Beginning Farmer Program Evaluation Resource Library

The Beginning Farmer Program Evaluation Resource Library is a compilation of materials to assist beginning farmer and rancher training programs to conduct evaluation.

This Resource Library was created as part of the Gaining Results through Evaluation Work (GREW) project, funded through a US Department of Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) grant. This project supports the development of strong, effective and long-lasting farmer and rancher training programs so that beginning farmers enter the field of farming and establish successful farm businesses.

This library contains hundreds of resources focused on running effective and thorough program evaluations collected by the GREW team. Some resources focus explicitly on farming projects and others provide more general program evaluation instruction. You can use the topic of interest buttons below to search for the types of materials of interest or you can type a search directly “I’m looking for…” bar. 

Below are a series of compiled tipsheets that highlight some of the key resources in the library and aggregate them into useful groupings to help navigate through the evaluation content.

Basic Evaluation Tools and Resources
There are many resources available on the web to help people conduct program evaluation. It can be somewhat overwhelming to wade through them all. To make the process simpler, we have highlighted a few key documents. These items offer basic information and guidance for different aspects of conducting evaluation.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Resources for Using Self-Assessment as a Learning and Evaluation Strategy
Self-assessment in beginning farmer programs can help improve learning outcomes for participants and serve programs as an evaluation tool. GREW offers several resources for learning more about, and utilizing, self-assessment in BFR programs.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Surveys, Assessments and Other Tools for Evaluating Beginning Farmer Training Programs
The GREW Resource Library contains hundreds of resources focused on running effective and thorough beginning farmer and rancher program evaluations. More than 75 new resources have been added to the library and more than 40 of these resources are examples of survey tools, reports, assessments and logic models done by peer organizations serving beginning farmers and ranchers.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Evaluation Resources

Twelve new articles, webinars, and websites have been added to our Online Evaluation Resource Library that feature information related to incorporating equity, inclusion, and diversity into evaluation work. In this document we highlight three examples from our library as a starting point for your explorations.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Please visit again – more resources will be added regularly.

If you have a resource you would like to see, have a resource you’d like to share, or have any feedback about the Resource Library, please contact nesfp@tufts.edu.

Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst: Farm Evaluation System

Source: Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst

"The Pennsylvania Farm Evaluation Program (Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst) is a voluntary farm evaluation that can be used to confirm that a farm is being managed in an environmentally sensitive way."

Planning a Program Evaluation

Source: University of Wisconsin - Madison

This is a useful and brief 16-page guide that covers the basics steps needed in conducting a program evaluation. It can be a good introduction to those new to evaluation.

Post Programming Survey "Bringing Meat to Market"

Source: SW Grass-fed Livestock Alliance

This google form is a voluntary post-program survey administered by Southwest Grass-fed Livestock Alliance after each of their sessions in the Bringing Meat to Market Series. Audiences are livestock producers thinking about going into direct marketing meat, and meat business operators.

Practical Application of Aspiration as an Outcome Indicator in Extension Evaluation

Source: North Carolina State University Department of Agricultural and Extension Education - K. S. U. Jayaratne

"Extension educators need simple and accurate evaluation tools for program evaluation. This article explains how to use aspiration as an outcome indicator in Extension evaluation and introduces a practical evaluation tool. Aspiration can be described as the readiness for change. By recording participants' levels of aspiration, we will be able to determine whether the program is effective in achieving desired results. This aspiration-recording tool is easy to use in terms of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Evaluation data collected from this tool can be used to document accountability and make decisions for program modifications."

Primary Outcomes/Goals and Questions for Farm Program

Source: Farm Beginnings Collaborative

This resource is a template for primary outcome goals of a farming program/class/course. Question for participants correlate with specific outcome goals: Graduates will be engaged in farming. Graduates will meet their goals for family income from agricultural production. Graduates will use sustainable practices. The number of acres in sustainable production will increase. The amount of sustainably produced food available locally will increase.

Program Development and Education

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison

This website provides extensive tools for developing and evaluation programs in Extension.

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