Vermont 2013 Class
We have been processing the evaluation data for the 2013 Vermont Beginning Women Farmer Program and are excited about the results we’ve seen. Read the information below to see how this program is helping these beginning women farmers be more successful.
The Beginning Women Farmer Training Program in Vermont began in January 2013 and ran through May of 2013. This program was part of HMI’s Beginning Women Farmer Program funded by the USDA/NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. 17 women were accepted into the program for the 2012-2013 program year and 16 completed the program successfully. The State Coordinator was Jessie Schmidt of University of Vermont Extension and she supported the main instructor, Calley Hastings—a goat dairy farmer, graduate of the Beginning Women Farmer program, and a Holistic Management Certified Educator. Program mentor was Lisa McCrory of Earthwise Farm and Forest.
Fat Toad Farm Goat
The data below demonstrates that a high level of knowledge and attitude change occurred and that the women completed or modified numerous farm plans (actual behavior change) which resulted in many benefits. Most participants experienced increased confidence in key farm/ranch management practices (92-100% participants) for such practices as developing a whole farm goal, communicating with workers, managing time, identifying logjams, pricing products, prioritizing expenses, and developing plans—financial, business, land, and grazing. Participant behavior change was mostly in the 80-100% range where there was sufficient time for developing plans or taking action during the program, particularly developing a whole farm goal, a financial plan, and a business plan. Additional survey and evaluations will be done in a year to determine continued behavior change and additional benefits that result from that change.
Beginning women farmers learning about farm infrastructure needs
There was an 86% satisfaction rating for the program mentor and a 94% satisfaction rating for the state coordinator. In 9 out of the 10 sessions 93% or more of the participants noted knowledge change. That knowledge change varied depending on content of sessions, but was as high as 117% with 87-100% of participants experiencing knowledge change. Overall satisfaction with sessions were 92% or higher with 96% of the participants satisfied with the program overall.
Participant Demographic Information
Beginning women farmers learning about soil fertility indicators
Of the participants:
- The average years of farming was 3 years (range: 0 — 9 years)
- The average acres farmed was 14 acres under production (range: 0 — 71 acres) with a total of 206 acres.
- The average age of the farmers was 32 years old (range:21 — 51)
- The race the participants reported was: 10 Anglo; and 5 skipped the question
- The customers of the participants break down as follows: Retail – Average 40 (range: 0 — 150); Wholesale – Average 7 (range: 0 — 30) Total number of customers was 474
Key Programmatic Outcomes
The knowledge gained, the confidence built, and the intentions to implement actions show that the sessions were very effective in educating the participants. Likewise, the high numbers of expressed satisfaction (ranging from 92-100% for all sessions) indicate that the participants felt the program was successful. See the following tables for key areas of knowledge, confidence, intended behavior change, actual behavior change, and subsequent results of that behavior change due to this program.
|
Knowledge Change Summary Per Session |
|||
|
Course |
% of Participants Experiencing Knowledge Change |
Knowledge change % |
|
| Session One – Goal Setting | |||
| Develop a Whole Farm Goal |
95% |
117% |
|
| Define What You Are Managing Towards |
95% |
71% |
|
| Identify Needed Farm Systems and Protocols |
89% |
64% |
|
| Session Summary |
95% |
|
|
| Session Two – Time Management | |||
| Assess How Time is Spent on Farm |
87% |
70% |
|
| Effectively Manage Time on Your Farm |
80% |
55% |
|
| Ability to Make Complex On-Farm Decisions |
87% |
51% |
|
| Session Summary |
93% |
|
|
| Session Three – Financial Planning I | |||
| Identifying Logjams and Adverse Factors on Farm |
87% |
94% |
|
| Attitude Toward Financial Planning |
87% |
58% |
|
| How to Increase Farm Net Worth |
80% |
58% |
|
| Determining Viable Profitable Enterprises for Your Farm |
80% |
54% |
|
| Session Summary |
87% |
|
|
| Session Four – Financial Planning II |
|
|
|
| Assessing Farm Cash Flow |
100% |
74% |
|
| Monitoring Your Financial Plan |
93% |
63% |
|
| Prioritizing and Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Reinvestment |
93% |
77% |
|
| Getting Profit You Need from Your Farm |
86% |
59% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Five – Marketing | |||
| Profitably Price Products and Services |
100% |
80% |
|
