Cultivating Farmers and Ranchers that thrive
a Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Program
Why have a beginning, farmer rancher development program?
Aging population of farm owners
Need for land succession planning; sustain & protect agricultural land
Need to shift reliance to “local”, and address food supply chain fragility
Upcoming, interested, new generation of farmers with limited access
In the CFRT program, there are 6 main program tenants:
1. Participants
Aspiring new or current farmers/ranchers that have been in the industry for 10 years or less
Emphasis on recruitment of low-income, veteran, and Hispanic populations
3. MentorshiP
Pairing core course participants with mentors
Training mentors to effectively work with mentees
Ongoing support to paired mentors and mentees
2. Educational
A core curriculum is provided by Holistic Management International over the course of 8 days, and 4 weekends
There will be an additional 3 days of Core curriculum offered, with topics TBD
Continuing education is offered in partnership with CSU, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and the Western Colorado Food and Farm Forum
4. Land ACCESS
Pairing core course participants with land options to increase access
Numerous partnerships to support matching, lease agreements, etc.s
5. Farmer Rancher Advisory Team
Group of farmers and ranchers to act as an advisory team to the efforts of CFRT to ensure we are meeting our needs and reflecting our community
6. Evaluation
In partnership with CSU we are evaluating the effectiveness of our program and making changes based on recommendations to improve CFRT based on the findings
Coming Soon - Featured Alumni!
Cultivating Farmers and Ranchers that Thrive is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Award # 2021-70033-35702.
Thank you to the supporters of this project
“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”
Thomas Jefferson