MA

Wash Station Signs

Media:

  • Digital Download

The What to Wash and What Not to Wash signs are visual aides to assist farmers at the wash station in order to recognize which vegetables should be washed in water and those that should not be washed with water. This resource can be used by staff as a guide to teach farmers during a workshop on post-harvest handling, but then will stand alone as a large sign in a farm wash station area. Staff will use hands-on demonstration to show farmers how to utilize the wash station and follow food safety procedure; this is one piece of that education.

BCS Safety Checklist

Media:

  • Digital Download

The BCS Safety Checklist and Parts Diagram is a resource designed to be incorporated into a field workshop to train multi-farming and language/literacy farmers how to safely operate and maintain a BCS machine and roto-tiller attachment. This resource should be used by staff as a guide to teach farmers during a workshop, but can also stand alone as a handout or sign after an initial workshop. Staff will use hands-on demonstration to show farmers how to operate machines and attachments.

Bean Pests

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  • Digital Download

Shell beans are an important crop to farmers, but (and because of how much they are grown) they face significant pest pressure on the farm. We worked with our local extension agent to put together accurate, useful, and accessible organic management options for the two most important pests on our farm: Mexican bean beetle and leaf hopper.

Tracking Group Finances

Media:

  • Digital Download

Accurately tracking money between group members who share expenses and/or market together can be cumbersome, even for people who regularly use computers and do calculations. This spreadsheet makes the job more manageable. Staff or farmers only need to enter “raw data” and the spreadsheet will calculate the rest automatically. This may be an especially useful tool for farmers who are going into business together, as in an LLC or cooperative. Two spreadsheets are given, depending on how farmers have agreed to share
expenses.

Farm Tax Preparation

Media:

  • Digital Download

This guide is an introduction to reporting farm income for taxes. This lesson can be used as part of the larger Financial Literacy curriculum developed by All Farmers, or it can be done independently. While this lesson was designed to be two hours long, it can be done in two one-hour sessions, or activities can be used independently to suit programmatic needs. This teaching resource was developed by All Farmers in CT River Valley, MA in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

Financial Literacy: Reflection and Planning

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  • Digital Download

This is a one-hour reflection-based, hands-on workshop where most of the farmers’ learning will take place in pairs and in-response to reflection questions. This user’s guide will help trainers to lead this reflection session and how to use the reflection worksheet and PowerPoint. Cash flow is an important but sometimesdifficult concept, and is the primary focus of this lesson. This module is the last core module of the Financial Literacy curriculum, though you may choose to add an optional session on farm financing options. This teaching resource was developed by All Farmers in CT River Valley, MA in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

Financial Literacy: Financial Decision Making

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  • Digital Download

This user’s guide will prepare trainers to teach farmers new ways of considering financial decisions. This lesson focuses specifically on maximizing profit by changing how farmers think about income and expense decisions. Farmers can also (optionally) learn about enterprise budgets. This lesson should ideally be used as part of the financial literacy curriculum. This teaching resource was developed by All Farmers in CT River Valley, MA in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

Financial Literacy: Budgeting and Record Keeping

Media:

  • Digital Download

This user’s guide will prepare trainers to teach farmers the foundations of budgeting and record-keeping. This is the foundation module to other financial literacy modules. You will start by teaching concepts in a classroom setting, then reinforce concepts and skills throughout the season. The farm records here are set-up to match categories for Federal taxes (taught through the Farm Taxes module). This teaching resource was developed by All Farmers in CT River Valley, MA in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions). Refugee farmer training programs across the country provided feedback on this lesson, which is now integrated throughout the guide.

Independent Wholesale Sales

Media:

  • Digital Download

This is a tangible structure tool to teach farmers in a one-on-one setting to manage established wholesale accounts. You will spend ~30 minutes introducing the farmer to the steps in selling to wholesale accounts, introducing them to the resource, how it is laid out, and how to use it. The rest of your time is supporting the farmer in hands-on practice with the resource until they have reached competency.

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