Shifting Focus: Building Pathways to Success for New and Diverse Farm Audiences

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Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: extension, farmer to farmer, networking, study circle, other
• Farm Business Management: business planning, labor/employment, risk management
• Sustainable Communities: ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, leadership development, quality of life, social capital

In the current environment of limited labor availability, escalating wages and narrow farm profit margins, creating and maintaining a productive farm workforce is a challenge for many Vermont farmers. It is a critical issue for post start-up beginning farmers (an audience with disproportionate representation of people who identify as women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC) and those who are seeking to scale production and gain efficiencies to meet business, income and quality of life goals. 

Recent intake forms and evaluation surveys from 240+ program participants show that both farmers and agricultural service providers (ASPs) link labor management, human risk management and social justice issues with farm productivity, profitability, and quality of life. Yet, agricultural service providers report that gaps in their prior training and current knowledge of information resources limit their ability to support farmers in addressing these human and social dimensions of sustainability. 

Using a flexible combination of in-person and distance education approaches, this project will address these gaps by providing information and education that builds ASP knowledge, skill and confidence to addressing labor management, human risk and equity and justice topics within the context of their priorities and programs and services that the ASPs provide. Our approach builds from the adult education strategies outlined in SARE's Sustainable Agriculture through Sustainable Learning, and Reaching Women in Agriculture publications. The program's flexible format will allow participants to focus on topics that are most relevant to their professional and program needs, while the peer learning components will provide both support and accountability.

We will establish an accountability committee, comprised of people representing "socially disadvantaged" and underserved audiences to hold project staff accountable to community interests and equity goals. The committee will provide increasing guidance and decision-making, with the goal of it determining the direction and activities of the next VT SARE state project.

Twenty (20) Extension and farmer educators gain capacity (increased knowledge, skills and confidence) to address social sustainability and human risk that affect persistence and resilience, particularly among underserved and new farm audiences. 

Twelve (12) participants engage in new or deeper collaborations with at least one partner representing underserved audiences. Twelve (12) participants incorporate new labor management and human risk management content in their programs and/or modify outreach and delivery practices so that these programs are more inclusive and equitable in their work with at least 60 farm employees and aspiring, beginning and established farm operators.

As a result of oversight from six ASPs and farmers serving on the project's accountability committee, community interests and equity goals are central to decisions about activities and allocation of funding contained in the 2027 VT State proposal.