Evaluating and improving educational instruments and outreach for beginning farmers

"In the innovative and competitive agri-food business environment there is increasing need for improved beginning farmer training materials, especially those concerning financial skills and business literacy. To address this need the Farm Credit Council and the Wallace Center at Winrock International propose "Evaluating and Improving Educational Instruments and Outreach (EIEIO) for Beginning Farmers" to establish a new Beginning Farmer and Rancher Educational Enhancement Team. The EET, targeting the Southern region, will improve BFR training programs' ability to provide financial education, enhancing the success of BFRs. The EET will accomplish its goals through a Community of Practice that links experienced business and financial literacy experts with BFR training staff. The Community of Practice will be a mechanism for networking and communication, enabling participants to share best practices, identify obstacles and test new approaches in a supportive, facilitated environment. It will improve the effectiveness of BFR training programs by engaging a team of experts to evaluate the content, gaps, suitability, and effectiveness of delivery methods. This team of experts will develop tools to evaluate BFR financial skills curricula, including curriculum content, teaching methods, technology, and educational outcomes. The project will distribute the Community of Practice's learnings in a Trainers' Resource Guide available nationally through Start2farm.gov. Farm Credit's expertise and role as the leading lender to young and beginning farmers will confer validity to the evaluation outcomes, which BFR training providers would then seek to adopt into their own programs in order to improve access to credit for BFRs that they train."