Written by Kayla Williams
Kayla Williams is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.
When a small-scale independent farmer sets out to run their own operation, there are typically several barriers to them running a successful business, having a good work-life balance, and ensuring that the plants/animals are being taken care of. Farmers suddenly become soil scientists, bookkeepers, a marketing agency, the human resources department, food safety specialists and so much more. More often than not, farmers do not get access to a support system that addresses the specific challenges they face. They are often isolated in rural places with little time to rest, nurture their mental health, pay all the various bills that pile up, and fix equipment that keeps breaking.
The Georgia Organics Farmer Services team supports farmer members in a variety of ways: providing emergency relief funds, assisting farmers to get access to free healthcare, facilitating networking opportunities for farmers to build community, hosting technical workshops, subsidizing fees for the USDA Organic Certification process and the Accelerator program.
Michael Wall, the director of Farmer Services, designed the Accelerator program with “going an inch wide and a mile deep” in mind. Although the program only accepts ten farmers per year, the case managers form deep relationships with the cohort through monthly check-ins and periodic check-ins after the year-long program is up. In addition to accessing this Georgia Organics support system, the farmers have the opportunity to get to know other cohort members and professional consultants, hopefully forming connections beyond Georgia Organics and their time in the program.
In spring 2021, the Georgia Organics Farmer Services team accepted the second Accelerator cohort. The ten cohort members were chosen from a pool of approximately sixty Georgia farmers who applied for the Accelerator program. The year-long program begins with the cohort members getting matched up with a Farmer Services staff member, which will serve as their case manager. Afterward, an intake process is conducted to determine the cohort farms’ key needs, opportunities and challenges. Through coaching with farm experts, conversations with their case managers, and research, the farms can spend up to $9650 on their operation. With approval from the consultants and case managers, farmers have chosen to spend this investment capital on everything from compost to tractor implements, automatic greenhouse watering systems, and tarps. In reality, many investments change a farm’s ability to be successful.
Speaking of success, the Farmer Services team hopes to move towards understanding what it looks like for a farm to be successful through the Accelerator program’s data collection before, during, and after the farm is a part of the program. From a stress assessment to the farms’ revenue and surveys on how the infrastructure investments have benefitted the farmers’ (physically? mentally? time-saving?), the Farmer Services team is interested in ensuring that this program is as effective and impactful as possible. A member from the 2020-2021 Accelerator cohort said during their exit interview, “For us, it did exactly what it set out to do. It gave us an acceleration… You learn so much about specific things you need help but don't spend your money on…We felt so fortunate to be benefactors of the Accelerator program.”
Without further delay, please give a warm welcome to our 2021-2022 Accelerator Cohort!
Bread and Butter Farm in Monroe, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Bread and Butter Farm courtesy of Kayla Williams
Chattahoochee Queen courtesy of Kayla Williams
Heritage Farm on Sapelo Island, GA Learn more in this article
Ladybird Farm in Hull, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Ladybird Farm courtesy of Kayla Williams
Levity Farms in Madison, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Rag and Frass Farm in Jeffersonville, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Starlit Roots Farm in Keyesville, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Sunbird Flowers in Lithonia, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Sunbird Flowers courtesy of Sunbird Flowers
Vesterfield Farms in Cochran, GA follow them on Instagram and Facebook
Stay tuned for a deeper dive with each farm over the next several months. Stay in touch with Georgia Organics on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics