This is part three of a five-part series on various agencies and tools within the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Lauren Zimmermann, who serves as a program analyst for the Farm Service Agency and a USDA Beginning Farmer Rancher Coordinator in Montana, joins us a second time to discuss the programs and services that the Farm Service Agency provides for beginning farmers and ranchers.

Join the Point Blue Soils Team in partnership with Quivira Coalition for a webinar on the Rangeland Carbon Monitoring Program (Range-C), where we’ll dive into the logistics of designing and implementing a monitoring project to track the impacts of prescribed grazing on ecosystem carbon and soil health.

NAP 101 is an interactive opportunity to learn more about the New Agrarian Program, hear descriptions of our 2025 mentor sites, and get a few tips on applying to the program. Although this call will be recorded and posted to our website, attending the live call gives applicants the opportunity to ask questions and meet the NAP staff who will help review applications.

Call #2: November 11, 12:00 p.m. |  Nov 14, 7:00 a.m. - Evaluating Written Applications
A strong evaluation process begins before you read a single application. Creating your review process in advance assures you’ll read for relevant experience as well as for potential in less experienced applicants.  We will share strategies for tackling the pile of applications, evaluation templates, and sample email responses to applicants who you would like to interview and those you will decline. 

This is part four of a five-part series on various agencies and tools within the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. In this offering of the series, we are joined by Montana Beginning Farmer Rancher Coordinators, Marlee Johnston, an ag producer state specialist for Rural Development, and John Lockie, risk management specialist with Risk Management Agency, to discuss how Rural Development and Risk Management Agency work with beginning farmers and ranchers.

This is part five of a five-part series on various agencies and tools within the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Our final call of the Getting Started with the USDA webinar Series will discuss programs and technical support the Natural Resources Conservation Service provides. NRCS provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment.

In this two part webinar series, founders of Grazing School of the West, Brittany "Cole" Bush and Olivia Tincani will dig into the roots of what makes a grazier’s business different. In part one we will discuss business planning and decision-making and the distinct things to consider while planning your contract or prescribed grazing business. In part two we will review various business tools, templates, and instruments that power operations of grazing businesses and empower their entrepreneurs and employees.

In this two part webinar series, founders of Grazing School of the West, Brittany "Cole" Bush and Olivia Tincani will dig into the roots of what makes a grazier’s business different. In part one we will discuss business planning and decision-making and the distinct things to consider while planning your contract or prescribed grazing business. In part two we will review various business tools, templates, and instruments that power operations of grazing businesses and empower their entrepreneurs and employees.

Call #3: Interviewing For Your Best Candidate
Design an interview process that will reveal the skill level, motivation and aptitude of  applicants and determine if they are right for your operation. We’ll share great questions that lead to thorough responses regarding experience and motivation. What questions can’t be asked, for legal reasons? How do you find out what you most need to know? And how do you select your finalists?

Call #4:  January 16, 7 a.m. |  Jan 21, 12 p.m.
Expectations Explained: Yours and Theirs
You’ve chosen your apprentice and are preparing for their arrival. How do you set clear expectations of job responsibilities, days off, work schedules, team meetings, and your workplace culture? Writing an apprenticeship agreement, creating a skills list, and setting clear boundaries at the beginning can support a successful apprenticeship.

This winter, Good Meat Project and Quivira Coalition are joining forces to offer you a free, four-part virtual marketing workshop series to help take the guesswork out of your branding and marketing strategies.
Topics will include: honing your brand, building a marketing plan, social media/newsletter strategies, assessing sales channels, and much more. These live sessions will also include real-time problem solving and Q&As with marketing experts.

Call #5: February 11, 12 p.m. | Feb 13, 7 a.m.
Connecting Work and Education
How do you structure the workday, week, and month so that priorities are established, and both work and education happen? Strategies shared include weekly planning meetings, how to find those ‘teachable moments’ during a workday, and ways to do up-front training to get your apprentice going and maintain focus, communication and motivation in the busy season.

Call #6: March 11, 12 p.m. | March 13, 7 a.m.
Sustaining Apprentice Motivation
Apprentice motivation can falters a few months in. We’ll discuss ways to co-create apprentice goals that take advantage of the built-in learning at your operation, and ways to keep that momentum going through the season, including identifying apprentice solo study, local resource people to learn from, and visiting other operations. Skill sheets are great prompts for this so we’ll discuss ways to make them truly effective and useful to you and your apprentice.

Call #7: April 22, 12 p.m.  | April 24, 7 a.m.
Feedback to Feed Forward
Actionable feedback catalyzes learning and motivation by correcting errors while looking ahead to further development. We’ll share a variety of tried and true methods for productive feedback conversations both scheduled and impromptu, as well as how to get feedback to help you grow as a mentor.