Rooted Ground Beginning Farmer Development Program

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Executive Summary

Rooted Ground Beginning Farmer Development Program is a nonprofit that helps the next generation of farmers start and grow farms that last. A two-year program combines winter classes, a one-on-one mentor who is an experienced farmer, shared equipment and cold storage, help finding land and connections to markets and buyers.

Farmers are aging, and the people who want to take their place face high land costs, expensive equipment and few chances to learn. Without new farmers, farmland leaves farming and communities lose fresh local food.

With this grant we will serve about 24 beginning farmers in Year 1 at 1 farm site. We do not give legal, tax or lending advice and we do not promise any farm a profit. We promise honest teaching, safe farm visits and mentors who stay in touch.

Our Year 1 budget is about $187,500, growing to about $239,000 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 4 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a Program Director and two part-time mentors) and 7 by Year 5.

We are asking the Rooted Futures Agriculture Foundation for $55,000 for the Program Director and first-year farmer supplies. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Rooted Ground Beginning Farmer Development Program is a nonprofit organization in Wisconsin. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. To help the next generation of farmers, especially those with little land and little capital, build farms that last.

What we do.
- Run a two-year beginning farmer program with classes, field days and one-on-one mentoring.
- Pair each farmer with an experienced farmer mentor.
- Offer shared access to equipment, a wash and pack station and cold storage.
- Help farmers find and lease land and understand contracts.
- Teach business planning, record keeping, food safety and marketing.
- Connect farmers with farmers markets, grocers, schools and restaurants.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families and partners, safety first and a place for everyone who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We do not give legal, tax or lending advice, and we refer farmers to licensed professionals and agencies. We do not promise any farm a profit. We follow food safety rules and ask every farmer to do the same. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of farmers, an extension agent and a banker began meeting with people who wanted to farm but had no land and no experience. Many came back each season with new questions. We kept simple records of who came and what they planted. This proposal asks for support to move from seasonal workshops to a steady program with paid, trained staff and the materials to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Farmers are aging, and the people who want to take their place face high land costs, expensive equipment and few chances to learn.

Cost. Land, equipment and the first-year costs of seed, water and labor can cost tens of thousands of dollars before a first sale.

Access. Beginning farmers often lack access to land, credit and a network, and many do not know where to find a mentor.

Safety and trust. Buyers want to know that farmers follow food safety rules, and funders want to know that the program leads to farms that last.

Missed benefits. Without new farmers, farmland leaves farming and communities lose fresh local food.

What we hear.
- A young woman says she has always wanted to farm and has never known anyone who does.
- A retired farmer says his children do not want the farm and he would like to teach someone.
- A banker says he would lend to more new farmers if they had a plan.
- A chef says he would buy more local food if there were more farmers.

We do not claim that a program can solve every challenge. We believe that mentors, shared equipment and a plan can help a beginning farmer get through the hardest years.

Products & Services

Rooted Ground Beginning Farmer Development Program gives beginning farmers with limited land and capital a safe, welcoming place to start and grow a farm.

How the program works.
1. Application. Farmers apply to a two-year program and are chosen by experience, commitment and need.
2. Classes. Winter classes cover planning, soil, crops, records and food safety.
3. Mentors. Each farmer is paired with an experienced mentor and visits mentor farms.
4. Shared equipment. Farmers use shared tools, a wash and pack station and cold storage for a small fee.
5. Land. A land access coordinator helps farmers find leases and understand agreements.
6. Markets. We connect farmers with markets, grocers, schools and restaurants and host a buyer meeting.
7. Follow-up. Staff visit each farm and help farmers update their plans each year.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a staff member, settle in together, work on the day's activity in small groups and finish with a short talk about what went well. Staff praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one is left out.

Staff. Our mentors are experienced farmers who pass a background check, complete our training and are paid a stipend for their time.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. The program is free for the first year. We welcome every beginning farmer and offer materials in English and Spanish.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Beginning farmers with less than ten years of experience, limited land and limited capital in our region. Eligibility is based on experience, commitment and income guidelines our board sets, and no applicant is turned away for lack of land.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our seasonal workshops we served full rooms and kept a waiting list. Extension agents and lenders told us that many more beginning farmers want training than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 24 participants at 1 farm sites. By Year 5, with more staff and sites, we plan to serve about 56.

Where participants come from.
- Extension offices and farm service agencies.
- Farmers markets and food co-ops.
- Lenders and land trusts.
- Farmers who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Communities gain fresh local food. Landowners gain good stewards. Buyers gain reliable local supply.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a new farmer with her first harvest. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Extension services. Provide strong technical help and have limited capacity for one-on-one business help. We partner.

