Small Farm 'Incubator Project' Helps Fresno County Farmers

 

Undersecretary Bill Hawks Visits Small Farm Project

Small farms and those with limited resources number well over 1,400 in Fresno County. The county's great diversity in ethnic makeup of small farmers makes for a unique and challenging opportunity to extend information. Many Hmong farmers also have difficulty understanding English.

 

 
Small Farms Advisor Richard Molinar helped develop a 20-acre incubator farm where participants farm one to three acres and receive technical training during a two-year program. The programs are presented in various languages, including Hmong and Lao. The Center also serves as a one-stop-shop where farmers can attend computer classes, get information about loans and recordkeeping or find out in the resource library about all of UC's programs. Cooperative Extension provides technical assistance for the farm production.

The project is a collaboration between UCCE, Hmong American Community, American Farmland Trust and CV Small Business Development Center. Other participants include USDA-RMA, FSA, RD.
 

 
During 2002, more than 100 minority small farmers attended workshops at the Small Farm Incubator Project site in Fresno. Six, including three Hmong, two Lao and one African American, are participating in the two-year training and are farming between one and three acres. They also attend monthly workshops at the site, learning about IPM, soils, irrigation, fertilizers, marketing, postharvest, recordkeeping, budgets and finances.
 

Supporting Unit: Fresno County
 
Richard Molinar
Cooperative Extension
1720 S. Maple Ave.
Fresno, CA 93702
559-456-7555
rhmolinar@ucdavis.edu