The Beginning Women Farmer Training Program in New York 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. 16 women were accepted into the program for the 2012-2013 program year and 10 completed the program successfully. The State Coordinator role was shared by Lauren Lines and Sarah Williford from Central NY RC&D. Program mentors were was Barbara Jefts, Christy Smith, and Kylie Spooner. 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 50-100% range. There was a 76% satisfaction rating for the program mentors and an 82% satisfaction rating for the state coordinator. In 9 out of the 10 sessions 88% or more of the participants noted knowledge change. That knowledge change varied depending on content of session with a 64-100% increase in knowledge change for key topics. Overall satisfaction of the program was 96%. Participant Demographic Information
Average 4 years of farming (range: 1 – 7 years)
A total of 58 acres under production
Average age: 43 years old (range 31 to 67 years)
Total customers of all participants:336