2. Farm service agencies. Offer loans and programs for qualified farmers. We help farmers prepare.

3. Farm incubators. Excellent and few. We add capacity.

4. Online courses. Convenient, with no mentor and no equipment.

5. Working for another farmer. Valuable, and low pay and no path to ownership.

What makes us different.
- Free first year with a mentor.
- Shared equipment and cold storage.
- Land access help.
- Buyer connections.
- A two-year plan with annual check-ins.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve people who can already pay or who live close to them. The people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with extension agents, lenders, land trusts and other farmer training programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Extension offices and farm service agencies. We will share flyers and a named contact.
- Farmers markets and co-ops. We will put up signs and talk with managers.
- Lenders and land trusts. We will invite them to our classes.
- Farmers and landowners. We will ask retired farmers to mentor and share land.
- Word of mouth. Farmers tell friends.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching staff and sponsors.
- Recruit mentors through farmers markets, farm organizations and extension offices.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety, privacy and respectful practice.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what they said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for those with the greatest need and for people new to the program. We keep a waiting list when the program is full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, farms started, acres in production and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the staff, buy equipment and materials, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Select the first cohort and begin winter classes.
- Months 4 to 10: Run classes, mentor visits and shared equipment through the growing season.
- Months 11 and 12: Hold a buyer meeting and field day, survey farmers, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Classes are held at extension offices and farms, provided at low cost. Shared equipment is housed at a partner farm.

Safety and privacy.
- Farm visits follow written safety rules for equipment, animals and chemicals, and farmers receive food safety training.
- Every staff member and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Staff work in pairs or in view of others whenever participants are minors or in a vulnerable situation.
- We keep an emergency plan at every site, and participants complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a participant's permission or as the law requires and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $18,000 of equipment once at the start: shared tools and tractor attachments ($10,000), wash and pack station ($5,000), irrigation equipment ($3,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. The Program Director, paid $44,000 a year, manages classes, mentors and land access. Two part-time farm mentors, each paid a stipend of $18,000 a year, work with the farmers. We add mentors as we add farm sites.

Management & Organization

Caleb Brooks, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a farmer who got my start because a neighbor let me use his tractor. I will complete the training we require of our mentors so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Staff. The Program Director manages classes, mentors and land access, and part-time farm mentors work with the farmers. Each passes a background check. These positions are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a farmer, an extension agent, a lender, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney, a chef and a beginning farmer. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. An extension specialist, a land trust director and a farmers market manager give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $50,000 a year; program Director, paid $44,000 a year; farm Mentor (part-time stipend), paid $18,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 24 participants at 1 farm sites.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 32 participants at 1 farm sites.
- Year 3: About 40 participants at 2 farm sites.
- Year 4: About 48 participants at 2 farm sites.
- Year 5: About 56 participants at 3 farm sites.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 47 percent of our budget, down from about 67 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $55,000 from the Rooted Futures Agriculture Foundation for the Program Director and first-year farmer supplies, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Program Director salary, $44,000.
- Supplies: Seed and supplies for first-year farmers, $11,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 44% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $187,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,900 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $125,500; state Beginning Farmer Funding $36,000; food Business Partners $18,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $50,000; program Director $44,000; farm Mentor (part-time stipend) $18,000; seed, Supplies and Equipment Use about $14,000; land Access Support about $10,000; marketing and Market Fees about $5,000; training Workshops about $6,000; mentor Travel about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $8,000; about $6,400 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $26,500 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $10,000 for shared tools and tractor attachments; $5,000 for wash and pack station; $3,000 for irrigation equipment; $2,500 for attorney review of the farmer agreement, equipment use policy and privacy policy; $1,500 for banners, flyers and a simple website; $1,500 for mentor training and background checks; $3,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($26,500), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $44,000, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $70,500. We start with $8,000 from our founding board and $65,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a farm credit lender, $73,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $187,500 in Year 1 to about $239,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $125,500, $112,500, $119,000, $106,500 and $113,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: state Beginning Farmer Funding from $36,000 to $60,000; food Business Partners from $18,000 to $42,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $7,900 in Year 1, about $8,200 in Year 2, about $9,800 in Year 3, about $10,300 in Year 4 and about $11,600 in Year 5. We grow from 1 farm sites to 3 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $59,000, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $7,500 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per farmer. In Year 1, our total costs are about $7,483 per farmer served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more farmer served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $4,062 per farmer.

After the grant. State beginning farmer funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free farming option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of farmers and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $125,500 in Year 1, growing to $113,000 in Year 5.
- State Beginning Farmer Funding: $36,000 in Year 1, growing to $60,000 in Year 5.
- Food Business Partners: $18,000 in Year 1, growing to $42,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $50,000; program Director $44,000; farm Mentor (part-time stipend) $18,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: seed, Supplies and Equipment Use $14,000; land Access Support $10,000; marketing and Market Fees $5,000; training Workshops $6,000; mentor Travel $3,000; administration and Insurance $8,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $18,000 at the start, then $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $26,500, paid once from $73,000 in startup money.
- Participants served: about 24 in Year 1, growing to about 56 in Year 5. Sites: 1 in Year 1, growing to 3 by Year 5. Classes run in winter and mentoring and shared equipment run through the growing season.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs