2015 VT Beginning Women Farmers
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 Vermont program which was coordinated by Heidi Krantz and Jessie Schmidt through University of Vermont. Instructors for this program were Calley Hastings and Lisa McCrory. Mentors for the program were Lisa McCrory, Chandra Blackmer, and Heidi Krantz. There was 92% average satisfaction rating for all sessions and 69% of the participants noted they had increased their network as a result of the training. 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 14 Vermont participants, of which 12 graduated from the program:
Participant Demographic Information
Of the 14 participants responding
- 11 are currently farming
- The average years of farming was 4 years
- The average acres under production was 15 acres with a total of 196 influenced.
- The total customers of all participants: Retail – total 674; Wholesale – total 94
Lisa McCrory discussing Holistic Management practices on McCrory Farm
When asked about the effect of this program or what was helpful about the program, participants responded
Better general understanding of how and why rotational grazing is so important. The testing questions have been crucial in analyzing what has and hasn’t been working for the farm, enabling me to make sound business decisions, as opposed to just going with my gut/heart.
My mentor has been a major asset to me and I look forward to maintaining a close relationship with her. My teachers and fellow students were extremely valuable connections.
The network of ladies in my HMI course is amazing! I have gotten equipment, advice, and companionship from them
Mentors and peers from HMI have offered great resources, skills and knowledge
Planning for profit, looking at the big picture of finances, marketing products, creating a holistic goal – all of these in addition to meeting and sharing with other farmers have helped us create a plan for our farm.
The program has helped me gain more confidence in all aspects of our farm. Communication with my partner has gotten much stronger and has allowed us to take on problems we had been ignoring and working around.
It has given me a new perspective to view my enterprises through and measurements by which I can determine their effectiveness and ability to support my holistic goals for the land. Though I am only in my first year of production, so I do not have any business plan to work from, or existing product line, I am able to more clearly see how to prioritize my time and money to bring things to market.
Taking this training has really gotten me thinking about my farm and its enterprises in a new way. Making the holistic goal and learning the testing questions has already impacted the way I make decisions in a positive way. All the various modules from financial planning to marketing and business planning were helpful in getting me to actually sit down and write the plans out that have been floating around in my head for a long time. The grazing plan and enterprise profit and loss have been incredibly useful and biomonitoring is under way right now.
The training has allowed me to focus on what I want from our farm and how to achieve our goals. The different sections, holistic goal, marketing, financial & business planning, grazing, etc. allow for easier management and thinking of the whole when it is broken down into more manageable pieces.
This training has helped me define my life goals more clearly. It has given me an understanding and the tools to grow my business. I am so excited for the future and what I am capable of.
It helped me step back from the day to day hysteria of running a farm and let me look at the business as a whole. I now have a better ability to analyze and prioritize what I am doing.
I can prioritize my time and chores much better. I have a greater holistic vision for the future of my farm and my life.
Excellent program. I’ve been recommending it to lots of farmer and wanna be farmer friends. I hope you will continue to offer it, invaluable information. I also really liked having the 12 weeks to get to know the other women in the class, and look forward to watching their progress too
Very worthwhile program that as well as providing invaluable information provides an opportunity to bring like-minded people together. The support generated from the course is a very important aspect.
This program is wonderful! It is extremely comprehensive and covers all aspects of a farm business.
As a complete newbie farmer, this class was invaluable and delivered exactly what I was hoping for: exposure to the business end of farming, learning from experienced mentors and other farming classmates, and tuning in to the challenges that lay ahead better equipped with goals, testing questions, management techniques, etc. Well worth the time and money ( I paid the full fee) and I’d do it all again.
