Mentoring program to assist new farmers, ranchers
By Amrith Gunasekara On Feb. 21, online enrollment will begin for a new program to help prepare the next generation in California agriculture. The California
The workshops will provide insights on regulations for farming and ranching in California. Participants will learn about financial incentives, including grant op- portunities that can help them fund con- servation management practices and climate-smart agriculture. They will be exposed to resources from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and UC Cooperative Extension. The Bountiful Foundation is partnering in Expanding Our Roots with the California Farm Bureau, 54 county Farm Bureaus and the Black Agriculture Working Group, with assistance from Michael O’Gorman, founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition. To sign up for a Feb. 16 webinar and learn more about the program, visit californiabountifulfoundation.com. The effort integrates well with existing programs such as the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers pro- gram. YF&R provides opportunities to develop leadership skills through involve- ment in Farm Bureau at county, state and national levels. YF&R members represent the diversity of farmers and ranchers across the state. We hope that many par- ticipants in YF&R programs at state and county levels will seek to participate in the Expanding Our Roots program. California is the nation’s most produc- tive agriculture sector and is critical to our food security. As longtime California farmers and ranchers prepare to pass the torch to the next generation of agricultur- ists, we believe our beginning farmers and ranchers will meet the challenge. Through Expanding our Roots, they will get a valu- able head start. (Amrith Gunasekara, Ph.D., is director of science and research for the California Bountiful Foundation, an affiliate 501(c)(3) of the California Farm Bureau. He may be reached at agunasekara@cfbf.com.)
Bountiful Foundation, the science, research and education arm of the California Farm Bureau, has secured funding to offer a mentoring program for 400 beginning farmers and ranchers.
Amrith Gunasekara
As the most productive farming sector in the nation, California will soon depend on a new generation of farmers. The Expanding Our Roots program aims to prepare beginning farmers and ranchers for success.
The Expanding Our Roots program will connect beginning and early-career farm- ers and ranchers with one to10 years of ex- perience with mentors who have worked for more than a decade in farming and ranching. Two hundred participants will be trained in 2024. The goal of Expanding Our Roots, a first -of-its-kind program in California, is to help ensure agricultural sustainability and food security well into the future. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1 million in grants to the California Bountiful Foundation to support this effort. Half of program participants must be specialty crop growers. As per funding require- ments, primary consideration will be given to military veterans and socially disadvan- taged farmers and ranchers. Agriculture in California and national- ly faces the challenge of an aging farming population, with many farmers and ranch- ers nearing retirement. These agricultural veterans and their mid-career peers have a vast array of knowledge and life experi- ences not found in textbooks, classrooms or other academic pursuits. Their experiences come through built relationships, through learning from
doing, and from trial and error on the farm and ranch. Our farmers handle challenges as complex as developing unique nutrient management plans or irrigation water schedules tailored to specific social types and crops. They are knowledgeable about market opportunities and maximizing food production to meet demand. But for beginning farmers and ranchers, learning through trial and error may trans- late to financial risk, which can put upstart farms and ranches in peril. This is at the heart of the Expanding Our Roots program—connecting be- ginning agricultural producers with seasoned professionals familiar with es- tablished methodologies and emerging agricultural technologies. How can we help beginning farmers and ranchers who are already farming reduce their risk of doing business? One way is to provide them with men- tors—someone they can trust and who has been down the pathway of exploring new markets and farming and ranching approaches. The mentor has already dealt with the risks. They can impart
knowledge to help position the new generation that will soon guide our ag- ricultural future. The funding secured through grants by the California Bountiful Foundation will financially compensate mentor farmers and ranchers who provide valuable ex- pertise and training through Expanding Our Roots. By serving as mentors, they will share California’s agricultural heritage and legacies for others to follow. Mentoring is used in business and fi- nance and by numerous organizations to promote knowledge transfer, increase profitability and ensure future growth. For California agriculture, this means sustain- ing and expanding America’s most pro- ductive farming and ranching sector to meet the needs of our growing population. Beginning farmers and ranchers who enroll in Expanding Our Roots will be pro- vided with four annual one-day workshops at no cost, thanks to funding awarded to the program. The workshops will be held throughout the state. There will also be online opportunities for attendees to par- ticipate remotely.
VOL. 51, NO. 6
February 14, 2024
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