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
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.