MENTORSHIP 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

BUSINESS PLANNING

HELP GETTING ESTABLISHED

Increasingly, people are working to reorient systems of food production and provision around principles of ecological sustainability, face-to-face community, locality, and seasonality, and in doing so to strengthen the social networks around food and agriculture. These efforts assume, however, that enough farmers will be around to produce the food and participate in the communities that these systems are based on. Where and how will these farmers learn the skills and techniques, and gain the experience they will need to become practitioners of sustainable agriculture? In Maine, one answer is through new farmer support and training models like MOFGA's Journeyperson program.

Meet MOFGA's Current Journeypersons

MOFGA has developed the Journeyperson Program to fill the continuing education gap between apprentice and independent farmer, and to provide the resources and opportunities for prospective new farmers who have completed an apprenticeship to further develop the skills they need to farm independently and successfully. The program is largely shaped by the farming interests and goals of individual participants, and is intended to enable aspiring new farmers to gain advanced farming experience, skill, and perspective in a relatively safe and supportive environment, buffered somewhat from the high risk of establishing a farm enterprise. Journeypeople also benefit from participating in a supportive network of like-minded, motivated people.

MOFGA Farmer in Residence '06-'07 Kendra Michaud in Her Farmstand.

The program provides hands-on, mentored farming opportunities and training for people who are serious about pursuing careers in organic farming in Maine. It has 2 main components:

1. Help finding land and a farming situation where you can develop your skills and your business. MOFGA acts as a clearinghouse for information on available land and farming opportunities for people who want to farm with increased independence and autonomy, but are not yet ready to buy their own place. We also work closely with Maine FarmLink to find suitable placements for Journeypeople. There is a lot of open land and idle equipment in the State of Maine whose owners would love see put to use. Of course, if you already have access to land, you can still benefit from the Journeyperson program.

2. Support and mentorship. MOFGA matches participants with farmer-mentors who have skills that they seek, and are committed to sharing those skills. Mentor-Journeyperson arrangements are diverse and vary from one relationship to another, and are up to the participants to negotiate and maintain on a case-by-case basis. In addition to mentorship, some farmer-mentors also offer access to land, equipment, and support so a journeyperson can farm independently; others may offer more supervised responsibilities similar to those of a farm manager.

Benefits of participating: Aspiring new farmers will be able to gain more farming experience, skill, and perspective in a relatively safe and supportive environment, insulated from the high start-up costs and risk of establishing a farm enterprise, and will benefit from participating in a supportive network of like-minded, motivated people. We expect participants to be ready and able to farm on their own when they complete the program.

Support: In addition to helping you find a farming situation, MOFGA also offers the following support:

• Mentorship. As a MOFGA Journeyperson you will choose a mentor, who will be paid by MOFGA for their role as your mentor.
• Free access to MOFGA resources. This includes technical advice from our Agricultural Services staff, business planning help, free admission to MOFGA-sponsored events, workshops, and conferences, free membership in Maine FarmLink, and access to MOFGA's farmer network.
• An educational stipend of $500 a year, which you can spend on classes or workshops related to farming, or books, videos, computer programs, etc that will enrich your knowledge.
• Free enrollment in the Tilling the Soil of Opportunity farm business planning and management course.

Expectations: MOFGA expects all people who go through the Journeyperson program to enter into an agreement with us describing their goals and objectives for the program; to complete full farm plans, including business plans; and to participate in a loose curriculum that includes regular mentor meetings and workshop attendance.

Qualifications: Prospective journeypersons should be able to demonstrate basic competence in a range of skills, a solid commitment, and reasonably clear and realistic plans for their future farming activities. Anyone considering applying for the program should feel free to get in touch with any of MOFGA's current JPs.

APPLYING
MOFGA reviews off-site Journeyperson applications once a year, in late January/Early February. We notify successful applicants by early March. Every 2 years we recruit for our Farmer-in-Residence position, with an application deadline in the fall.

Applications are available here:

PDF (for filling out by hand)

or

Word (for filling out electronically)

Applications should be downloaded, filled out electronically and emailed to amarshall@mofga.org; or printed, filled out by hand, and sent back via USPS.

application deadlines:

Farmer-in-Residence Program: October 15, 2009.

Off-Site JPs: January 15, 2010

For more information, contact Andrew Marshall, MOFGA Educational Programs Director or call 207-342-3132.

05-06 Journeyperson Brendan McQuillen planting squash with little visitors