A new report, "Cultivating the Next Generation," examines the impact of USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), the only federal program explicitly dedicated to training the next generation of farmers. BFRDP has had many successes over the last decade. The program is helping to grow the next generation of farmers, building up agricultural infrastructure, and continues to innovate new ways to support entrepreneurship through farmer training projects. Since 2008, BFRDP has invested roughly $150 million in more than 250 new farmer training projects across the country.
Key report findings include: More than 60,000 beginning farmers have been impacted directly by BFRDP projects; almost all projects focused on farmers in their first five years of farming, with a significant focus on those farmers starting out at a small-scale; and more than half of all projects served socially disadvantaged farmers as their primary audience.
NIFA partnered with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to conduct the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of BFRDP. Advisory Team members include: the University of California-Berkeley, Center for Rural Affairs, CROPP Cooperative, Land for Good, Land Stewardship Project, and the National Young Farmers Coalition.
NIFA supports BFRDP, with at least 5% of grant funds dedicated to helping veterans.
Read the full article at the Indiana Prairie Farmer
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