For the past 10 years, Michigan State University’s Great Lakes Latina/o Farmers Program, formerly La Cosecha, has helped first-generation farmers by providing training in agricultural practices. The program recently received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, to support its initiatives.
“We are incredibly proud of the success of this bilingual program and the ongoing efforts to support the next generation of Michigan farmers,” said Matthew Daum, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at MSU. “Securing the USDA grant is a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in this initiative.”
The program is delivered by faculty and MSU Extension educators who train farmers in pest management, forest carbon management, climate change mitigation, crop production and diversification, business and marketing as well as packaging. An important aspect of this program and its training is that it can be provided in Spanish. This means there isn’t a language barrier between the farmers and the training facilitators. The program operates by engaging with the farmers on a personal level and with an understanding of cultural and linguistic norms.
Professor Eva Almenar from the School of Packaging provides workshops for first-generation Latina/o farmers, teaching farmers how to package their fruits and vegetables to better preserve their product and extend its shelf life to become a more competitive force in the market. Almenar’s workshops also help farmers learn how to improve and grow their businesses — from introducing concepts of sustainable farming practices to cost-efficient methods of farm operations and management. Almenar also developed questionnaires to provide participants before and after the workshops to evaluate what farmers learned and what topics need more focus.
“It is a pleasure to interact with Latina/o farmers and learn from them. It goes two ways, and you both check your knowledge,” said Almenar.
David MacFarlane, a professor in the Department of Forestry, delivers workshops on managing forest land that’s adjacent to farmers’ crop fields using climate-smart methods. As a forestry educator, MacFarlane also teaches farmers about the connection between forests and pollination.
Additionally, through the program, MacFarlane introduces new funding opportunities for first-generation Latina/o farmers to pursue — opportunities that, largely, are unknown to this community due to language barriers. The program is a great way for these farmers to build not only on their existing skill sets and knowledge but to develop a network of trusted information and resources to support their success.
“First-generation farmers don’t have long family connections for farming, which creates entry barriers to success,” MacFarlane said.
The workshops aim to reduce these barriers by integrating language and culture into the educational materials they receive.
“You can’t look at the farmers from the top down,” said Great Lakes Latina/o Farmers Program Director David Mota-Sanchez. “The program only works when you work with the community in a mutual relationship instead of the usual hierarchical structure.”
For Mota-Sanchez, the importance of human interaction in Hispanic culture cannot be overstated. A key component to the program’s success is the one-on-one relationship with the community and establishing trust.
“The USDA grant is an opportunity to expand the program’s reach — not just in numbers but in learning opportunities,” said Luis Garcia, the program’s co-director. “In the past 10 years, the program has grown to include workshops and specialized learning practices. A look to the future would suggest investment to keep expanding the knowledge of first-generation farmers.”
Creating a multigenerational program is critical to ensuring the success of future generations of farmers. The Great Lakes Latina/o Farmers Program doesn’t start and end with first-generation farmers. It incorporates the whole family. Future generations of farmers are enrolled in agriculture-related fields to grow their knowledge and help build the family business. This approach allows for specialized roles that expand farmers’ business models and, most importantly, build community.
The Great Lakes Latina/o Farmers Program uses various methods to identify and recruit as many farmers as possible. These include on-the-ground initiatives such as word-of-mouth ambassadors, WhatsApp groups, cell phone communication and promotional flyers in Mexican stores. In the future, Mota-Sanchez plans to use radio ads as another recruitment tactic.
First-generation Latina/o farmers are an underserved community working jobs that are often physically demanding. And while food production is critically important, few people consider how their food is grown and where it comes from. The key to amplifying the voices of first-generation farmers is recognizing the hard — and often thankless — work they do to ensure fresh, local food to those in our state and beyond. This is why the program hosted a recognition ceremony on MSU’s campus — to thank and honor the service of the first-generation farmers (200 and counting) who have completed the program.
“The celebration played a vital role in recognizing first-generation farmers because it is one of the first times they were recognized for their work and have a sense of belonging to the university,” said Mota-Sanchez.