Growing Together: SE TOPP's Farmer to Farmer Mentorship Program

Unlock the potential of organic farming in the Southeast with guidance from experts Amanda Rose Newton and Emily Deruelle of Florida Organic Growers. Our enlightening conversation peels back the layers of the Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program (SE-TOPP), and you'll gain invaluable insights into developing successful organic practices and connecting with a thriving community.

 Learn about the program's inception, its key areas of focus, and the invaluable support it provides to both mentors and mentees. Discover how you can get involved and benefit from this program.

Plus, don't miss the upcoming workshop: Preparing for Organic Inspections May 30, 2024 at 12 EST. Find out more and register at https://bit.ly/3Wr8Zy3

If you're passionate about organic farming, this podcast is a must-listen!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to Fresh Take, where we at Florida Organic Growers speak to food systems experts about topics related to organic and sustainable agriculture, healthy lifestyles and the environment. To help us continue our programs at FOG, including our podcast, consider becoming a sponsor. For more information on sponsorship, check out our Get Involved page on our website, wwwfoginfoorg.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Hello and welcome to our latest episode of Fresh.

Speaker 1: 0:28

Take.

Speaker 2: 0:29

I am your host, Lana Shahabedin, and with me today are two lovely staff members from Florida Organic Growers, Amanda Rose Newton and Emily Durrell, here to share really exciting information regarding a new mentorship program for farmers. Welcome to our show, Amanda Rose and Emily.

Speaker 3: 0:46

Thanks so much for having us Launa.

Speaker 2: 0:49

I'm so happy to have you both and be chatting with you, because I feel like we don't really get the opportunity to do it enough, considering all the behind the scenes work you know that we do for our project. So, with that being said, I'd love to hear about each of your specific roles within FG and what brought you here, what brought you to this organization, and I'll start off with Amanda Rose.

Speaker 4: 1:11

Sure, so I am the technical assistance specialist here at FOG, so my role is concentrated on providing technical assistance to growers and farmers, as well as assisting with some of the other project highlights, including farmer mentorship, which we'll talk about the details for later and I have a pretty diverse background, but it's always been about agriculture. I've done quite a bit of international agriculture work. I've taught horticulture at a local college and I currently farm, so I also have that in common with the individuals that we serve here.

Speaker 2: 1:51

That is amazing. I feel like your background really speaks to this role and I'm really excited to have you on our team. Emily, would you like to share about yourself?

Speaker 3: 2:02

Yes, I am the SE Top Program Specialist. I joined the team about a month ago and have really been loving this position. I assist with the mentorship program, as well as technical assistance, reporting and partner management. I have a background in organic certification. I worked for quality certification services for the past three and a half years, which is the certification body of Florida Organic Growers, so that's really what brought me to this team. But I also have a background in sustainable agriculture. I studied agroecology for my master's at the University of Florida and I also received a bachelor's in natural resource conservation with a minor in organic and sustainable crop production, and at UF I worked on research in crop livestock integration as well as cover crops, and I'm really excited to be on the team.

Speaker 2: 3:00

That's amazing, emily. Thank you so much for sharing that with us, and I'm really stoked to have both of you with Fog and excited to delve into this enormous endeavor called SETOP. Emily, can you tell us what SETOP stands for? Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program.

Speaker 3: 3:39

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program is a five program. Areas are farmer-to-farmer mentorship, community building, technical assistance and training, data collection and reporting, and workforce development and training.

Speaker 2: 3:55

Wow, that seems to be like a lot of different key areas, but obviously really important. So I know today we're going to be diving into specifically the Farmer to Farmer Mentorship Program and the Technical Assistance piece. But before we get into that, I'd love to know which regions are involved in the Southeast Transition Initiative, including the states and territories.

Speaker 3: 4:21

Of course. So the Transition to Organic Partnership program is very collaborative and it involves many different partners. So our network covers six regions in the United States. We have the Mid-Atlantic slash Northeast, the Southeast Midwest, the Plains Northwest and West slash southwest. So Florida Organic Growers is the regional lead of the southeast and our region includes seven states. We have Alabama, georgia, florida, louisiana, mississippi, north Carolina and South Carolina, as well as two territories, puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and we also work with over 30 amazing partners across the region to support producers in the southeast under key program areas, providing mentoring services, technical assistance, community building and organic workforce development development Wonderful, and I would love to hear a little bit more, amanda Rose, about the mentorship piece for the SCTOP program.

Speaker 2: 5:31

Can you tell us a bit more about the launch and development of this and what it's working to pull together? What are the goals of this program?

