Program Alumni

Through this course, alumni report feeling “validated”, “instilled with confidence” to take necessary risk, “connected to peers and the larger farming community,” and infused with a “spirit of boldness” in a dedicated space where they can focus and accomplish more than they imagined in the dedicated time. 

FARMpreneurs has proven to be a catalytic and enjoyable strategic planning retreat for its 36 participants.

Of the alumni polled:

  • 100% of our alumni are still farming

  • 100% of our alumni have increased profits (20–700%)

  • 100% of our alumni have maintained or increased their Climate Smart practices

  • 100% of our alumni report direct positive community impact from their projects

  • 100% of our alumni are in support of the expansion of this program

  • 80% of our alumni have increased their acreage 

Success Stories

  • Moon Valley Farm

    Going to Regional Scale

    Emma Jagoz joined the program at a point where she was farming 7 separate leased plots. She arrived with a big vision to create a food hub in the Chesapeake Bay region. Since participating, she has purchased her own farm and profitably scaled her business five-fold — all with grant funding.

  • White Buffalo Land Trust

    Value Added Products

    Jesse Smith developed and refined a strategy for value-added products made from the fully-regenerative production at White Buffalo Land Trust. The program helped him develop a rubric for testing and prioritizing new product opportunities, while creating a clear strategy and presentation for the benefit of his organization's board and funders.

  • Masumoto Family Farms

    Succession Planning

    The FARMpreneur program gave Nikiko Masumoto an opportunity to explore and work through key issues with respect to her assuming responsibility for this fourth generation farm. The cohort provided a safe space to explore generational transitions and put together a proposal for her family to consider.

  • Meadowlark Organics

    Vertical Integration

    John Wepking arrived at the program in the midst of complicated, high potential generational transition with a long-time Wisconsin grain farmer and developed a solid business strategy that involved creating a vertically integrated farm to bakery business featuring on-site milling.

Nikiko Masumoto, 2020 FARMpreneur Cohort

“You have to dream things that seem impossible, and then there’s the execution, the action, the operations. The tension between those three requires suppleness and strength at the same time. There’s the tension of breaking and changing models, of trying new things.”