The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number Grant #2012-49400-19673 funded HMI’s 2015 Beginning Farmers & Ranchers: Women in the NE & Texas program. We recently completed evaluation of the New York program which was coordinated by Sarah Williford through Central NY RC&D. Instructors for this program included Phil Metzger, Erica Frenay, and Elizabeth Marks. Mentors for the program were Elizabeth Bunce, Tanya Moyer, and Alicia Purzycki. There was 94% satisfaction rating for the program overall by participants with a 92% satisfaction rating for the state coordinator and a 74% satisfaction rating for the mentors. Thanks to the USDA/NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program for their support of this program.
Here’s what we’ve learned from our 18 New York participants, of which 15 graduated from the program:
Participant Demographic Information
Of the 10 participants responding
- 6 are currently farming and all participants said they intend to continue to farm or will start farming
- The average years of farming was 3 years
- The average age of the participants was 38 (range: 21 to 61 years old)
- The average acres under production was 10 acres under production with a total of 80 acres influenced.
- The race the participants reported was: 60% Anglo, 1 % Hispanic, and 1% Asian
- The types of farm operations were as follows: Cattle/Cow/Calf (2), Vegetables/Fruit/Produce (7), Poultry/Eggs (2), Sheep (1), and Hay (1)
- The total customers of all participants was 70.
When asked about the effect of this program or what was helpful about the program, participants responded
I will be making more use of formal resources like professional services of willing friends in planning
I liked the on farm site visits
I got encouragement when struggling and gained new knowledge
Awesome reminder about the sorts of things that deserve to be included in my farm goals
I learned how to turn farm goals into systems
I learned how much more I still need to learn, and that I still want to! It helps to break down things for better understanding.
The testing questions were useful to evaluate and make informed decision.
I have a better understanding of the relationship between forage animal #s and # of paddock.
Better understanding of calculating animal units stockpile
The most important thing I learned was enterprise budgets and net worth. Thank you!
I learned to separate personal from farm assets, liabilities, etc
I was fun working with small groups.
Learning about the ecosystem processes – improve one, you improve them all.
The quadrant for time management is outstanding.
Key Results of Training Program | % Participants Experiencing Change |
Increased Satisfaction with Time Management | 100% |
Increased Satisfaction with Ability to Determine Needed Profit | 100% |
Increased Satisfaction with Ability to Make Complex Decisions | 90% |
Increased Satisfaction with Communication | 89% |
Increased Satisfaction with Quality of Life | 78% |
Development of Plans/Behavior Change | % of participants |
Holistic Goal/Whole Farm Plan | 100% |
Financial Plan | 100% |
Business Plan | 78% |
Marketing Plan | 78% |
Land Plan | 60% |
Biological Monitoring | 60% |
Grazing Plan (grazers in group) | 80% |
Forge Relationships That Positively Impacted You | 89% |
Session Satisfaction | Class Percent rated good or excellent |
Goalsetting | 94% |
On-Farm Decision Making | 88% |
Introduction to Financial Planning | 71% |
Enterprise Analysis | 100% |
Marketing Planning | 86% |
Business Planning | 93% |
Leadership & Communication | 100% |
Land Planning | 85% |
Grazing Planning | 92% |
Biological Monitoring/Soil Fertility | 80% |
Results Experienced due to this Training Program | Percent of Participants |
Human Resources | |
Clearer sense of what your farm is managing towards | 100% |
Better Ability to Determine Resources Available to You | 100% |
More Efficient Use of Resources | 100% |
Improved Communications on the Farm | 100% |
Improved Decision Making | 100% |
New Policies and Systems Implemented | 70% |
Better Relationships | 70% |
Ability to Identify Business Challenges from Previous Years | 80% |
Financial Resources | |
Strategies for More Effective Reinvestment in the Business | 90% |
New or Improved Record Keeping Systems | 90% |
Enhanced Understanding of Your Farm Finances | 80% |
Changes in Farm Enterprises | 60% |
Changes in How Your Prioritize Expenses | 90% |
Reduced Farm Expenses | 30% |
Increased Efficiency of Farm Chores as a Result of Land Planning | 60% |
Clearer Sense of How Your Business Is Projected to Grow in Future Years | 80% |
Improved Ability to Articulate Goals and Objectives of Business to Others | 60% |
New Business Systems (Improved Understanding of your Market and How Your Business Fits into These) | 60% |
Prioritized investments | 40% |
Improved ability to determine most effective enterprises | 80% |
New enterprises or products (including value-added) you are selling | 60% |
Improved ability to discern most appropriate market channels | 60% |
Improved ability to effectively market products | 50% |
Improved ability to receive desired price for your products/services | 50% |
Natural Resources | |
Improved Environmental Conditions as a Result of Land Planning | 40% |
Enhanced Production as a Result of Land Planning | 30% |
Improved Ability to Prioritize Land Planning Investments | 60% |
Improved Ability to Incorporate Social, Environmental, and Financial into Your Land Plan | 90% |
Achievement of Environmental Goals in Your Land Plan | 50% |
Proved Profitability through Your Land Plan | 30% |
Improved Ability to Manage Animals | 30% |
Less Stress for Farmers with Grazing Planning | 40% |
Improved Understanding of Your Farm’s Eco-System | 70% |
Improved Ability to Determine Appropriate Management to Address an Environmental Issue | 70% |
Implementation of Specific Management Practices to Remediate an Environmental Issue | 60% |
