The Fauquier Education Farm 2016 Annual Report

... the intersection of agriculture education and social responsibility

I would very much like to share with you some words about my incredibly wonderful experiences dur-ing the Beginning Farmer Courses given by the Fauquier Education Farm.

I tell everyone I meet that these courses were the best value for my money. Ever. Both courses exceeded expectation. Together they created a framework, which continues to inform my planning and actions on our farm.

Jim, and his guest team members, gave high and low tunnels meaning, made soil analysis and record keeping exciting, and irrigation a much-less-complicated prospect. Preparing, ordering, seeding, stak-ing, amending, pest control, no-till, harvesting, and celebrating all moved from a jumble in my head to an organized, understandable, and manageable process. I am fully aware that farming will still be a la-bor-intensive lifestyle choice, but because of the juxtaposition of these two courses I now have the skills and confidence to jump in. Jim and the Fauquier Education Farm have saved me so much time, effort, monies, and confusion. I shudder to think of the mistakes I would have made without this opportunity.

Andrea Young

Hidden Creek Farm

Dear Fauquier Education Farm,

We would like to thank you for all the fresh produce donations received during the 2016 season. Overall

we collected 57,573 pounds from local organizations, citizens, and others. Fauquier Education Farm do-

nated 31,765 pounds which is over half of what we received. Because of these donations our clients can

now come for full services twice per month as well as stop in anytime during the spring/summer

months for fresh vegetables and bread. Our clients have learned in the past few produce seasons how to

prepare fresh vegetables that they normally would not take. Many of our clients have started to can and

freeze fresh produce to stretch during the fall/winter months when the produce is scarce. Again with-

out all of your help and donations we would not be able to provide these fresh resources for our com-

munity.

Sharon Ames, The Fauquier Community Food Bank and Thrift Store

PRODUCTION

VOLUNTEERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GRANTS

FUNDRAISERS

COLLABORATIONS

BUDGET

DONORS

CONTENTS

PRODUCTION In 2016 the Education Farm

was able to donate 34,715

pounds of fresh produce to ar-

ea food banks. In 2016 we

grew and donated…

Broccoli

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Cantaloupe

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Onions

Peppers

Potatoes

Squash

Sweet potatoes

Tomatoes

Watermelons

Our Volunteers...

In 2016 over 350 individuals came to volunteer at the Education Farm.

Some of them with school or church groups only came once, but there is

a core group of volunteers who show up regularly, often driving for more

than an hour to freely give their time. The Master Gardeners from Fau-

quier, Rappahannock and Prince William deserve special mention but

there are many others who have no affiliation except the generousity of

their spirits that deserve the greatest, “Thank You”

The Education Farm Board of Directors worked quite hard in 2016 to

help our little non-profit grow into a more professional, well organized

entity. They revisited our by-laws, went through important strategic

planning and worked tirelessly on our fundraising campaigns.

We owe a heartfelt “Thank you” to Tony Hooper, Ellen Emerson and

Jan Selbo who have each served on the Board for more than five years

and are stepping down due to term limits.

We also want to welcome Rebecca Webert and Pam Smith as new

members to the Board in 2017.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The 2016 Board of

Directors

Susan Belford

Ben Cooper

Ellen Emerson

Susan Hilleary

Tony Hooper

Karen Hunsberger

Michele Mitchell

Ray Pickering

Jan Selbo

Michael Trop

Grants

As a non-profit the Fauquier Education Farm depends on grants for

much of our funding. Fortunately there are a good number of organiza-

tions that support the work we are doing and have stepped up to help us

pay the bills. These funding opportunities are key to our success.

The Education Farm plays a lead role in the Northern Piedmont Beginning Farmer Pro-

gram. This is a collaboration with the Cooperative Extension offices in Fauquier, Rappahan-

nock and Culpeper counties and the Fauquier Office of Agriculture Development, with the

goal of providing Beginning Farmer training sessions in our area. We are funded through a

USDA Beginning Farmer Grant with the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition

Project. In 2016 we were in our second year of a three year, $50,000 grant to fund these

efforts. We also received a Mini-Grant for $5000 from the VBFRCP in 2016 to hold a new

course titled An Introduction to Getting Your Hands Dirty

The PATH Foundation has become an important

partner in everything we do. In 2016 we received a

Make It Happen Grant from PATH to drill a well and

establish a clean water system. This will help with ir-

rigation and allow us to have clean water for hand

washing and cleaning produce. This was a grant of

$10,850 to fund this project.

Fundraising

The 4th Annual Feast from The Field

Our biggest fundraiser of the year took place on July 30th. Despite the torrential downpours of rain, we packed the house with over 200 attendees.

This event was the biggest year yet bringing in almost $30,000. Thanks to everyone that do-nated their time and purchased tickets. We would especially like to thank those that donated at the top sponsorship levels and in-kind donations.

