Field-Ready: A Project to Assess, Develop, and Implement Experiential Training for Beginning Farmers in Workforce Development

Commodities

• Vegetables: cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, okra, peppers, tomatoes, other
• Additional Plants: cut flowers, native plants
• Animals: fish

Practices

• Crop Production: drainage systems, drought tolerance, fertilizers, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, irrigation, no-till, nurseries, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, pollinator habitat, row covers (for season extension), season extension, seed saving, shade cloth, water management
• Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, technical assistance, workshop, youth education
• Farm Business Management: business planning, farmers' markets/farm stands, market study, marketing management
• Pest Management: field monitoring/scouting, mulches - general, mulches - killed, mulches - living, mulching - vegetative, mulching - plastic, soil solarization, weather monitoring, weed ecology
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, aquaponics, hydroponics, organic agriculture, organic certification, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: composting, nutrient mineralization, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil physics, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: community services, employment opportunities, infrastructure analysis, leadership development, new business opportunities, social capital

This project centers on advancing new farmer training as a strategic pathway to strengthen the agricultural workforce. A collaborative service provider team composed of experienced producers (field practitioners) and agricultural educators who understand both the technical and practical needs of today's beginning farmers. In many farming communities, producers look to extension agents for credible information, but they rely heavily on peer practitioners when it comes to actually adopting new practices-learned through previous education programs feedback. From assessment of findings in previous programs, Urban Area New-farmers often lack access to hands-on experience with modern viable production and distribution methods, creating a skills gap that limits their access to professional development and weakens the broader workforce pipeline. In providing access to information and learning spaces, we seek to enhance professional development through experiential and field practice for ASP/New Farmers (Franz et al., 2009).

Solution and Approach:
To address this challenge, the project will engage 10 advancing field practitioners who will support as both instructors in both field and classroom education training and materials (curriculum, literature reviews, and sequenced fact sheets). These practitioners will host hands-on learning opportunities and co-develop classroom-field training materials and curriculum that reflects real-world challenges to advance solutions. Trainers and project personnel will work directly with five new farmers or service providers, offering guided instruction and demonstration of enhanced production and distribution practices. This demonstration model leverages local farmer training space for experiential learning, ensuring that new farmers not only understand advanced hands-on concepts but are also gaining confidence in applying them. By embedding training in active farm settings and fostering peer-to-peer networking and knowledge building, the project aims to accelerate adoption of improved agricultural practices, enhance professional development, and contribute to sustainable agricultures local viability.

Reference: Franz, et al (2009). How farmers learn: Improving sustainable agricultural education https://eesd.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/242/2021/10/HowFarmersLearnResearchBrief.pdf

Each of the 10 selected practitioners will host 2 hands-on learning opportunities and co-develop classroom and field training materials and curriculum that reflect real-world challenges and advanced solutions. Each of the 10 practitioners will engage with 5 new farmers or early-career service providers, reaching a total of 100 participants across the project and through engagement days. Field days will be hosted at training spaces for up to 20 new farmers and ASPs to learn and see how they develop their own farms and service provider work.