Supporting Relationships for Farm Success

A Toolkit for Agricultural Service Providers

Created with SARE support
Leslie Forstadt, Abby Sadauckas, | 2020 | 18 pages

It is not uncommon that the barriers to implementing changes on the farm are not related to production or marketing but rather interpersonal or "non-technical" issues like effective communication, decision-making, goal setting and time management.

This toolkit was created by Dr. Leslie Forstadt, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Abby Sadauckas, Apple Creek Farm, as part of a Northeast SARE Professional Development project to help agricultural service providers and others who work with farmers better understand farmer development and ways to respond to farmer concerns related to non-technical skills. The publication was designed to support providers in building confidence to be a “guide,” rather than an expert in these areas to, in turn, better support farmers.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Farmer Typology
  • Stage of Farming
  • Stage of Personal Development
  • State of Business
  • Learning Stage
  • Tips for Acting as a Guide
  • Resources
  • One-on-One Consultation Checklist

Want more information? See the related SARE grant:

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.