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About Us

Long-term Project Goal

The Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Project aims to improve opportunities for beginning farmers and ranchers to establish and sustain viable agricultural operations in Virginia through the development and enhancement of whole farm planning programs, online resources, and farmer mentoring networks.  

Objectives

   

Our project launched in 2010.  Current project activity is aimed at accomplishing four main objectives:

• Establish a diverse coalition of stakeholder organizations, agencies, and groups to support the development and growth of outreach, education, training, and networking opportunities for Virginia’s beginning farmers and ranchers
• Collaboratively develop and deliver whole farm planning curriculum using experiential learning and classroom delivery methods.
• Collaboratively develop and deliver online learning tools and resources using examples of whole farm planning curriculum activity. 
• Develop and strengthen mentoring networks to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and skills of experienced farmers and ranchers with the beginning farmer and rancher community.  

Beginning Farmer Audience

   

We are dedicated to addressing the needs of the spectrum of beginning farmers and ranchers in Virginia.  The Coalition recognizes a diversity of farming experiences, backgrounds, and aims held by Virginia beginning farmers and ranchers.  From the perspective of on-farm experience:   This project primarily targets: 

• explorer farmer = individuals interested in starting a farm or ranch.
• start-up farmer = individuals who are in the early stages of their agricultural operation.
• establishing farmer = those we are expanding or diversifying but still within the first years of farming.
• transitioning farmer = individuals who are family farm members who have decision making roles on the farm without having primary farm operator status.
• service providers = provide education, information, or resource support to Virginia's beginning farmers and ranchers are essential project stakeholders.  Professional development for beginning farmer and rancher service providers is a future project aim.

Farmer categories are a modification of those referred to by the New England Small Farm Institute (for full reference, see: Sheils, C. (2004). What does the term “new farmer” mean? In Working with new farmers: Topics in professional development (pp. 4-7). Growing New Farmers, a special project of The New England Small Farm Institute.

Community-based Approach

This project follows a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach.  This is a bottom-up approach to research and program planning that aims to equitably involve partners in the process. This approach recognizes the unique strengths that each group brings to the coalition.  We believe that this process helps build sustainable partnerships and services for and with beginning farmers for long-term agricultural viability.

Who is Involved?

The Coalition component of the project is collaborative in nature to adequately address the start-up needs of farmers and ranchers in Virginia.  Each Coalition member has a strong record of providing outreach, education, training, and resource services to farmers and ranchers in Virginia.   Coalition member share a sincere commitment to addressing whole farm planning needs through accommodating, organizational cooperation and promotion.

While a strong team of collaborators exist, the Coalition welcomes the participation of other organizations to help to build a more comprehensive support structure by expanding, enhancing and sustaining services and resources.  

For detailed contact information for those involved with the Steering Committee, Project Management Team, and the Curriculum Writing Team click here.

   

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