Farmers in Flower

I’m a Wii Bowling pro, but nine perfect frames flung forth by joystick have no bearing, I’ve learned, on the way my Strangelovian right arm lands me nothing but gutterballs in Actual Bowling. It’s true, too, that my in-game “years” tending crops in Stardew Valley—watering pixelated chrysanthemums and potatoes and using my ample free time to fish, forage, and mine—won’t revive the eight succulents I’ve left to die on the bathroom windowsill. But real-world farmers might find it, ah, invigorating, to learn that until they’ve toiled ten years in the field, the USDA would classify us all under the same heading: Beginner Farmers.

Thanks to the new Grow Louisiana: Beginner Farmer Training Program, I’ll be outclassed by these peers in no time. A yearlong endeavor for the fifteen farmers who make the cut, the free sustainable agriculture education program led by LSU AgCenter Professor Carl Motsenbocker will not only impart technical, business, and hands-on training over the course of seventeen sessions and two field days in New Orleans (with topics including Soils 101 and Financing, Land Acquisition & Resources) but also introduce novices to a network of farmers whose acquaintance will likely prove fruitful through the start-up years and beyond. “It’s a concerted effort to provide training, networking, and mentorship,” said Motsenbocker. The newly created network, Louisiana Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT), will connect sustainable agriculture farmers statewide.

Not all students will have even farmed before. “We’re looking for people who are interested in farming. They don’t need to have land,” said Motsenbocker, who’s pleased with the diversity in the pool of candidates. Applications closed on December 14, 2018, but 2019 will be just the first year for Grow Louisiana, which was created with a grant from the USDA. The program—a collaborative effort between LSU AgCenter, MarketUmbrella, SPROUT NOLA, and Acadiana Food Alliance—will reopen for applications this fall, for 2020 sessions in Lafayette, before returning to New Orleans in 2021. But we expect you’ll see the effects at your local farmers market before then. Contact the organizers at (225) 578-1036 or growlouisianabfrdp@gmail.com.