The California Bountiful Foundation, a wing of the California Farm Bureau Federation, is accepting enrollment in the new Expanding Our Roots: Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Mentorship Program.
The free program is open to producers with up to 10 years of farming and ranching experience in California. Producers interested in serving as mentors are also encouraged to apply.
“This program is designed to bring our agricultural community even closer together as a family through mentoring opportunities,” Amrith Gunasekara, science and research director for the California Bountiful Foundation, said in a statement. “Mentoring the new generation of farmers and ranchers by experienced farmers and ranchers will ensure agriculture and food security is sustained into the future.”
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
CBF plans to pair up 200 beginning producers with more experienced mentors; half must be specialty crop growers.
According to CFBF, mentees will also take part in workshops “that offer insights on regulations for farming and ranching in California.” Participants will also be educated to cooperative extension resources and “learn about financial incentives, including grant opportunities that can help them fund conservation management practices and climate-smart agriculture.”
The program received a grant through USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture; as such, priority consideration will be given to socially disadvantaged producers and veterans.
For more news, go toAgri-Pulse.com.
