HMI’s 2014 Beginning Farmers & Ranchers: Women in the NE & Texas program funded by the USDA/NIFA Beginning Farmer/Rancher Development Program, has been going full steam through the winter and spring with some states beginning to wrap up. The Texas program coordinated by HMI’s Program Manager, Peggy Cole, completed all 10 sessions by the end of February. Lead instructor was Certified Educator Peggy Sechrist and mentors for the program were Tracy Litle, Lauri Celella, Kathy Harris, Pam Mitchell, Lauren Bradbury, and Katherine Napper. We’ve been busy entering the data and crunching the numbers. For the full report, go to the HMI blog to read more. Here’s what we’ve learned from our 32 Texas participants who graduated:
Demographics
- 22 are currently farming
- The average years of farming was 4 years (range: 1 – 10 years)
- The average acres under production was 253 acres under production (range: 0.5 – 1900 acres)
- The average age was 52 years old (range: 28 to 67 years old)
- The race the participants reported was: 21 Anglo, 2 Hispanic, and 1 Native American, and 2 other
- The types of farm operations were as follows:
o Cattle/Cow/Calf (13), Vegetable/Fruit/Produce (13), Poultry (4), Dairy (2), Lamb (6), Goat (1), Pecans (1), Hay (1), Sorghum (1), Aquaponic (1), Agritourism (2).
- The total customers of all participants: Retail – Average 52 (total 623); Wholesale – Average 2 (total 19)
- Increased net income as a result of this training 71%
- Intend to keep farming 100%
- Overall satisfaction with program 100%
If you a women farmer or rancher in Texas and are interested in participating in our 2014/2015 season, we are accepting applications until July 15, 2014. Learn More
Results
|
PARTICIPANT BEHAVIOR CHANGE |
% of Participants |
| Forged Relationships That Positively Impacted You |
100% |
| Created a Land Plan |
96% |
| Engaged in Biological Monitoring |
96% |
| Created a Holistic Goal/Whole Farm Plan |
93% |
| Created a Holistic Financial Plan |
89% |
| Developed a Business Plan Outline |
89% |
| Developed a Marketing Plan |
86% |
| Created a Grazing Plan |
79% |
| Post-Program Outcome Changes | % of Participants ExperiencingImprovement |
| Satisfaction with Ability to Determine Needed Profit |
96% |
| Satisfaction with Time Management |
96% |
| Satisfaction with Quality of Life |
93% |
| Satisfaction with Communication |
93% |
| Satisfaction with Ability to Make Complex Decisions |
93% |
| Post Session ImpactsParticipants Experienced the Following | % of Participants |
| Human Resources | |
| Better Ability to Determine Resources Available to You |
100% |
| Improved Communications on the Farm |
100% |
| Improved Decision Making |
100% |
| More Efficient Use of Resources |
96% |
| New Policies and Systems Implemented |
96% |
| Better Relationships |
96% |
| Increased Efficiency of Farm Chores as a Result of Land Planning |
75% |
| Financial Resources/Business Management | |
| New or Improved Record Keeping Systems |
96% |
| Enhanced Understanding of Your Farm Finances |
96% |
| Improved ability to determine most effective enterprises |
93% |
| Improved Ability to Prioritize Expenses |
86% |
| Improved Strategies for More Effective Reinvestment in the Business |
82% |
| Improved ability to discern most appropriate market channels |
79% |
| Improved ability to effectively market products |
79% |
| Improved Business Systems |
75% |
| Greater efficiencies realized |
68% |
| Improved ability to receive desired price for your products/services |
71% |
| Reduced Farm Expenses |
57% |
| Increased Farm Profits |
43% |
| Increased Net Worth |
43% |
| Natural Resources | |
| Improved Understanding of Your Farm’s Ecosystem |
96% |
| Improved Environmental Conditions on Your Farm |
89% |
| Improved Ability to Determine Appropriate Management to Address an Environmental Issue |
86% |
| Achievement of Environmental Goals in Your Land Plan |
85% |
| Improved Environmental Conditions as a Result of Land Planning |
79% |
| Improved Ability to Manage Animals |
75% |
| Desired Change in Species Composition |
75% |
| Less Stress for Animals |
75% |
| Enhanced Land Production as a Result of Land Planning |
71% |
| Reduction of Overgrazed Plants |
68% |
| Increased Forage Production |
64% |
| Less Stress for Farmers |
64% |
| Reduction in Feed Costs |
61% |
| Improved Herd Health |
61% |
| Longer Grazing Seasons |
54% |
Adelene is a native 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 executive director for a scholarship program and as a member of the student affairs committee. Adelene is devoted to creating educational opportunities that align with HMI’s mission to promote healthy, resilient lands and thriving communities.
Hello!
Will you be holding the series :Texas Beginning Women Farmer Program again? I am very interested in attending. Thank you!
Erin
Erin, Thanks for your interest. Our 2014/2015 season is already underway in Texas. This is last season as part of our current USDA grant. However, HMI is very dedicated to bringing this program for beginning farmers and we will be pursuing new grant opportunities to fund this program going forward. Please be sure to sign up for the HMI e-newsletter to get notices about the program.