The overarching goals of the regional resilience: an integrated approach to new farmer training in the chesapeake project are to: strengthen and diversify the new farmer pipeline across the chesapeake…

This three-year, $746,176 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) will fund the Regional Resilience: An Integrated Approach to New Farmer Training in the Chesapeake project. Delivered by Future Harvest Inc. from Cockeysville, Maryland, this project aims to strengthen and diversify the new farmer pipeline across the Chesapeake region through integrated in-person and online farmer training programs. Key services include coordinating beginning farmer service providers, convening farmer-to-farmer gatherings, and creating accessible training opportunities for socially disadvantaged, limited-resource, and veteran farmers both on-farms and online. The project also focuses on supporting existing beginning farmers who own or manage farms. This coordinated, flexible regional approach is intended to help new farmers navigate changes to markets from the COVID-19 pandemic through strengthened collaboration and expanded training opportunities.

The overarching goals of the regional resilience: an integrated approach to new farmer training in the chesapeake project are to: strengthen and diversify the new farmer pipeline across the chesapeake region, build and connect a well-trained beginning farmer workforce, and support the long-term viability of new farm businesses. We will accomplish these goals by: 1) strengthening collaboration and coordination amongst beginning farmer service providers in the region; 2) creating an integrated set of in-person and online farmer-to-farmer gatherings across the region; 3) creating accessible beginning farmer programs – both on-farm and online – to diversify the region's new farmer pipeline, enabling socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and veteran farmers to pursue farming; and 4) strengthening support for beginning farmers who already own or manage a farm. The need for an integrated, nimble, region-wide approach is clearer than ever, as our organizations work together to support new farmers through the covid-19 crisis and the massive changes to regional markets IT has wrought.