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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small has announced an investment of $27.9 million across 45 organizations that teach and train beginning farmers and ranchers, including programs for U.S. veterans who are entering into agricultural careers and starting new farming businesses.
"The next generation of farmers and ranchers hold the promise for future American agriculture and rural prosperity," said USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small.
This investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), which supports a wide range of professional development activities and topics, such as managing capital, acquiring and managing land, and learning effective business and farming practices.
According to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service's Ag Census data, one-third of the United States' 3.4 million farmers are over the age of 65.
"Ensuring there will be a new generation of beginning farmers and ranchers -- regardless of age or production choice -- is essential to the continuation of agricultural production in the United States," said USDA NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra. "Beginning farmers and ranchers have unique educational, training, technical assistance and outreach needs. Access to capital, land and knowledge that assists in ensuring profitability and sustainability are vital to farmers and ranchers in their first 10 years of operation."
NIFA's BFRDP funds three types of projects:
Standard Projects to new and established local and regional training, education outreach and technical assistance initiatives that address the unique local and regional needs of beginning farmers and ranchers.
Educational Team Projects to develop seamless beginning farmer and rancher education programs by conducting evaluation, coordination and enhancement activities for standard projects and other non-funded beginning farmer programs.
Curriculum and Training Clearinghouse to make educational curricula and training materials available to beginning farmers and ranchers and organizations who directly serve them.
Examples of the 45 newly funded projects for FY2023 include:
Setting The Stage For Succession: Tools for the Beginning Farmer: This project at Penn State University has received a grant totaling $49,999.
Non-technical summary: Agriculture is a crucial industry in Pennsylvania, providing not only nutritious and locally available food to residents but also an essential source of employment and economic and environmental benefits in both rural and urban areas of the Commonwealth. However, the number of farms and farmers continues to decrease across Pennsylvania. From 2012 to 2017, the USDA census shows the number of farms in Pennsylvania has decreased by 10%, and the acreage in farmland has decreased by 6%. New and beginning farmers are finding it difficult to buy or lease farmland due to the decreased available land and the higher prices at which the remaining farmland is offered.The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program project entitled, Setting the Stage for Succession: Tools for the Beginning Farmer Project, aims to combat this issue by piloting an overnight retreat workshop that will bring together beginning farmers that are looking to farm with retiring farmers that want to keep their land in agricultural use and facilitate the successful transition of land and knowledge.
Objectives: The long-term goal of the Setting the Stage for Succession: Tools for the Beginning Farmer project is for beginning farmers to acquire farmland from retiring farmers in Pennsylvania for the purpose of starting or sustaining a profitable farm business. This project pilots an overnight retreat workshop that will bring together beginning and retiring Pennsylvania farmers to facilitate the successful transition of land and knowledge.
Other examples:
Calypso Farm and Ecology Center: This project, Growing Alaskan Farmers: An Agricultural Training Program for Alaska Native People and Their Communities, aims to train a growing population of beginning Indigenous farmers in rural Alaska. This supports the broader vision to foster food sovereignty across Alaska by providing the training and support necessary for Alaskan villages to grow their own food. The project is an Indigenous-led, hands-on, farmer training program.
Farm Boot Camp: This project will provide in-depth training, technical assistance, and hands-on internship opportunities to transitioning active duty and veteran beginning farmers obtaining the knowledge, skills and tools needed to make informed decisions for their farming operations. The training and materials will be based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework aimed at addressing the needs of service-related disabilities.