| Using Whole Farm Goal and Financial Plan to Develop Marketing Plan |
87% |
60% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Six – Business Planning | |||
| Ability to Develop a Business Plan for Farm |
100% |
109% |
|
| Ability to Implement Systems and Projects to Move Towards Whole Farm Goal |
100% |
63% |
|
| Ability to Use Holistic Goal to Guide Business Strategic Plan |
100% |
100% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Seven – Leadership and Communication | |||
| Awareness of Communication Patterns on Farm |
95% |
61% |
|
| Effective Communication Tools for Farm |
95% |
64% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Eight – Land Planning | |||
| Prioritize Land and Infrastructure Development/Investments |
100% |
62% |
|
| How Permaculture Fits into Holistic Land Planning |
92% |
93% |
|
| Design Strategies to Build Resilient, Diversified Farms |
85% |
53% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Nine – Grazing | |||
| Value of Grazing Planning |
100% |
67% |
|
| How to Determine the Number of Paddocks |
100% |
108% |
|
| How to Determine Grazing Periods |
100% |
108% |
|
| How to Determine Number of Animals Your Pasture Can Support |
100% |
116% |
|
| How to Assess Quantity of Forage in Pasture |
100% |
111% |
|
| How to Assess Recovery Periods |
92% |
100% |
|
| How to Improve Land Health with Livestock |
92% |
64% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
| Session Ten – Soil Fertility | |||
| Understanding Eco-system Processes on Your Farm |
100% |
53% |
|
| Ability to Monitor Farm Eco-System Health |
100% |
81% |
|
| Indicators of a Healthy Farm Eco-System |
92% |
58% |
|
| Importance of Improving Soil Fertility Sustainably |
77% |
33% |
|
| Session Summary |
100% |
|
|
|
Top Areas of Increased Farmer Confidence Due to Program |
||
|
Increased Confidence In. . . |
Year One | |
| Human Resource Management | ||
| Developing Written Whole Farm Goal |
95% |
|
| Communicating with Decision Makers |
95% |
|
| Manage Your Time on Your Farm |
93% |
|
| Make Complex Decisions on Your Farm |
87% |
|
| Building an Effective Management Team |
84% |
|
| Providing Leadership on Your Farm |
80% |
|
| Identifying Systems and Protocols for your Farm |
79% |
|
| Financial Resource Management | ||
| Identifying Resources to Assist You in Developing a Business/Strategic Plan |
100% |
|
| Ability to Identify Logjam/Adverse Factors |
100% |
|
| Pricing Your Farm Products |
93% |
|
| Prioritizing Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Re-investment |
93% |
|
| Assessing Your Competition to Understand Your Farm’s Strengths |
93% |
|
| Developing a Business/Strategic Plan |
92% |
|
| Determine Your Farm’s Net Worth |
87% |
|
| Promoting Your Farm Products |
87% |
|
| Monitoring Your Farm Financial Plan |
86% |
|
| Implementing Important Strategic Systems and Projects |
83% |
|
| Determine Your Farm’s Projected Revenue |
80% |
|
| Natural Resource Management | ||
| Ability to Prioritize Land/Infrastructure Improvements on Farm |
100% |
|
| Ability as a Grazer |
100% |
|
| Assessing Recovery Periods |
100% |
|
| Assessing Quantity of Forage and Pasture |
100% |
|
| Determining the Number of Animals Your Land Can Support for Grazing |
100% |
|
| Calculating the Number of Paddocks for your System |
100% |
|
| Determining How Long Animals Will Stay in Each Paddock |
100% |
|
| Monitoring Your Farm’s Eco-System Health |
100% |
|
| Ability to Incorporate Natural Resource Issues into Land Planning |
92% |
|
| Ability to Incorporate Social/Legal Considerations into Land Planning |
92% |
|
| Improving Eco-System Health on Your Farm |
92% |
|
| BWF PARTICIPANT BEHAVIOR CHANGE |
Year One Percentage |
| Forged Relationships That Positively Impacted You |
93% |
| Developed Financial Plan |
87% |
| Developed Holistic Goal/Whole Farm Plan |
80% |
| Developed Business Plan |
80% |
| Developed Grazing Plan |
73% |
| Developed Marketing Plan |
67% |
Session Satisfaction |
|
|
Class Percent rated good or excellent |
|
| Session One-Goal Setting |
95% |
| Session Two-Time Management and Decision Testing |
100% |
| Session Three— Financial Planning Overview |
93% |
| Session Four—Enterprise Analysis, Cash Flow |
92% |
| Session Five—Marketing Planning |
100% |
| Session Six—Business Planning |
100% |
| Session Seven—Leadership & Communication |
95% |
| Session Eight—Land Planning |
100% |
| Session Nine—Grazing Planning |
100% |
| Session Ten—Soil Fertility |
100% |
| Satisfaction with mentor |
86% |
| Satisfaction with State Coordinator |
94% |
| Satisfaction with Program |
96% |
|
Post-Session Impacts |
|
| Impacts Experienced | % of Participants |
| Human Resource Impacts | |
| Clearer sense of what your farm is managing towards |
100% |
| Improved Communications on the Farm |
100% |
| Better Ability to Determine Resources Available to You |
93% |
| Improved Decision Making |
93% |
| More Efficient Use of Resources |
