New Agrarian Program

Tips on giving constructive, actionable feedback that catalyzes learning and motivation; and how to get the feedback you need to mentor effectively. We offer a variety of tried and true methods and tips to generate objective, honest, and open conversations in scheduled and impromptu feedback sessions. This call will be offered on April 25 at 12 -1pm MT and on April 27 at 7 - 8am MT to accommodate schedules.

NAP 101 is an interactive opportunity to learn more about the New Agrarian Program, hear about our hiring process, and run through descriptions of our 2024 mentor sites. 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 Coordinators who will help review applications.

Mentoring differs from being an employer in key ways: how do you know if it’s right for you? What are you excited to teach? The answers to these and other questions will help you write an apprenticeship description that is both appealing and realistic about the ups and downs of regenerative agriculture on your site. We’ll discuss ways to describe work schedules, location, isolation, and other factors, to be sure your description will appeal to the applicants you most want to attract.

NAP 101 is an interactive opportunity to learn more about the New Agrarian Program, hear about our hiring process, and run through descriptions of our 2024 mentor sites. 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 Coordinators who will help review applications.

Reading applications for obvious strengths as well as for someone with potential is supported by a strong evaluation process that starts before you read a single application. 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. 

Join us for our Tips & Tricks for Applying webinar, a conversation about how to craft an application, resume, and interview that highlight your particular strengths and potential. Our team has years of experience in reading and evaluating NAP applications, along with countless hours helping mentors interview candidates. This is your opportunity to glean critical tips and tricks from our crew that just might set you apart from other applicants.

NAP 101 is an interactive opportunity to learn more about the New Agrarian Program, hear about our hiring process, and run through descriptions of our 2024 mentor sites. 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 Coordinators who will help review applications.

How can you best Interview to reveal the skill level, motivation and aptitude of an applicant 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? We’ll discuss all this as well as conducting both phone/video and on-site interviews.

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.

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.

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.

This three-part webinar series will focus on a few strategic business training concepts to help bolster you and steer you towards skills you need for long-term operational success and viability.
Presented by Olivia Tincani, together with her suite of colleague thought practitioners, this series can be taken as a whole or each course individually. Courses are aimed at existing or emerging entrepreneurs.