Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the long term goal of this…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the long term goal of this project is to get more skilled farmers on land in central texas using climate smart sustainable farming practices growing food for the local community. In this project farmshare austin with austin community college's agricultural sciences program, green gate farms and hope full farm, will launch the central texas farm incubator collaborative. The collaborative will provide beginning farmers in the start-up phase of their business with access to land, infrastructure, mentorship, business training and marketing outlets to bridge barriers to starting and sustaining a farm. By embracing a collaborative model, we are able to draw on the collective farmland and the collective knowledge of the mentor farmers, thereby reducing the barrier of land access for beginning farmers while leveraging the fertile resources of our community. We believethis collaborative model will be vital in serving more farmers for a longer period of time in an area where land access is limited and will foster community connections across our region between emerging and experienced farmers. The 2022 national survey of young farmers shows finding affordable land is the top challenge for young farmers. This is especially true in central texas, an area that, according to the city of austin's 2022 state of the food system report, is losing 16 acres of farmland a day to development. Couple that with the disruptions in the food supply we saw during covid and 2021'S winter storm URI and the fact that, per the 2022 USDA census of agriculture, the average age of farmers in central texas is 60, IT becomes more and more apparent that supporting the next generation of farmers is paramount to the resiliency of our community. In the first 3 years of the incubator collaborative funded by this grant, at least 15 new farmers will launch and/or expand their new farm businesses. These 15 farmers will improve production practices, business and financial management practices and be connected to new markets. Through a series of workshops open to the public, at least 100 farmers will gain knowledge of organic and climate smart practices, 75 farmers will improve their understanding of food safety practices and 20 new farmers will gain comprehensive training on land access strategies. Framework and procedures will be developed to onboard additional landowners to the collaborative, accessing more acreage to support more farmers in the years beyond this grant.