Professional Development for Farm Managers

Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: farmer to farmer
• Farm Business Management: labor/employment
• Sustainable Communities: leadership development

Maine's agricultural sector faces a dual crisis of extreme farm owner burnout and a shortage of professionalized, management-level labor. Recent data from a farmer survey of 92 farms indicates that 73% of farmers identify "learning how to delegate" as a top priority, yet a void in middle management support exists because most regional training typically targets only entry-level apprentices or aspiring owners. Without a clear professional pathway for workers, the industry continues to lose skilled labor, threatening the long-term viability of small-scale organic farms.

This project addresses the "missing middle" by establishing a specialized professional development track designed to transition farmworkers into professional management roles. Over three years, the project aims to increase the operational and management skills of 60 farmworkers while testing whether management-specific peer spaces and technical training increases the likelihood of workers remaining in the agricultural sector as professional managers.

The project will implement a three-year cycle of 8 on-farm workshops, for a total of 24 workshops. Led by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) service providers and farmer partners, these workshops will provide service provider and peer-to-peer instruction on diversified vegetable production, livestock handling and soil health. Participants will also receive training in management-level competencies, including effective communication, personnel management, and navigating administrative requirements such as Maine labor laws and healthcare access. To support this cohort, we will facilitate asynchronous networking through a dedicated Signal thread and professional listserv, providing a space for troubleshooting and community-building during the production season.

We will share project findings and the "Manager-in-Training" model with farmers and organizations throughout the Northeast via MOFGA's listservs, newsletters and social media channels. This project contributes directly to SARE's legislative priorities by increasing agricultural employment opportunities and enhancing the social and economic sustainability of regional food systems

The objectives of the proposed project are to:

1. Deliver a series of technical Farm Training Project (FTP) workshops across various Maine farm sites over 3 years to increase the operational and production mastery of 60 career-focused farmworkers. These informal, on-farm workshops will utilize peer-to-peer demonstrations to improve specific skills in diversified vegetable production, livestock handling, soil health practices, communication, management and career navigation.

2. Establish and facilitate an asynchronous peer-networking infrastructure, including a dedicated Signal thread and a professional email listserv, to provide farmworkers with a consistent space for troubleshooting, resource sharing, and professional community-building during the production season. This objective aims to replicate the success of the 400+ member Journeyperson listserv to reduce the isolation often felt in farm management roles.

Implementation Activities: These objectives will be met through a three-year cycle of eight on-farm FTP workshops led by MOFGA specialists and farmer partners, combined with the daily moderation and facilitation of the Signal and listserv platforms. The project seeks to answer the focused inquiry of whether providing management-specific peer spaces and technical training increases the likelihood of farmworkers remaining in the agricultural sector as professional managers.