The Carbon Farming Planning Cohorts Program worked with farmers and educators in Northwest Lower Michigan to establish an education delivery and peer to peer learning process to support producers in planning, funding, and implementing climate-smart and conservation agriculture practices at the regional level. It helped farmers adapt to changing climates and public expectations.
This initial cohorts process addressed farm and ranch family well-being, environmental practices, sustainability, and stewardship risks through workshops addressing climate-smart and conservation agriculture practices, challenges, opportunities, planning, and funding resources. Additionally, participants conduct peer assessments through several farm tours. Collectively, the workshop education and peer review process assists farmers in crafting a carbon farming implementation and funding plan.
Two cohorts directly educated 19 farmers and farm educators and produced a cohort facilitation toolkit, and acted as a pilot that will now become an institutional perennial program at Crosshatch. Our reach extended to 23 additional participants who attended one-time workshop offerings as well as 104 unique video views and newsletter opens specific to carbon farming and forestry planning cohort learning concepts sent to our broad audience (as of the end of the grant period).