Our Partners

The Piedmont Environ-

mental Council

Moriah Farm

Sponsorships - $5000+

Cheryl and Cooper Ashe

Country Chevrolet

iDesign Creative

Solutions

The Woodward Group

In-Kind Donations

Moo Thru Ice Cream

The Grapevine

The Red Truck Bakery

Our 2016 Give Local Piedmont campaign was

a huge success. Partnering with the Northern

Piedmont Community Foundation this 2016

Give Local effort more than doubled our

previous year’s total donations.

Annual Appeal Letter

The response to our Annual Appeal Letter at

the end of 2016 has been nothing short of

humbling. The generous out pouring of sup-

port for our mission from individual commu-

nity members means that we can step forward

into 2017 confident that we can pay our bills

and equally confident that our community

values our efforts and services,

COLLABORATIONS

Our most central and vital collaboration is with the Cooperative Extension, from advising

our Board of Directors to helping to plan our educational programs and increasing pro-

duction in our crops, VCE is a partner in everything we do.

The VSU Small Farm Outreach Program is an important

partner in providing cutting edge information to Virginia’s

small farmers. They sponsored our Seedless Watermelon

Demonstration in 2016 and will collaborate on our Sweet Po-

tato Variety Trial in 2017

Our educational programs focus on responsible

conservation stewardship as well as crop pro-

duction. Our collaborations with the John Mar-

shall Soil and Water Conservation District, the

Virginia Dept. of Conservation and Recreation,

and the Natural Resources Conservation Service

help ensure that we are providing practical and

up to date information to the entire community.

BUDGET

Income Expenses

Donations $77,384.41 Directors Contract $37,321.78

Grants $30,730.27 Farm Operations $33,810.56

Tuition $ 1,600.00 Administrative $ 4,338.49

2016 Contributions to the Fauquier Education Farm

The Fauquier Education Farm continues to thrive because of the generosity and support from

our amazing community. It is with much gratitude that we say thank you to the following do-

Karen Hunsberger Adam and Paul Adam

Chuck and Deanna Akre

The Marjorie Sale Arundel Fund for the Earth

John Bauserman

Blue Ridge Garden Club

Blue Ridge Orthopedics

Country Chevrolet

Citizens for Fauquier County

Josephine F. de Give

Natalie and Glenn Epstein

Farm Bureau

Fauquier County

Pamela and David B. Ford

Polly Gault and Ben Cooper

Catherine Heath

Florian and Jane Hofer

Horse Country Saddlery

Island Sunrise Foundation

G. Robert Lee and Sue Kellon

Kettle Run High School – Science Honor Society

Mr. and Mrs. James Kiffney

Mary Lynn and Nathan Kotz

Elaine Lutz and Richard Miller

Marian Maggiollo

Sharon and Charles Medvitz

Sallie and Thomas Morgan

The Mountain Fund

Carolyn O’Connell

Robert and Marcia Ohlwiler

Peter Schaumber

Marie and Ronald Smith

Benjamin and Ellen Soyars

Margret and Michael Stevens

Page D. Styles

Trinity United Methodist Church

Mr. and Mrs. John Whitelaw

We would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to those who made contribu-

tions through the Give Local Piedmont campaign that took place in May:

Anonymous (5)

Doerte Anikis

Casey Atwell

Julie and Ike Broaddus

Barbara Burgess

Christy and John Connolly

Heather Doane

Kristen and Colin Dueck

Ellen Stofan and Timothy Dunn

Caren and Wayne Eastham

Jane and Ralph Eickhoff

Laura Ewing

Polly Gault and Ben Cooper

Priscilla G. Hernandez

Susan and James Hilleary

Nora and Anthony Hooper

Diane King

Christopher G. Miller

Michele Mitchell

Ann Nelson

Paige Oberlin

Aimee O’Grady

Helen Oliver

Becky Parrish

Ray Pickering

Paula Rabkin

Charlotte Selbo

Emilie Selbo

Janis Selbo

Keith Selbo

Jocelyn Sladen

Page Styles

Holder Trumbo

Karen and Edward Wachtmeister

Holly Walnock

NEW FOR 2017

Be sure to visit our newly revamped website at fauquiereducation.org. You

can even sign up to receive our new Farm Blog .

We even have a Fauquier Education Farm YouTube channel for you to visit.

Remember to sign up to receive notification of our volunteer hours,

http://www.fc-mg.org/educationfarmsignup.html

2016 was a very successful year for the Fauquier Education Farm. We have experienced

phenomenal growth as an organization and with that growth have seen our positive im-

pact within the community blossom. However, none of this success could happen with

the support of such a beautiful community. It is a privilege to see our community take

pride and ownership in our efforts. We could not do any of this without you

For more information please contact,

Jim Hankins, Executive Director

PO Box 1143

Warrenton, Va. 20188

fauquieredfarm@gmail.com