The NIFTI Field School comes to the West Coast for the first time! Please join us for this annual event that brings together practitioners in the field of land-based beginning farmer training from all over the U.S. to share best practices, learn from each other, and develop collective solutions to our unique challenges. The NIFTI Farm Incubator Field School is designed for the staff of organizations that have already begun operating a farm incubator project or are currently in the advanced planning stages and already offer structured beginning farmer services.
The 2014 Field School will include two mornings of workshop presentations by experts, two afternoons of “open space” discussion groups and skill shares based on attendees’ interests, and one day of extensive farm tours and panels at two incubator projects in the Portland area: East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District’s Headwaters Farm Incubator Program and MercyCorps Northwest’s Refugee Garden Program.
Workshop topics include teaching financial literacy and business planning to adults, fostering farmer independence, food hubs and collective marketing, program funding, adult education theory and practice, and more! See the 2014 Field School schedule for more details.
Scholarships are available and registration ends August 27th. Don’t miss the opportunity to network, share, learn from and spend time with staff from farm incubators from across North America!
This event is brought to you by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (MA) in collaboration with our NIFTI project partners: The Intervale Center (VT), the Minnesota Food Association, The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (CA), the International Rescue Committee (National), and the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (ME), and is made possible by the generous support of the Cedar Tree Foundation.
For more information about what NIFTI has to offer your startup farm incubator project, please visit our website or contact Wendy Mainardi, [email protected].
