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!