Applications for Year 2 of the Hoosier Beginning Farmer Fellowship are due Sunday, Jan 3 at 11:59pm. Details below!

Last year's Fellows (pictured above: Anne Massie, Vivian Muhammad, Emma Hawk, Mike Record, and Jonas Carpenter) made big leaps in 2020, thanks in part to the Fellowship. They added on-farm stores and mobile farmer's market trailers; dug wells; bought equipment to start new enterprises; added new greenhouses; and more. ​

Here We Go Again - Apply for Year 2 of the
​Hoosier Beginning Farmer Fellowship

This is Year 2 of our Fellowship program, and we couldn't be more pumped. If you're a farmer entering year 3-10 of your operation, we want you to apply...and if you're not, please help spread the word! Keep reading for details, and to see what's new for Year 2 of the Fellowship:

The Hoosier Beginning Farmer Fellowship Program aims to propel a cohort of outstanding beginning farmers forward in their farming journey. ​We are establishing a network of peers available for assistance and advice, and providing funds to compensate these farmers for being Fellows. 

• The goal of the cohort model is to create a bond between Fellows that offers camaraderie and allies for practical, technical or emotional support. The farmers will spend one year connecting. They will engage via monthly conference calls as well as a (socially distanced) retreat at the start and end of their year. They will participate in two years of the Indiana Small Farm Conference together, and join HYFC in our effort to connect beginning farmers statewide.
• The goal of the compensation ($5,000) is to acknowledge the work farmers put into being Fellows, and to allow these beginning farmers to build their capacity, scale up to the next level, and/or intensify their impact in local and regional food systems throughout Indiana. Ideally, the funds will offset costs incurred by participating in the Fellowship, and let the farmer tackle a major farm project that will advance their growing business.
• The Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition is committed to furthering racial equity in agriculture. We acknowledge that our food system is a racist system, and that white farmers and eaters have been offered advantages that have been kept from Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. We want to use the resources of this Fellowship to contribute a more equitable food system in Indiana. We know that this is just a start, but we are excited to commit to providing a minimum of three (3) of our Fellowships to Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, and three (3) of our Fellowships to female-identifying, non-binary, and trans farmers. These are not mutually exclusive identity categories and should not be understood as adding up to six (6) of the seven (7)  available Fellowships. To read our full solidarity statement, click here.

By providing this Fellowship, the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition aims to help beginning Hoosier farmers solidify their roles as successful, sustainable farmers building the food systems we need.

Applications are open now through January 3, 2021, at 11:59pm. 

To find if you are eligible, to read more about how the Fellowship works, and to apply, click here.

Questions? Email us at fellows@hoosieryfc.org.

Meet the 2020 Hoosier Beginning Farmer Fellows

They grow veggies and perennials and starts. They raise livestock. They sell food at markets, to chefs, and beyond. They grow in urban and rural spaces all around Indiana. They are making an impact on their communities - and they're ready to take their farms to the next level. 

Click here to Meet the 2020 Fellows.

Click here to see what Anne Massie accomplished in 2020, thanks (in part!) to the Fellowship.

Click here for a video from Mike Record, showing how the Fellowship funds helped him grow his family's farm.

Click here for a video from Jonas Carpenter, with highlights from his year as a Beginning Farmer Fellow.