Vermont Beginning Women Farmers on McCrory Farm
| BWF PARTICIPANT BEHAVIOR CHANGE/COMPLETED PLANS | % of participants |
| Holistic Goal/Whole Farm Plan | 100% |
| Financial Plan | 75% |
| Business Plan | 71% |
| Marketing Plan | 71% |
| Land Plan | 71% |
| Biological Monitoring | 64% |
| Grazing Plan (grazers in group) | 82% |
| Forge Relationships That Positively Impacted You | 69% |
Vermont Beginning Women farmers on farm tour
| Key Post-Program Results | % Participants |
| Satisfaction with Quality of Life | 8% |
| Satisfaction with Communication | 33% |
| Satisfaction with Time Management | 33% |
| Session Satisfaction | Class Percent rated good or excellent |
| Goalsetting | 100% |
| On-Farm Decision Making | 89% |
| Financial Planning Overview | 100% |
| Enterprise Analysis | 92% |
| Marketing Planning | 85% |
| Business Planning | 75% |
| Leadership & Communication | 93% |
| Land Planning | 91% |
| Grazing Planning | 100% |
| Biological Monitoring/Soil Fertility | 90% |
| Post-Program Results | Percent of Participants |
| Financial Resources | |
| Increased Farm Profits | 29% |
| Ability to Identify Business Challenges from Previous Years | 86% |
| Strategies for More Effective Reinvestment in the Business | 57% |
| New or Improved Record Keeping Systems | 79% |
| Enhanced Understanding of Your Farm Finances | 86% |
| Changes in Farm Enterprises | 71% |
| Changes in How Your Prioritize Expenses | 64% |
| Increased Efficiency of Farm Chores as a Result of Land Planning | 71% |
| Clearer Sense of How Your Business Is Projected to Grow in Future Years | 64% |
| Improved Ability to Articulate Goals and Objectives of Business to Others | 71% |
| Improved Understanding of your Market and How Your Business Fits In | 71% |
| New Business Systems (Improved Understanding of your Market and How Your Business Fits into These) | 50% |
| Prioritized investments | 57% |
| Improved ability to determine most effective enterprises | 71% |
| New ways of displaying or packaging product | 50% |
| Improved ability to discern most appropriate market channels | 50% |
| Improved ability to effectively market products | 50% |
| New marketing methods you have employed | 50% |
| Improved ability to receive desired price for your products/services | 36% |
| Natural Resources | |
| Improved Environmental Conditions as a Result of Land Planning | 36% |
| Enhanced Production as a Result of Land Planning | 50% |
| Improved Ability to Prioritize Land Planning Investments | 93% |
| Improved Ability to Incorporate Social, Environmental, and Financial into Your Land Plan | 79% |
| Proved Profitability through Your Land Plan | 36% |
| Increased Forage Production | 36% |
| Reduction in Feed Costs | 21% |
| Improved Environmental Conditions | 29% |
| Improved Herd Health | 21% |
| Improved Ability to Manage Animals | 50% |
| Less Stress for Farmers | 36% |
| Less Stress for Animals | 29% |
| Improved Understanding of Your Farm’s Eco-System | 79% |
| Improved Ability to Determine Appropriate Management to Address an Environmental Issue | 64% |
| Improved Understanding of Your Forage Composition | 64% |
| Improved Environmental Conditions on Your Farm | 36% |
| Knowledge Change Experienced | % Participants |
| Session One – Goal Setting | |
| Inventory Farm Resources | 73% |
| Develop a Whole Farm Goal | 100% |
| Define What You Are Managing Towards | 93% |
| Identify Needed Farm Systems and Protocols | 93% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Two – Time Management | |
| Ability to Make Complex On-Farm Decisions | 89% |
| Assess How Time is Spent on Farm | 78% |
| Effectively Manage Time on Your Farm | 56% |
| Session Summary | 89% |
| Session Three – Financial Planning I | |
| Attitude Toward Financial Planning | 85% |
| Ability to Develop Balance Sheet | 77% |
| How to Increase Farm Net Worth | 77% |
| Determining Viable Profitable Enterprises for Your Farm | 85% |
| Determining Your Farm’s Projected Revenue | 85% |
| Identifying Logjams and Adverse Factors on Farm | 92% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Four – Financial Planning II | |
| Skills in Developing Whole Farm Financial Plan | 83% |
| Getting Profit You Need from Your Farm | 92% |
| Prioritizing and Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Reinvestment | 67% |
| Assessing Farm Cash Flow | 100% |
| Monitoring Your Financial Plan | 75% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Five – Marketing | |
| Using Whole Farm Goal and Financial Plan to Develop Marketing Plan | 92% |
| Profitably Price Products and Services | 62% |
| Effectively Promote Products and Services | 69% |
| Understanding Your Competition | 77% |
| Marketing Outreach Towards Your Whole Farm Goal | 92% |
| How to Develop a Marketing Plan | 92% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Six – Business Planning | |
| Knowledge of Resources for Developing Strategic Plan for Farm | 100% |
