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Reaching Out
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NRCS District Conservationist
Bobbi McDerMott discusses cultivation practices with a cooperator
in Yuma, Az.
Photo by Jeff Vanuga, NRCS Photo Gallery |
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Kentucky State University (KSU) small farm assistants work in rural
communities where small farmers seem most receptive to receiving
information from people they know and trust. KSU "paraprofessionals"
take advantage of their local connections to spread information
about sustainable farming throughout Kentucky, with real results.
Typically, they spend five years with each farmer, with whom they
work in mentor-student relationships.
Marion Simon, a small farm specialist with KSU extension, runs
a popular, SARE-supported monthly training program at KSU’s
research farm. In her six years of running the “Third Thursday”
field days, a diverse set of participants has toured the university
research and demonstration farm. In large part, the workshops educate
small farm assistants, a group that reaches far into the hills of
Kentucky.
“They’re outstanding,” said Simon of the team of
paraprofessionals with whom she works. “The average farmer
increases his income by $10,000 or $12,000 while enrolled in the
program.”
Small farm assistant Scott Harne knows many of the farmers in Casey
County, Ky., where just 6.5 percent of the population has graduated
from college and the average income is $11,774. Recently, he helped
a tobacco grower diversify into tomatoes and peppers, which she
now sells to neighbors and at another farmer’s roadside stand.
Harne feels he connects well with county residents. “People
are pretty comfortable with me,” he said. “I’m not
afraid to get my hands dirty.” (Click here
for a complete story about this project.)
In the Great Plains, Lakota market gardeners unaccustomed to working
the land now are finding new ways to improve their diets with freshly
grown produce. Thanks to a team of Lakota leaders coordinated by
Ann Krush of South Dakota’s Center for Permaculture as Native
Science, the tribe is beginning to grow its own food, imperative
in this reservation 50 miles from the nearest grocery store. The
work is encouraged by Lakota program assistants – supported
by funds from a SARE grant – who further the Center’s
goals by working side by side with new gardeners.
As their skills and interest increase, so does their harvest. In
2001, the group started a small farmers market at the reservation’s
only traffic light, selling their excess vegetables in a start at
self-sufficiency. “Five years ago, you wouldn’t have noticed
any gardens” on the reservation, Krush said. “Now there’s
no question – they are very evident.” (Click here
for a complete story about this project.)
In the productive fields of central California, a new crop of farmers
has become financially independent thanks to their involvement in
the Rural Development Center, a program run by the nonprofit Agriculture
and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA). The farmers, most of
whom immigrated from Mexico to pick vegetables in the Salinas Valley,
enrolled in an intensive night and weekend course to learn the ins
and outs of vegetable production and marketing.
The bilingual program includes several months of practical experience
growing vegetables in the field. By advertising in Spanish-language
media, ALBA staffers continue to draw applicants hungry for a better
life.
“Most agree that the money and stability of being a farm proprietor
is welcome compared to the seasonal fluctuations associated with
migrant work and the itinerant lifestyle of farm workers,”
said Patrick Troy, ALBA agronomist and education coordinator. (Click
here for a complete story about this
project.)
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| Socio-Economic Barriers
that May Hinder Access to Information: |
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Lack of land (in parts of the West, most ancestral
lands are under U.S. government ownership) |
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High levels of poverty. “Many can’t
finance an enterprise,” said Marion Simon from Kentucky
State University. “If I can show them how to save $1,500
or increase production by 50 percent through a soil test, then
we’ve got a believer.” |
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Time constraints. Many farmers work off-farm
jobs or are pressed to finish existing farm chores. Others have
family obligations and may have limited child care options. |
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Unemployment/underemployment |
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Inadequate housing or lack of farm equipment,
i.e. storage and cooling facilities |
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Low levels of education |
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Language and cultural barriers. “Our staff
is bilingual, but our student farmers are not only communicating
with us, but with folks outside, such as organic certifiers.
They don’t read English, or in some cases, Spanish, and
the record-keeping is a challenge for some of them,” said
Brett Melone, ALBA executive director. |
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