High Desert Food & Farm Alliance’s ‘Growing Together’ mentorship program enters second year

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Are you a farmer or rancher in Central Oregon who could use some extra support as you start planning for next year? Developed by the High Desert Food & Farm Alliance and launched last spring, the Growing Together Mentorship Program’s goal is to connect experienced and beginning farmers and ranchers to provide mentorship and improved knowledge of agricultural production, sales and farm viability.

Now is a great time for growers and producers to seek support as they begin to plan for the upcoming season. Farming is hard —especially here in Central Oregon. Two main hurdles facing farming businesses are a lack of resources —capital, water, labor, land —and the lack of a strong support system.

This program helps beginning farmers and ranchers (typically defined as those with less than 10 years of experience) develop that support system so they can ask specific questions, develop business and interpersonal skills, and build a more resilient business within our food economy.

Whether a producer has recently acquired land and is just thinking about where to start, or has been growing the last few years and has specific areas and skills they'd like to build, this program offers one-on-one peer support to help them reach their goals.

Katia Steckly, 2022—23 mentor and owner of Double F Ranch in Antelope, recognizes the importance of an outside perspective and supportive voice:

“I think a good Mentor has excellent listening skills and is capable of holding space for others. They understand that the hardest parts of farming have nothing to do with the tractor breaking or the irrigation freezing — that farming is truly a mental game… Farmers and ranchers are a fiercely independent bunch, but you don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes an outside perspective can really help take your business to the next level.”

 Read her full interview here (https://hdffa.org/interview-with-katia-mentorship/). Katia and other mentors in this program are here to help their peers achieve successful businesses, set personal and professional goals, and work through technical challenges. Each mentor has a specific skill set, so prospective mentees fill out the application and HDFFA will pair them with the mentor that will best meet their needs.

All three of HDFFA’s experienced mentors will present a Q&A session for prospective mentees on Thursday, December 15th, at 10 a.m. via Zoom. Registration is required. Follow this link to register (https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcofumqqzIvG9SYlUqxlHE3hcw13OC7BcwT ).

The Growing Together Mentorship Program is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of both the mentors and mentees. This program is free for HDFFA Partners and is designed for those that already have land and are planning on producing in 2023.[1] [2]  To learn more about the Growing Together Mentorship Program, find the criteria for prospective mentees, and apply at hdffa.org/mentorship.

This project is funded by the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program grant [grant no. 2020-70017-32426] from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.