Fortifying Rural Economic Empowerment (FREE): Multi-State Farm Business Development, Innovative Farming Strategies, and Apprenticeship Program"

In alignment with the BFRDP primary goal, this project helps veterans and socially-disadvantaged, majority African-American, beginning farmers and ranchers in Winston, Wayne, Scott, Covington counties of Mississippi and Tangipahoa parish and St. Helena parish of Louisiana, which are poverty-stricken, rural counties and parishes. Delivering thorough and hands-on training, specialized mentoring, one-on-one technical assistance and establishing an apprenticeship program will help begin and enhance their successes in farming, ranching, and management of their private forest lands to enhance their overall sustainability. For this reason, our project priorities are identical to the Legislative Priorities, as demonstrated by our four objectives: (1) Assist target audience launch their farm business through a business plan writing workshop with market training. This prioritizes entrepreneurship, business training, financial and risk management and marketing strategies. (2) Provide high-growth industry training and technical assistance, which prioritizes basic livestock, forest management, and crop farming practices and innovative farm, ranch, and private forest land strategies, such as the application of Agroforestry.(3) Offer Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) certification training to prioritize diversification and marketing strategies as well as food safety. Lastly, (4) create a year-long apprenticeship program for young adults, ages 18-21, in order to establish a career pathway for young farmers and ranchers to own farm businesses and prioritized mentoring and vocational training. This program takes a multi-state, client centric approach to empower veterans and SD beginning farmers and ranchers, bolster rural jobs and support economic growth and development.