| Attitudes Towards Value of Having a Business Plan to Guide Farm | 71% |
| Ability to Develop a Business Plan for Farm | 75% |
| Ability to Use Financial Plan to Determine Viable Markets for Farm | 88% |
| Ability to Implement Systems and Projects to Move Towards Whole Farm Goal | 88% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Seven – Leadership and Communication | |
| Awareness of Communication Patterns on Farm | 86% |
| Effective Communication Tools for Farm | 93% |
| Conflict Resolution Skills for Farm | 79% |
| Incorporating Diverse Learning Styles toward More Effective Leadership and Communication | 93% |
| Understanding Diverse Ways People Seek Recognition and Affirmation | 93% |
| Using Whole Farm Goal to Guide Communication on Farm | 79% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Eight – Land Planning | |
| Prioritize Land and Infrastructure Development/Investments | 82% |
| Design Strategies to Build Resilient, Diversified Farms | 82% |
| Assess Management Considerations to Guide Land Planning | 82% |
| How to Incorporate Natural Resource Issues into Land Planning | 82% |
| How Permaculture Fits into Holistic Land Planning | 82% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Nine – Grazing | |
| Value of Grazing Planning | 100% |
| How to Assess Recovery Periods | 100% |
| How to Assess Quantity of Forage in Pasture | 100% |
| How to Improve Land Health with Livestock | 100% |
| How to Determine Number of Animals Your Pasture Can Support | 100% |
| How to Determine the Number of Paddocks | 100% |
| How to Determine Grazing Periods | 100% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Session Ten – Soil Fertility | |
| Importance of Improving Soil Fertility Sustainably | 73% |
| Value of Organic Matter in Soils | 64% |
| Benefits of a Covered Soil | 82% |
| Understanding Eco-system Processes on Your Farm | 82% |
| Indicators of a Healthy Farm Eco-System | 82% |
| Ability to Monitor Farm Eco-System Health | 91% |
| Session Summary | 100% |
| Increased Confidence In: | % of Participants |
| Developing Written Whole Farm Goal | 87% |
| Building an Effective Management Team | 67% |
| Identifying Systems and Protocols for your Farm | 67% |
| Manage Your Time on Your Farm | 100% |
| Make Complex Decisions on Your Farm | 89% |
| Using Testing Questions | 67% |
| Determine Your Farm’s Net Worth | 85% |
| Increase Your Farm’s Net Worth | 62% |
| Determine Viable Profitable Enterprises | 85% |
| Determine Your Farm’s Projected Revenue | 62% |
| Ability to Identify Logjam/Adverse Factors | 92% |
| Getting Profit You Need From Your Farm | 92% |
| Prioritizing Cutting Farm Expenses to Guide Re-investment | 75% |
| Determining Weak Link in Farm Enterprises | 83% |
| Identifying Cash Flow Issues on Farm | 92% |
| Monitoring Your Farm Financial Plan | 83% |
| Pricing Your Farm Products | 62% |
| Promoting Your Farm Products | 100% |
| Developing a Marketing Plan that Meets Your Farm’s Needs and Goals | 69% |
| Assessing Your Competition to Understand Your Farm’s Strengths | 100% |
| Developing a Business/Strategic Plan | 88% |
| Identifying Resources to Assist You in Developing a Business/Strategic Plan | 75% |
| Implementing Important Strategic Systems and Projects | 75% |
| Communicating with Decision Makers | 100% |
| Communicating with Farm Workers | 79% |
| Providing Recognition for Farm Workers | 79% |
| Providing Leadership on Your Farm | 64% |
| Ability to Prioritize Land/Infrastructure Improvements on Farm | 91% |
| Ability to Incorporate Natural Resource Issues into Land Planning | 100% |
| Ability to Incorporate Social/Legal Considerations into Land Planning | 73% |
| Ability as a Grazer | 82% |
| 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 | 82% |
| Determining How Long Animals Will Stay in Each Paddock | 82% |
| Monitoring Your Farm’s Eco-System Health | 100% |
| Improving Eco-System Health on Your Farm | 91% |
| Building Organic Matter in Your Soils | 91% |
| Intended Behavior | % of participants |
| Develop a Whole Farm Goal | 93% |
| Change Management Practices | 92% |
| Implement Time Management Tools or Processes | 100% |
| Using Testing Questions | 100% |
| Change Enterprise Assessment | 77% |
| Determine Profit Up Front and Cap Expenses | 62% |
| Complete or Modify a Financial Plan | 100% |
| Enter Financial Data Regularly | 67% |
| Monitor Financial Plan | 75% |
| Prioritize and Cut Expenses | 75% |
| Strategically Reinvest in Farm | 58% |
| Complete or Modify a Marketing Plan | 92% |
| Change Marketing Practices | 100% |
| Complete or Modify a Business Plan | 88% |
| Change Leadership Practices | 64% |
| Complete or Modify Written Land Plan | 80% |
| Complete or Modify Written Grazing Plan | 73% |
| Change Grazing Practices | 80% |
| Conduct Biological Monitoring on Farm | 100% |
| Change Eco-System Health Practices | 70% |
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.
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