87% |
| Financial Management Impacts | |
| New or Improved Record Keeping Systems |
87% |
| Improved Ability to Articulate Goals and Objectives of Business to Others |
87% |
| Improved ability to determine most effective enterprises |
80% |
| Ability to Identify Business Challenges from Previous Years |
80% |
| Natural Resource Management Issues | |
| Improved Ability to Incorporate Social, Environmental, and Financial into Your Land Plan |
100% |
| Improved Understanding of Your Forage Composition |
80% |
| Improved Understanding of Your Farm’s Eco-System |
80% |
| Improved Ability to Prioritize Land Planning Investments |
73% |
| Improved Ability to Manage Animals |
73% |
| Improved Ability to Determine Appropriate Management to Address an Environmental Issue |
73% |
Adelene is a resident of Arkansas and loves exploring the state’s natural trails. Her passion for education and technology led her to earn a master’s in learning systems technology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. With her professional experience managing student/client databases and instructional design, Adelene will bring skill and understanding to her role as Office Manager & Instructional Designer at HMI. Her focus on making education more accessible to diverse communities is evident through her volunteer work as an board member for a scholarship program. Adelene is devoted to creating educational opportunities that align with HMI’s mission to promote healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities.
Seth Wilner has been a Holistic Management International Certified Educator since 2005. For 22 years he has worked as an agent educator with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension where he specializes in farm business management with an emphasis on whole farm planning.
Dana was first introduced to Holistic Management in the 1990s while working in the Texas Hill Country. She strongly believes that Holistic Management can positively impact families that are on the land, the communities they are a part of, and larger landscape resource regeneration efforts.
Sarah Robertson grew up in Taos, New Mexico and has always been passionate about land stewardship, growing things, and nurturing others. After completing a BA in Communication from the University of New Mexico and working with local non-profits, she started her journey as a first-generation farmer. Since 2015, she has been learning and growing alongside her husband on various leased properties in Albuquerque, NM and running a small market farm with goats, chickens, and a CSA. In her role as Programs Assistant at HMI, Sarah brings her enthusiasm for regenerative agriculture, devotion to supporting others, and drive for lifelong learning and growing.
Jozua Lambrecht is from South Africa and divides his time between their home in Somerset West and their family farm in Sutherland, one of the coldest places in South Africa, where they farm with sheep. He is married to his wife Therese and they have two daughters.
Alejandro Carrillo is a fourth-generation rancher, and he is quite familiar with the challenges of running a profitable cattle ranch in the Chihuahuan desert. Because annual precipitation seldom exceeds nine inches, every drop counts when it comes to growing more grasses. Grazing year-round with only sea salt as an input, he is not willing to waste any water in such a brittle environment.
Jared L Talley was born and raised in Southwestern Idaho and now seeks to help rural communities adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. He is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University, earning his PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University and his MPA in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from Boise State University. An environmental philosopher by training and an interdisciplinary scholar in practice, he seeks to better understand how communities relate to the land and how this relationship poses obstacles and opportunities for collaboration and governance. In doing so, he studies the role of science in collaborative policy, the role of place in environmental identity, and the role of the imagination in mediating both. Specifically, he studies grazing management and public land permitting, community-led conservation programs, rural education and entrepreneurship, place-based environmental governance, and the imaginative experience of our natural and built environments — all in the contexts of the intermountain American West.
hello,
I am a vermont farmer and i am interested in taking the 2014 class, I am about to start a farm i want to apply can you tell me what kind of low income grants you offer. thank you
Thanks for your interest Allison, I’ll e-mail you the name and contact information for our Vermont Coordinator, who should be able to help you.
-Sandy