In February, HMI Executive Director, Ann Adams, participated in a New Agrarian Convening held at the Paicines Ranch in Paicines, California. Over 22 organizations from across the U.S. participated in this event to develop new strategies and collaborations to increase and improve new agrarian training to train more young people as successful, sustainable farmers and ranchers. The event was organized and supported by Globetrotter Foundation and the Quivira Coalition.
With the average age of a US farmer just over 58 years old, the need for younger farmers and ranchers is a growing need for a country that is facing a brain drain from this critical industry. Food insecurity continues to rise in the U.S. because of conventional agricultural practices that mine the soil of vital nutrients, resulting in a less productive and resilient land base on which to grow food in a time when extreme weather and climate change adds additional pressures to the already challenging profession of agriculture. Currently there is no clear path for many new farmers and ranchers to be trained and mentored into agriculture in the same way that other trades develop their new professionals.
HMI is currently partnering with the Quivira Coalition to offer online training in Holistic Management to support the Quivira Coalition's New Agrarian Program which offers apprentice positions on farms and ranches practicing regenerative agriculture. The goal of the program is to give these young people sufficient experience so that the apprentices will be ready to start their own businesses or become farm or ranch managers for other operations. There were other agricultural education programs there that offer internships or extended residential training programs. HMI is proud to offer our training support to these programs.
If you are a farm or a ranch that offers internships or apprentice positions and would like to add formal Holistic Management curriculum to your educational programming, you can sign your intern or apprentice up for our online class series starting in March and running through October. There will be four classes that are six-weeks long covering the basic Holistic Management curriculum. To register for this series go to: https://naponline.eventbrite.com.
If you have questions about this program or would like to apply for a scholarship, contact HMI Education Manager, Julie Fierro.
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