaluation 1 - 6 months after workshops to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.
Michigan Initiative 3: Advancing Sustainable Approaches to Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.
In order to participate in the NCR-SARE regional initiative for 2023-24, one of our state initiative focus areas will be “Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.” Agriculture in Michigan is faced with a variety of current and ongoing production, environmental, and climate issues including soil health, water quality, pest resistance, changing markets, energy, and resilience to extreme climate events. Sustainable approaches to these issues are increasingly seen as a part of the solution. Agricultural educators are critical to advancing and fostering sustainable approaches to agricultural issues at all scales and across sectors. Professional development that provides current and science-based research and educational information for educators and support for dissemination to other educators, farmers, agri-business, and service providers will advance the use of sustainable practices and approaches in Michigan. Agriculture educators need to be current on these issues and the efforts taking place in their regions. Farmer partnership in program delivery is more effective as farmers learn from other farmers through experience and educational and networking opportunities.
Activities:
- Funds will be used to support conferences, workshops, and field days through mini-grant projects and programs related to climate change and other major food system disruptions:
- Support walk-in clinics for municipalities and farmers concerning best practices for water use, discharge fees, and a possible discount for reduction of wastewater through infiltration
- Support field days and workshops sponsored by MSU Extension, Conservation districts, NRCS, non-profits, and other partners.
- Support for educator on-farm demonstration projects to support educational objectives, specifically climate adaptation.
- Funds will be used for support of listening sessions in order to develop best practices for water on urban farms.
- Funds will be used for the development of educational materials on sustainable approaches to production, environmental and climate issues especially related to water management, and heat stress through examples from farmers in regions with more/less water or severe heat.
- Funds will be used to support professional development travel scholarships as they meet the educational objective.
Expected Outcomes
- 50 educators (Extension, NRCS, MAEAP, agriculture instructors) will continue to enhance their knowledge about sustainable solutions to agricultural issues.
- 25 educators will use this information to answer client questions.
- 50 farmers and educators will develop new contacts and partners for work.
- 200 farmers will incorporate new knowledge into their production system.
- 100 farmers will make a change on their farm to reduce production, environmental or climate challenges.
Evaluation
- Pre/Post-event evaluations indicating a change in knowledge and intentions to act on new information will be conducted by sponsoring organizations/events.
- Educators will complete the Michigan SARE PDP post-event evaluation 1 - 6 months after workshops to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.