Desired Change in Species Composition | 40% |
Knowledge Change Evaluation | |
Course | % Participants ExperiencingKnowledge Change |
Session One – Goal Setting | |
Defining Effective Management Team | 88% |
Inventory Farm Resources | 100% |
Develop a Whole Farm Goal | 89% |
Define What You Are Managing Towards | 89% |
Identify Needed Farm Systems and Protocols | 89% |
Integrate Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors into Decision-Making | 89% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Two – Time Management | |
Ability to Make Complex On-Farm Decisions | 100% |
Assess How Time is Spent on Farm | 81% |
Effectively Manage Time on Your Farm | 88% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Three – Financial Planning I | |
Attitude Toward Financial Planning | 86% |
Ability to Develop Balance Sheet | 79% |
How to Increase Farm Net Worth | 93% |
Determining Viable Profitable Enterprises for Your Farm | 100% |
Identifying Logjams and Adverse Factors on Farm | 93% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Four – Financial Planning II | |
Skills in Developing Whole Farm Financial Plan | 92% |
Getting Profit You Need from Your Farm | 92% |
Delineating Farm Expense Categories | 85% |
Prioritizing and Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Reinvestment | 85% |
Assessing Farm Cash Flow | 85% |
Monitoring Your Financial Plan | 85% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Five – Marketing | |
Using Whole Farm Goal and Financial Plan to Develop Marketing Plan | 79% |
Profitably Price Products and Services | 79% |
Effectively Promote Products and Services | 79% |
How to Develop a Marketing Plan | 79% |
Session Summary | 93% |
Session Six – Business Planning | |
Knowledge of Resources for Developing Strategic Plan for Farm | 93% |
Attitudes Towards Value of Having a Business Plan to Guide Farm | 93% |
Ability to Develop a Business Plan for Farm | 79% |
Ability to Use Holistic Goal to Guide Business Strategic Plan | 86% |
Ability to Use Financial Plan to Determine Viable Markets for Farm | 71% |
Session Summary | 93% |
Session Seven – Leadership and Communication | |
Awareness of Communication Patterns on Farm | 78% |
Effective Communication Tools for Farm | 78% |
Conflict Resolution Skills for Farm | 78% |
Incorporating Diverse Learning Styles toward More Effective Leadership and Communication | 89% |
Understanding Diverse Ways People Seek Recognition and Affirmation | 67% |
Using Whole Farm Goal to Guide Communication on Farm | 89% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Eight – Land Planning | |
Prioritize Land and Infrastructure Development/Investments | 93% |
Design Strategies to Build Resilient, Diversified Farms | 71% |
Assess Management Considerations to Guide Land Planning | 79% |
How to Incorporate Natural Resource Issues into Land Planning | 79% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Nine – Grazing | |
Value of Grazing Planning | 83% |
How to Assess Recovery Periods | 75% |
How to Assess Quantity of Forage in Pasture | 92% |
How to Improve Land Health with Livestock | 75% |
How to Determine Number of Animals Your Pasture Can Support | 100% |
How to Determine the Number of Paddocks | 92% |
How to Determine Grazing Periods | 83% |
Session Summary | 100% |
Session Ten – Soil Fertility | |
Importance of Improving Soil Fertility Sustainably | 80% |
Benefits of a Covered Soil | 70% |
Indicators of a Healthy Farm Eco-System | 70% |
Ability to Monitor Farm Eco-System Health | 70% |
Session Summary | 90% |
Increased Confidence As a Result of Training | % of participants experiencing increased confidence |
Developing Written Whole Farm Goal | 94% |
Manage Your Time on Your Farm | 88% |
Make Complex Decisions on Your Farm | 100% |
Using Testing Questions | 100% |
Determine Your Farm’s Net Worth | 79% |
Determine Viable Profitable Enterprises | 86% |
Ability to Identify Logjam/Adverse Factors | 79% |
Getting Profit You Need From Your Farm | 69% |
Prioritizing Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Re-investment | 77% |
Identifying Cash Flow Issues on Farm | 77% |
Monitoring Your Farm Financial Plan | 85% |
Pricing Your Farm Products | 79% |
Promoting Your Farm Products | 71% |
Developing a Business/Strategic Plan | 100% |
Identifying Resources to Assist You in Developing a Business/Strategic Plan | 93% |
Implementing Important Strategic Systems and Projects | 64% |
Communicating with Decision Makers | 89% |
Ability to Prioritize Land/Infrastructure Improvements on Farm | 86% |
Ability to Incorporate Natural Resource Issues into Land Planning | 86% |
Ability to Incorporate Social/Legal Considerations into Land Planning | 79% |
Ability as a Grazer | 58% |
Assessing Recovery Periods | 75% |
Assessing Quantity of Forage and Pasture | 75% |
Determining the Number of Animals Your Land Can Support for Grazing | 83% |
Calculating the Number of Paddocks for your System | 75% |
Determining How Long Animals Will Stay in Each Paddock | 92% |
Monitoring Your Farm’s Eco-System Health | 80% |
Improving Eco-System Health on Your Farm | 80% |
Building Organic Matter in Your Soils | 80% |
Intended Behavior | % of participants |
Develop a Whole Farm Goal | 94% |
Change Management Practices | 81% |
Implement Time Management Tools or Processes | 100% |
Using Testing Questions | 94% |
Change Enterprise Assessment | 79% |
Complete or Modify a Financial Plan | 100% |
Enter Financial Data Regularly | 85% |
Strategically Reinvest in Farm | 77% |
Complete or Modify a Marketing Plan | 100% |
Change Marketing Practices | 100% |
Complete or Modify a Business Plan | 100% |
Change Business Planning Practices | 79% |
Change Leadership Practices | 89% |
Complete or Modify Written Land Plan | 93% |
Complete or Modify Written Grazing Plan | 90% |
Change Grazing Practices | 83% |
Conduct Biological Monitoring on Farm | 100% |
Change Eco-System Health Practices | 100% |
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