Speaker 4: 5:43

Yeah, absolutely. The thing I love most about the mentorship program is that most organic farmers I've had the opportunity to get to know in the past decade are already doing this, as is, for free. So the fact that there's some financial incentive tied in here through SCP is fantastic. So the program kicked off in January, so we're still in the beginning here, and all of the people who are interested in becoming mentors do need to have at least three years of experience with organic production, as well as understanding of the certification process. There's a 45 hour commitment as well, so five of those hours, though, are spent in training, which, at this point, is mostly just watching some videos and getting an understanding of what their expectations are. The other 40 hours they can spend doing on-site visits to their mentee's farm. This can be over the phone as well as through text messages or emails, if that's what they're comfortable with, but there is that 40 hours over the course of a year that they're required to give. So, as a benefit to the farmers for doing this, they do get up to $3,000 for a one-on-one mentorship.

Speaker 4: 7:03

There's also options for group mentorship. Right now, we have several mentors who are amazing, and they're actually mentoring multiple individuals right now. Of course, that changes what the stipend is, and so they're also going to be helping their mentees with understanding organic certification and helping them get their organic system management plan, which we call the acronym OSP, out the door. And for the mentees, obviously, they get to work with somebody who's experienced in organic farming and right now we're really trying hard to pair people who have something similar in terms of crops or livestock that way that they're getting more tailored advice that's gonna be helpful for them.

Speaker 4: 7:49

The mentor can also supply the mentee with information on breaking into different markets and selling crops and so forth, so there's a lot of opportunity there. The mentees also get $500 as an educational stipend, too, and the parameters there are pretty loose. They can use that on a conference. The mentees also get $500 as an educational stipend too, and the parameters there are pretty loose. They can use that on a conference or on an online workshop. There really are not a lot of parameters there.

Speaker 2: 8:19

So that's another benefit for the mentee. That sounds, I mean, pretty amazing. There is really a lot of benefits from participating in this and, at this point, how many mentors did you say are currently working this program?

Speaker 4: 8:34

So currently and I'll have to look at the recent numbers here but it's close to 25 for mentees and we have 14 mentors.

Speaker 2: 8:42

Awesome, and is there a certain matching process in terms of growing in the same region, in the same state or county in order to match to a mentee, or how does that work?

Speaker 4: 8:55

Yes, in a perfect world, we would love to have the mentees and the mentors be geographically rather close to each other. It doesn't always work out that way. For instance, we do have a mentor who's actually in California right now but is going to be visiting his mentees over the summer in Louisiana. So there's a lot of unique kind of situations that go on with this. But the process is pretty straightforward. We do an interview with each mentor and mentee to really get a feel for what it is that they need assistance with and for the mentor, what their specialty is in, and we do, you know, make sure that we take their preferences in mind, whether or not they want somebody who's very close or are they going to be okay with distance, as long as their specific crops that they're growing are of interest to the mentor as well.

Speaker 2: 9:45

That sounds great. And is there a in-person component to this, or is this all done kind of virtually?

Speaker 4: 9:54

Yes, so the mentor is required to do at least one on-farm site visit for the mentee. They can certainly do more. I do have some mentors who are on a regular basis getting together with their. That there's a stipend for up to $3,000 is pretty incredible.

Speaker 2: 10:12

I think this is a really wonderful opportunity for folks that are trying to learn more about organic practices and have the opportunity to gain knowledge, and you know, financial benefits. So I'm also, you know, curious to know benefit. So I'm also curious to know, in terms of the signup process, what does that look like? And, emily, if you can share more about folks that are listening that might be interested in this how they can take action.

Speaker 3: 10:55

Of course, I think this is a really amazing program and we have a lot of people very excited about it. It's a great opportunity for mentees to receive support and guidance from really experienced organic producers and for mentors to support farmers in the southeast as they transition to organic. If anyone is interested in becoming a, I encourage them to check out our top website. That will be wwworganictransitionorg. You can find some more information and resources on the mentorship program and there's also links to applications for the mentee and mentor forms and mentor forms Awesome.

Speaker 2: 11:40

Thank you so much for mentioning that. So definitely, if you're listening, check that out for more information about how to sign up for this. And I also want to know are there any particular farmers that you guys have worked with so far that have shared you know, a little bit about their experience.

Speaker 3: 11:55

I recently did an interview with Organic Oasis and they are farmers in South Florida who are adding organic acreage to their production and they're signing up to be mentees, and they've shared with me that they're really excited to have help in this journey. It can feel kind of isolating when you're in an area that doesn't have a lot of organic farmers, and so getting that opportunity to connect with peers and learn more from people who have been in your exact position is very exciting for them. They have not been matched with a mentor yet, but will be very soon.

Speaker 2: 12:41

Awesome and, as far as the you know, the expectation and in terms of getting involved in this, what do you think people can take from obviously learning from another farmer, some of the other maybe not so obvious expectations or outcomes from this?

Speaker 3: 13:09

this. I think this is a great opportunity to, like I said, connect with peers. So you will get placed with a mentor, but hopefully they can help you network with other people. I think another great area that a mentor can help with is looking at your market and how you're selling your products and helping you to expand that and see if there are more opportunities for you to sell your organic products.

