Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. |
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Applications for the Savings Incentive Program are open! |
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Getting a start in farming can be difficult, and sometimes you need a little guidance to keep you on track. The Savings Incentive Program (SIP) was created to help beginners establish viable, sustainable farm businesses.
Here are three reasons to apply for SIP:
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Business Planning
Receive guidance with creating your own business plan
Create, implement and improve your farm business plan. During the two-year program they will be held accountable and practice the skills of using your business plan as a decision-making tool. You will receive expert feedback on your business plan.
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Network Building
Connect to a network of peers and mentors
Participating in mentoring activities and PFI events will give you access to mentors and peers to strengthen your network of skills and knowledge. You will leave the program with the tools to build your network to fit your business needs.
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Capital Investing
Savings investments will be matched up to $2,400
Over the two-year program you will invest up to $2,400 into your farm savings account. Upon program completion, Practical Farmers of Iowa matches their savings dollar for dollar, up to $2,400, to use toward the purchase of a farm asset.
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Applications are due by Monday, Oct. 12. |
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Sept. 17 | 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Take a quick break to virtually gather and socialize with other beginning and aspiring farmers. Build your farming network and learn from others who have similar (or different!) farm ventures than you.
This month we will open it up for a Q&A on our Savings Incentive Program. Applications are now open for the SIP class of 2022!
If you are thinking about applying, have questions about the application process or are curious about the program, join us this Thursday.
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Check out these resources for beginning farmers |
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We have recently updated our collection of business, financial, production and technical assistance resources to help aspiring and beginning farmers further their business goals. You can access them by clicking on the icons below.
We will continue to build this list and add new resources as they are available. If you see any resources missing that you find helpful, please share them with us. You can send them to Greg Padget at greg@practicalfarmers.org.
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FACT offers free webinars on a variety of topics relevant to humane animal production. Check out an upcoming session or peruse our archive to access all of our previously recorded presentations.
September 23: Scaling Up Pastured Livestock Production
October 7: Scaling Up Pastured Poultry Production
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This is a 6-week long interactive online course for aspiring and beginning farmers interested in starting or improving their small- to mid-scale produce, livestock or other diversified operations. From dreaming and creating a vision to developing a sound business and marketing plan, course participants will be well equipped to take the next steps in starting their farm operation. Course work will include weekly presentations, and discussions and interactions with peers, instructors, and farmers in the region. The anticipated time commitment for this course is 3-4 hours per week (one 90 minute evening session per week, plus one highly encouraged weekly lunch hour discussion, and no more than one hour of pre-work before each weekly evening session). Instructors for this course are individuals from Nebraska Extension and Center for Rural Affairs. The course will be housed through Google Classroom. Registration is required. $65, scholarships are available upon request.
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The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) has recently updated its library of archived webinars related to agroforestry practices and related issues, including webinars presented by NAC staff. The expanded library now contains more than 160 archived webinars and can be filtered by agroforestry practice or by year. Additionally, NAC’s index of SARE grants related to agroforestry has also been updated to include reports on 15 new projects related to alley cropping, forest farming, windbreaks, and silvopasture.
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Organic Farming Research Foundation’s free beginning farmer training program is for beginning farmers, existing organic farmers, and farmers in transition to organic production. While it was developed for California specialty crop farmers, the content is based on foundational principles that are relevant to all organic farmers and our hope is that growers across the U.S. find it to be a useful resource. The self-guided nature of the training program allows you to move through the readings and resources, visual and written content, and demonstration videos at your own pace.
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Sept 16: Virtual Field Day - Cornelian Cherries & Asian Pears
12:30-1:05 p.m. | Online
Sept 17: Virtual Social - Beginning Farmer
6:30-7:30 p.m. | Online
Sept 18: Virtual Meet-Up - Coffee & Cover Crops
7:30-8:30 a.m. | Online
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Sept 18: Virtual Field Day - Mechanical Weed Control
12:30-1:10 p.m. | Online
Sept. 22: Virtual Field Day - Testing Apple Varieties
12:30-1:05 p.m. | Online
Sept. 25: Virtual Field Day - Mechanical Weed Control
12:30-1:10 p.m. | Online
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Find A Farmer allows for a comfortable place to start anonymous conversations with land-seekers or landowners. Search for users in a particular area that fit your specifications and begin the discussion.
Find A Farmer is FREE and available for anyone with internet access! No membership is required.
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Labor4Learning helps beginning farmers get paid on-the-job training with experienced farmers, and pays experienced farmers for their time and effort.
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Savings Incentive Program |
Savings Incentive Program is a 2-year program that pairs beginning and aspiring farmers with experienced farmer mentors; provides targeted learning and peer networking opportunities; offers business planning support and guidance. All this while you save money that we match dollar for dollar, up to $2,400, to use toward the purchase of a farm asset.
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Greg Padget
Next Generation Director
(515) 232-5661
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Celize Christy
Next Generation Coordinator
(515) 232-5661
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