2024 Mentorship Kick-Off!
Photo Courtesy of Alexandria Miranda
By Katie Meade, Humane Farming Program Associate
We're thrilled to announce FACT’s 2024 Mentorship Program! This year, we welcome 25 new mentees and 12 fresh mentors, alongside our esteemed returning mentors from previous seasons. Since its inception in 2017, FACT’s mentorship program has been a cornerstone of support for small and medium-scale farmers across the nation who are committed to humane farming and sustainable practices.
Photo Courtesy of Carrissa Miller
At FACT, we understand that the right match is crucial for a mentee to successfully meet their goals and feel supported, so we endeavor to connect individuals not only based on skill sets but also on their potential to foster ongoing support. Each winter, our mentorship staff diligently conducts one-on-one interviews with every mentee applicant. Through this process, we gain direct insight into their challenges, strengths, aspirations, and what they aim to gain most from their mentor over the 10-month program. Some mentees seek logistical expertise, to enhance efficiency in daily tasks or improve financial management. Others the steady guidance of an experienced mentor, a sounding board, and a friendly advisor.
As with every year, 2024 presents its own trends and challenges for our farmers, both individually and collectively. Droughts, floods, extreme seasonal temperatures, feed costs, and price fluctuations are among the top concerns this year. As we adapt to changing weather patterns and emerging norms, pasture-based livestock and poultry farmers are particularly vulnerable. However, amidst these challenges, there's a silver lining: increasing consumer awareness about the nutritional benefits of pastured meats is driving a higher demand for these pastured animal products. In response to this demand, we see many new and veteran livestock farmers eager for the support of a mentor as they navigate starting up, restructuring, or scaling up their farming activities to meet consumer demand and find a niche in the rapidly expanding market of pastured meats, dairy, and eggs.
A few examples of our 2024 Mentees
Photo Courtesy of Carie Starr
In Illinois, Ohio, and Oregon, mentees are focused on scaling up production, implementing winter pasture management, upgrading brooding systems, expanding operations to manage up to 5k broilers (meat chickens), and establishing partnerships with humane butchering facilities.
In Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, mentees are expanding their meat goat operations to cater to the growing niche in goat meat. Some are collaborating with innovative initiatives like Goats on the Go, which connects non-farmers with farmers to manage their land sustainably, utilizing the browsing qualities of goats. Mentees' goals include parasite management, biosecurity, nutritional needs of meat vs dairy goats, and fencing. (After all, a goat's favorite pastime is playing “great escape”!!)
Sheep farming remains a lucrative market for many, especially in states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, California, and Virginia. Mentees in these regions have decidedly focused on increasing flock size, managing grazing contracts, evaluating forage quality, and improving genetics and lambing outcomes.