This project helped foothill farmers and ranchers in the foothills of Northern California reduce risk and improve the economic viability of their operations. University of California
Cooperative Extension Placer/Nevada provided training and tools to small-scale,
beginning specialty crop and livestock producers to help them reduce financial,
marketing, and production risks.
We conducted training and networking events to foster farmer-to-farmer learning and adoption of new practices.
Events included Beginning Farming, Intro to Farm Business, and Farm Business Planning short courses;
practical livestock husbandry, crop production, and pest management workshops; as well as workshops on production metrics, wholesale marketing, on-farm food safety, farm taxes, and farm loans. We provided
formal and informal mentors to new producers and networking opportunities
through Farmer-to-Farmer events. 1,087 producers participated in one or more
events, building support networks, learning to analyze risks and develop management
strategies to improve the economic viability of their operations.