About the Community CROPS Growing Farmers Program
Community CROPS provides training, technical assistance and land access to beginning, immigrant and limited-resource farmers. Our goal is to help people create sustainable farm businesses to feed their families and their community.
CROPS helps graduates of our 3-year program locate land to rent for starting their farm business. Other participants already have their own land, where they begin production independently.
The Growing Farmers Workshops from January-April each year cover the basics of starting a sustainable farm business, with an emphasis on direct marketing. We'll help you reach your small farm dream!
Graduates of the Growing Farmers Winter Workshops are eligible to join the 3-year, land-based training program at our farm site, Sunset Community Farm.
CROPS needs farm land! Click here for details.
Growing Farmers Winter Workshops
"We were able to get our ideas off the ground by attending the classes, and it helped us put steps in motion to save the family farm," said one participant from the 2010 workshops.
Do you have a Small Farm Dream? The Growing Farmers workshops will help you learn the planning and production skills you need to start a market farm business. Learn from experienced growers, extension educators and business experts.
The next class in the series will cover business planning, risk management, CSA planning, and a panel of local produce buyers. It will be held at the Lincoln Community Foundation (15th and N) on Saturday, January 28 from 9 am to 4 pm.
To see a full list of classes, view the full 2012 syllabus. The workshops are $40 each. For more information on the workshop series, go to our Farm Page.
To register for any the 2012 workshops, click here to fill out the on-line form or click here to print the application.
The cost to participants for the full 2012 workshops is $300/person, which is a great value for 42 hours of engaging, valuable instruction. This price is discounted from the total $900/person cost by funding from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.
For more information on the Workshop Series, contact Warren at 402-474-9802 or warren@communitycrops.org.
Scholarships: Families with limited resources can apply for a scholarship to cover most of the cost of the workshops. We also have scholarships for women to cover transportation and childcare costs. To apply, please fill out the Scholarship Application on-line here or print the form here and send it in with your workshop registration.
Comments from past participants:
- "It was encouraging to be around other people who still have a lot to learn about the process of starting a farm, and know I'm not alone. Thank you!"
- "I feel I know more about CSAs, farmers' markets, organic practices and business information for farming."
- "The speakers and farm tours were all very helpful. This is practical, useful knowledge for my farm."
- "This course helped me be able to plan and get organized."
- "It gave me lots of good, common sense knowledge for future farming."
- "Awesome series."
Here's a great article about one of the families that attended the 2010 Growing Farmers workshops. Keep up the good work, Fox Run Farm!
Please contact Warren at 402-474-9802 or warren@communitycrops.org for more information.
Funding for the 2012 Winter Workshops was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture's North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (project #LNC11-333). Funding for transportation and childcare scholarships for women is provided by WealthSpring Fund.
Growing Farmers Summer Classes
Hands-on classes are held on local farms during the summer months. 2012 class series will begin in June 2012.These classes are geared toward people who have or want to start a market farm, but they are open to anyone, and will definitely provide lots of tips for backyard gardeners, too.
Scholarships are available for low-income women to cover the costs of childcare and transportation to the workshops. Interpreters are also available. Contact Warren at the CROPS office for more information: 402-474-9802.
CROPS Blog & Videos
Keep updated on the Community CROPS CSA through our Sunset Farm Blog.Watch our videos on YouTube on hoeing, sharpening hoes, planting and more!
Sunset Community Farm
Sunset is located just west of Lincoln, at SW 40th and West F St.
Directions: Take A Street west to SW 40th and turn right. Follow the road to F Street and turn left. You'll see a red building on your immediate right, which is the farm site. Map
Beginning farmers at Sunset Farm begin producing on 1/4 acre, where they receive access to water, tools and equipment, and other supplies. Participants receive ongoing technical assistance as well as marketing support.
Participants grow a wide range of vegetables, as well as raise chickens and bees. These beginning farmers sell at the CROPS stall at the Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market each Sunday, through the CROPS CROPS Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, through the on-line Nebraska Food Cooperative, and to many local grocery stores and restaurants.
Look for:
- graduates Rogaciano and Enriqueta, Rancho el Milagro, at the Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market
- current participant Memphis Mensah, Good Land Farm, at Open Harvest Natural Foods Cooperative
- current participant Tonya Morrison, Freeman's Family Farm, at the Haymarket Farmers' Market
For an overview of all the expectations of the farm training program, take
a look at the Farm Training Program Diagram.
For some great farm photos, visit the Roundus page.
We are also members of Buy Fresh, Buy Local Nebraska.
If you have any questions, please contact Warren, the Farm Program Manager, at 402-474-9802 or info@communitycrops.org. CROPS staff speak English and Spanish.
Community CROPS Searching for Land
In 2005, Community CROPS partnered with a retired farmer and private landowner to create Sunset Community Farm. Located at SW 40th and West F Streets, this site is a space for immigrants and refugees to start market farm businesses, growing food to sell within their ethnic communities and the community at large.Due to the success of the program and the participants' farms, demand for land and training continues to grow. CROPS now needs a larger, permanent site for its Growing Farmers Training Program and Community Farm. Our vision is a 20-30 acre property where immigrants, refugees and low-income families can gain skills in small-scale, organic market farming. Read on for more details about the land we are seeking.
Contact the CROPS office at 402-474-9802 or info@communitycrops.org if you have any
information on land that would meet our needs.
More information about starting a small farm business
Q: How much land do I need to start a farm business?
A: You can start out small. Even a standard city lot at 50' X 100' (5000 sq.ft.) can produce a surprising amount of produce. For example, you could grow several hundred pounds of spinach and lettuce in the spring, over 1000 pounds of tomatoes in the summer, and several hundred bunches of radishes and a few hundred pounds of baby spinach in the fall.
Q: What if I don't have any land?
A: You can find land a few ways. CROPS has a training farm site just west of Lincoln where you can rent a quarter acre plot to start out. You can also just start asking around to find someone with space in town or in the country. An average backyard is 1500 sq.ft., and many people in the country have an acre or two to spare. Be sure you ask lots of questions about the site, though, about how to access water, soil quality, etc.
Q: How much money does it take to get started?
A: This obviously depends on your scale of production. For seeds, tools and packing supplies on a small scale, expect to invest at least $500-$1000. Bigger purchases like tractors or greenhouses may not get used enough on a small scale to justify the expense. Plus, you can rent equipment or hire a neighbor to come with a tractor, and avoid the headache of machinery repairs. Over an acre or two, you may want to purchase some of these larger items.
Q: How much money can I make in small-scale direct-market production?
A: Profits depend on how intensively you farm, and what crops you grow. Things like cut flowers, berries, or salad mix are higher value crops than sweet corn, melons or potatoes. On a 100' x 100' plot of diverse vegetables, you can gross in the range of $5000-$8000 per season. On an acre, you can make between $10,000-$25,000.
Q: How much time does farming take?
A: Starting any new business takes time. Soil that has never had organic matter added will take a few years to reach optimum fertility and structure. Also, establishing your customer base takes work up front. Plan to spend at least 15-20 hours per week on planning, production, marketing and record keeping.
Q: Can my kids participate?
A: Definitely! Helping run a farm business is a great way for kids to learn how to handle money, communicate with customers, manage responsibility, and get them outdoors.
Q: What if I don't have much experience growing things?
A: Production is one part of starting a direct-market farm business, but many other skills are needed as well. For example, customer relations, financial planning, marketing and bookkeeping are all essential skills to running a successful direct-market farm enterprise. To gain skills in production, as well as other important skills for running your farm business, sign up for our "Growing Farmers" Winter Workshop series.