Speaker 2: 13:32

Wonderful so that I mean that sounds really great because I know we are always looking at connecting people through Florida organic growers and our projects do a really great job and having the opportunity for networking and having, you know, understanding processes from other people in the agricultural world. So that's really wonderful to hear that. And as far as another big key component to SCTOP, the technical assistance piece, what does that look like, what does that involve and what can people expect from receiving some of that technical assistance?

Speaker 3: 14:08

So technical assistance is a free service offered through the top program, which we encourage people to reach out to us, and we're here to provide support for organic and transitioning farmers with various aspects of their operation. It can range from organic system plan development, clarifying misconceptions or just providing resources. Technical assistance is very broad and our goal is just to empower farmers with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed.

Speaker 2: 14:44

Wonderful, and is there a? Well, I know actually, amanda, amanda Rose, you are the technical assistance person with SETOP, so how can people reach out if they're looking for clarifying questions, or are there specific office hours that you provide for this?

Speaker 4: 15:01

Yes, we also have a general email, which is a great way to reach out at any time, and the email is just simply setop at foginfoorg and that's something that all of us at Fog can actually see and we can kind of answer, depending on what area of expertise it falls under, since we all kind of have different areas that we're more acquainted with than others.

Speaker 4: 15:29

So this is also available on the website foginfoorg or they can also go visit the general website, organictransitionorg, which also houses various TA resources. We've mentioned OSP development, so there's some great hands-on resources there to kind of get a feel for what needs to be completed. To finish that, as far as office hours go, we are doing those currently on Fridays, friday afternoons for an hour. There's a page where you can go to sign up to join in and you can ask any question you want or might have about the organic transition process. A lot of times hanging out on the USDA page can be a little bit confusing with the regulatory language. So one of the big goals is to help people where they are and help them get to where they need to be.

Speaker 2: 16:21

That's awesome. I think there's a really big need for this in the agricultural community and we are really happy to have you know big need for this in the agricultural community and we are really happy to have you know fog leading the way for the Southeast region and these kinds of resources are really critical for our farmers to move forward on the sustainability spectrum and this is definitely one of the ways in which people listening can try to get involved and sign up. So I encourage everyone to check that out. Please also check out our events on the Fog Events webpage. That is going to be wwwfoginfoorg slash events. You can find the Office Hours upcoming events listed on there as well, and I know that there also is a webinar coming up pretty soon. Can you guys share a little bit more about that?

Speaker 4: 17:15

Oh yes, the webinar is going to be held on May 30th and it is tackling one of my favorite areas which is kind of demystifying the inspection process. It's a great tool for those who have not had an inspection yet and are kind of wondering what the inspector coming onto their property is going to be looking for, what materials they should have ready to make the process easier, and we're also going to discuss some of the very common non-compliances that individuals get during the process.

Speaker 2: 17:50

I love that demystifying the process. I think there actually seems to be a lot of maybe fear or hesitance going into the world of organics, understanding that there are a lot of requirements and different things that people need to be aware of and practicing on the farm. So that sounds like a really, really great webinar. So make sure to check that out Again, may 30th, 12 pm to 1 pm Eastern. We also want to find out what is to come for SETOP. What can we expect in the future and are there any other exciting events happening? Folks, things for the folks listening to know about.

Speaker 3: 18:33

Well, amanda and I will be keeping on hosting our office hours every Friday and SETOP plans to have some webinars and on-farm workshops this year, with announcements to come, and we also hope to have a few more episodes on the Fresh Take podcast to cover more information on this program and highlight different events and resources for organic and transitioning farmers in the Southeast.

Speaker 2: 19:05

Awesome. That sounds amazing. Thank you guys so much, Amanda Rose and Emily. It was such a hoot having you on Fresh Take. I'm really excited to see where ICTOP goes.

Speaker 3: 19:17

Thank you so much for having us, lana, and just a quick reminder here for how to access these resources you can go to the top website at wwworganictransitionorg for more information on the mentorship program and TA resources. You can also go to Florida Organic Growers website, foginfoorg, for resources and to find out about upcoming events. And finally, you can email us at setop at foginfoorg if you want to receive technical assistance or just have any questions on mentorship or SETOP in general that we can help you with. But thanks so much, alana. It was great talking about this program and we hope to see you again.

Speaker 2: 20:06

Perfect. Yes, we hope to see you guys soon too, and looking forward to seeing all of the new mentees and mentors that join this program. And for those of you guys listening, remember to rate our podcast. Let us know what you like and what you don't like, any topics that you're looking to see, and please check out our resources pasted in this episode's About Texts and check out our FOG website at wwwfoginfoorg to find out more about our various programs, including the Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program.

Speaker 1: 20:42

Until next time, we hope you enjoyed today's episode. Florida Organic Growers is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, so to keep our content available and free to the public, we need your help. Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen, and consider making a tax-deductible donation or become a sponsor. Learn more about our work and how you can become a sponsor from our website, wwwboginfoorg.