building a small-acreage program

Susan Donaldson

Building a Building a Small-acreage ProgramSmall-acreage Program

Stephanie EtterStephanie Etter

Step 1*: Identify your target audience

Watershed or subwatershed County or other political division Areas with similar zoning Subdivision or HOA Etc…

**Assumes you have already identified a need!

Step 2: Understand your audience!

Use some form of information-gathering:

What are their expectations of the class?

What is their preferred method of accessing information, etc.?

How long have they had their property? When are they available? What do they want to accomplish on

their property? What motivates them?

Motivators for small acreage owners

Improve appearance of property

Learn new skills Save time and money Meet people Increase productivity

(sometimes) Meet regulatory

demands (maybe) Increase property values

(sometimes)

These are NOT necessarily motivators!

Making a profit from the property

Management for productivity

Protecting the environment

What issues are of concern to almost everyone in the audience?

Drinking water quality and quantity Ugly properties Nuisances (blowing dirt, manure piles,

flies, etc.) Irrigation water supply and management And…weeds! Generally a top interest.

Step 3: Plan the basic program

Decide what will be included Pick your delivery methods Set dates Find instructors Determine program rules

You already know how to do this!

Don’t forget to get buy-in from your co-workers!

Step 4: Figure out a budget

Grant funds Program fees Balance

expenses and income

Include a cushion

Step 5: Market the program Shotgun vs. targeted

Step 6: Select evaluation tools

Awareness Knowledge Behavior change Ecosystem change

Ways to use the curriculum: Idaho

Teach the entire curriculum - Idaho has been doing so since 2002

Fee ($275 in 2008) covers soil, water and forage analysis

One fee per unit (2 individuals)

Includes tours & follow-up site visit

Each unit provides dinner once during the training

Attend future classes & tours at no charge

The Washington experience

Teach entire course in 12 weeks

Includes soil testing Participants develop a

stewardship management plan

Allow public to attend select modules or lessons

Use lessons separately to target various issues

Fact sheets, magazine articles and Web site

Property tours

Workshops and Training

The Small Acreage program offers workshops throughout the year on issues of interest to rural landowners. Topics include mud and manure management, pasture management, wells and septic maintenance, and fencing for livestock. For those who wish more in-depth information, the program also offers a 12-week series, Living on the Land: Stewardship for Small Acreages. Graduates of this training come away with a workable plan for their property that they created themselves based on what they learned in class. For the next class, check the calendar (http://clark.wsu.edu/calendar/index.asp) or call 360-397-6060 x7720.

http://clark.wsu.edu/horticulture/smallAcreageProgram.html#workshops

The Oregon experience

Four 3-hour workshops (managing soil, water resources, pasture and grazing management, weed management)

One 5-hour field tour on Saturday, with picnic lunch

Includes binder of materials

$20 fee

Living on the Land Series- CreswellStewardship for Small Acreages

Thursday, July 24, 2008 - Thursday, August 14, 2008

Living on the Land is a workshop series tailored for small acreage landowners. There are four workshops in the series and one field tour. Workshops will be taught by agency and industry professionals and local landowners. The field tour will have stops to visit with landowners in the Coast Fork Willamette River Watershed area. Participants will learn about some of the management practices these neighbors are implementing on their land. Living on the Land is sponsored by OSU Extension Service Small Farms Program, East Lane Soil and Water Conservation District and Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council.

New to Minnesota Piloted this spring Eight-week course, 3

hours per class Use the “unit”

concept Includes forage and

soil testing Includes a site visit

consultation from an Extension Educator

'Living on the Land' Workshop Starts Feb. 6Minnesota Ag Connection - 01/28/2008

Dream of owning acreage in the country? Have an existing acreage that needs a plan for the best possible results? Do you have ideas for supplementing your income or increasing your on-farm income? If the answer is "yes," University of Minnesota Extension has a workshop series to help you and your family.

The "Living on the Land" workshop series is being launched as a pilot course this spring by University of Minnesota Extension. The eight-week course is designed to arm landowners with basic agricultural information to enable them to be good stewards of their 40-acre (or less) tract. The course will begin with goal setting and individual property inventory, then address soil, plant and water basics.

Spotlight on the Nevada Small Ranch Program: Delivery methods

Community meetings Outdoor workshops Indoor classes Individual site visits Monthly newsletter Small Ranch Manual Special events and forums Barbecues and neighborhood work parties

Work with the media

Plan events just for fun!

Be ready to respond to local issues

Too little…and too much!

What do you do if no one comes?

Make sure you’re addressing priority local concerns

Adjust delivery methods (timing, type of classes, etc.)

Offer incentives Market more effectively Offer one-on-one visits Consider focus groups or other

means to get feedback from your audience

Elements of successful Elements of successful small-acreage programssmall-acreage programs

Activities

Reinforce teaching Ideas included in Lesson Plans

Recognize your volunteers

Elements of successful educational programs

Place emphasis on community and neighborhood – why did they move to the area in the first place?

Effective teaching

Use a variety of sources of information and methods of delivery to meet various learning styles

Use humor to reinforce learning

Evaluate your program

Program satisfaction rating Pre- and post-tests Knowledge gain Behavior change (number of BMPs

completed) Water quality data before and after

installation of BMPs

Idaho Evaluation Results-2007

My knowledge about land stewardship & My knowledge about land stewardship & resource management. resource management.

2.482.48 3.93*3.93*

My preparedness to adopt best My preparedness to adopt best management practices.management practices.

2.322.32 4.05*4.05*

My ability to plan, enterprise budget and My ability to plan, enterprise budget and implement animal or crop system(s).implement animal or crop system(s).

2.002.00 3.80*3.80*

My ability to effectively find and access My ability to effectively find and access resources to support my small-acreage resources to support my small-acreage system(s).system(s).

2.152.15 4.13*4.13*

Before LOTL After LOTL

1=None, 2= Little, 3=Some, 4=Good Deal, 5=Great Deal* p<.001

Provide resource and guidance

Provide technical assistance (Cooperative Extension, NRCS, etc.)

Resources for future assistance

Be flexible

Willingness to adapt to special needs and interests of audience – aversion to herbicides, etc.; horse lovers, etc.

Persistence Repetition and

reinforcement of information Reinforcing a sense of

community Potential high turnover of

property owners means continued outreach activities will always be needed

What barriers must be overcome?

New audience we’re not used to working with

Requires a high degree of “touch” and a lot of time and energy

Must be a very active listener and very flexible

Can generate work for others who may not be ready for it

Sustaining the program after the first few years can be tough

Remember:

Understand your audience and their needs

Establish trust: Be an advocate, not an adversary

Be flexible Respond to new or special needs Build a sense of community Reward volunteers Have fun!