Completed Project Report


Maine Farm Resilience Program

  • Award Amount: $39,128
  • Regional Center: Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2022 Standard Education Projects ($50,000 maximum)
  • Project Director: Ryan Dennett
  • Email: rdennett@mofga.org
  • Organization: Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

Extension RME Regional Centers
Extension Risk Management Education Region Map

Project Overview

This project provided risk management education that advanced-beginning Maine farmers (those who
had been in business for 5-15 years) expressed a need for. Responding to that need, our
content focused on two risk areas: financial and human.

Financial. 4 seminar sessions and 3 farmer-to-farmer forums covered all aspects of
financial management and planning, both short and long term.
Human. 2 seminar sessions and 4 farmer-to-farmer forums addressed multiple factors
that threaten the health and well-being of our family farmers here in Maine, such as
communication skills, stress management, and work/life balance.

The seminar series was delivered online while the farmer-to-farmer forums were a mix of online and 
on-farm engagements. Individual technical assistance to program participants was available in any format. Risk management education was provided through MOFGA’s comprehensive Maine Farm Resilience Program (MFRP), as well as a la carte to any advanced-beginning or established farmer.

We had 12 farms participate in the MFRP program, plus an additional 175 who attended the 7
farmer-to-farmer forums, and improved their economic viability by understanding and
implementing strategies that mitigated their risks.

Number of Participants: 187

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

There are no educational materials available for this project.

REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.

DELIVERY AREA

DESCRIBE ANY UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT:

HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE THE PROJECT IF YOU WERE TO DO IT AGAIN?

WHAT WERE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR YOUR PARTICIPANTS?

INDIVIDUAL STORIES / EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS / QUOTES