Project Overview
Commodities
- Fruits: apples, berries (brambles), berries (other), paw-paws, pears, persimmon, plums
- Nuts: chestnuts, hazelnuts
- Animals: sheep, swine
- Animal Products: meat
Practices
- Animal Production: grazing management
- Crop Production: agroforestry
- Education and Training: mentoring
- Farm Business Management: labor/employment
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, drift/runoff buffers
- Soil Management: soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: community services, employment opportunities, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change
Abstract:
Agroforestry, or the use of trees for agricultural purposes, is increasingly recognized as a key to mitigating climate change while providing environmental and socioeconomic benefits. However, a critical barrier to successful agroforestry adoption and implementation is a lack of intensive training opportunities in agroforestry.
The Savanna Institute's Agroforestry Apprenticeship provides experiential and technical education for aspiring agroforestry farmers through on-farm training, online agroforestry coursework, and field trips to other agroforestry farms throughout the Midwest. The apprenticeship program seeks to serve socially disadvantaged and limited resource beginner farmers with little experience in agroforestry by addressing the socioeconomic barriers that prevent historically marginalized groups from engaging in educational agriculture programs.
The intended outcomes of this training program include: (1) training the next generation of agroforestry farmers by connecting them to practicing agroforesters through an on-farm apprenticeship, (2) providing community-building opportunities for farmers, apprentices, and those interested in agroforestry, (3) ensuring program accessibility and support to historically marginalized and low income groups through diversity, equity, and inclusion training to mentor farmers and through paid apprentice employment, and (4) making the training days and online coursework developed for the apprenticeship program available to broader audiences.
In the 2020 season, ten apprentices worked were paired with five mentor farmers and managed to complete their apprenticeships in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, 22 apprentices worked with 13 agroforestry mentor farmers to complete the apprenticeship program, despite ongoing uncertainty regarding COVID-19. Based on the growing interest in the Agroforestry Apprenticeship program, we are offering the program again in 2022 and plan to continue expanding and supporting this program in years to come.
Project objectives:
- Connect 10 apprentices with experienced agroforestry farmers (mentors) who will provide season-long, on-farm training throughout the Midwest. Target reach: 10 apprentices
- ACHIEVED: 10 apprentices in 2020, 22 in 2021
- Increase accessibility and engagement for socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers in the apprenticeship program. Target reach: 5 apprentices.
- ACHIEVED: eight apprentices in 2020, over 50% in 2021
- Build community and train apprentices in agroforestry practices and techniques by organizing 10 public field days at host farms. Target reach: 200 attendees.
- MODIFIED: Held 5 remote field days in 2020 with over 500 attendees; held one remote field day, three in-person workshops, and offered 14 public events in 2021 with over 500 total participants
- Create multimedia agroforestry educational materials via online course materials and podcasts. Target reach: 2000 views/listens.
- ACHIEVED: Online agroforestry course, videos, and podcasts have over 2,000 views/downloads