Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Crop Production: cover crops, no-till
- Education and Training: workshop
Proposal abstract:
The New Roots Utah program of the International Rescue Committee supports low-income, English language learner farmers in building successful, sustainable farm businesses. This proposed project will establish a Soil Health Farmer Fellowship to provide hands-on education, demonstration, and training in small-scale sustainable farming methods focused on no-till soil health practices.
No-till production offers long-term environmental and economic benefits, including improved soil structure, increased water retention and reduced erosion. However, many beginning farmers with limited capital and English proficiency lack the resources, equipment, and guided support needed to successfully transition their fields to a no-till system. While past workshops with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food have generated strong interest in soil health and cover cropping, many farmers remain uncertain or skeptical about how to begin.
Learning from the SARE Project FNE24-071, "The Economic & Soil Health Implications of Transitioning to No-Till on an Organic Mixed Vegetable Farm," a cohort of farmers will participate in a paid fellowship structured around the full growing season. From May through October 2026, participants will prepare soil, plant and terminate cover crops, plant niche market cash crops such as molokhia, roselle, amaranth, carrots, and spinach, and complete winterization. Each stage will include hands-on learning, workshops, and peer-to-peer discussion. Demonstration plots will showcase equipment such as a compost spreader, subsoiler, light tiller, flail mower, and silage tarps.
By project completion, farmers will have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to implement no-till practices on their own plots. Evaluators will administer Western SARE's standard survey tools through interpreters to ensure accessibility.
Long term impacts include improved soil health, increased farm capacity, and a replicable Soil Health Farmer Fellowship model for other training programs. In the long term, this initiative will strengthen the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of beginning farm businesses in Utah.
Project objectives from proposal:
Objective 1: Improve the skills of 30 farmers in using a walk-behind tractor and attachments for use in no-till production methods through providing access to and instruction in their use during a 6-month Soil Health Farmer Fellowship.
Objective 2: Build the knowledge and skills of 30 farmers in using cover cropping for no-till production after 6 months by providing access to seed varieties and instruction in planting, termination, and incorporation into the soil.
Objective 3: Improve the knowledge and skills of 30 farmers in using the correct steps for no-till production methods at the end of a 6-month Fellowship by providing instruction and hands on learning for each step of the no till process.
Objective 4: Encourage 30 farmers to adopt at least one no-till practice after completing a 6-month Soil Health Farmer Fellowship where they learn about and use no-till practices and skills.
Objective 5: Strengthen peer networks and community collaboration of 30 farmers through facilitating their participation in a 6-month paid fellowship cohort focused on no-till agricultural practices.