A team of researchers at Virginia Tech will use a $740,000 federal grant to assist the thousands of beginning farmers in the state.
The researchers at Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will provide support ranging from training to networking support to the roughly 13,000 principal farmers in Virginia who have been on their farms or ranches nine years or less.
Project director Kim Niewolny, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education, said the initiative is intended to maintain the viability of new farms as the number of people entering agriculture steadily declines.
The average age of a farmer in Virginia has ranged in the mid-50s.
"Virginia's beginning farmer situation reflects a national trend where we see a steady decline in the number of individuals entering into agriculture, coupled by an increase in the number of existing farmers," Niewolny said in a statement.
The Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Project will:
•Build a network of organizations to help support beginning farmers enter into and expand markets to support their operations.
•Work with community organizations and nongovernmental groups to provide classroom and hands-on learning opportunities. Topics will include business planning, land acquisition, marketing and sustainable agriculture practices.
•Provide mentoring programs and networking opportunities.
Coalition members include Virginia State University's Small Farm Outreach Program, the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Young Farmers of Virginia, and the Farm Link program of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Farm Link connects farm operators who are leaving the business with people who have an interest in entering it.
The beginning farmer program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
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