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11 <br />2010 Tobacco Communities=Reinvestment Fund <br />Community Applicatior~Central Region <br />6. Please- list farmer participants in the project: <br />Tobacco % of Household <br />Income Income from <br />Name Type of Farming (Yes or No) Farming <br />Allan Green Produce N 20% <br />B. Hines f D. Lazarus Produce N 2" Yr A rentice <br />David Heeks Produce N 2" Yr A rentice <br />Marcia Graf Produce /Flowers N 15% <br />Dave Ramirez Produce N 20% <br />Tom & Linda Sava a Produce N 10% <br />Will Cramer Produce N 100% <br />Note: As an apprentice program, annual income information is not available for first year <br />apprentices. <br />7. What research have you done to determine if this project will work? Why do you believe that <br />this project can be successful? How have you determined that there is a market demand-for <br />the products? <br />The PLANT .Farm Enterprise Incubator is entering its- fourth year of programming and has a <br />proven track record of success. Summarized over the 2008, 2009, and 2010 8-week <br />workshop series, 155 current and potential farmers were trained on small scale sustainable <br />vegetable, fruit, and livestock production. Participants included current and former tobacco <br />farmers and quota holders, and. included a diverse population of current and potential farmers, <br />including African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans, with an age range from 23 to 64. <br />Cattle and- row-crop farmers have also participated in the training program. Mentor farmers <br />from Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Orange, and Wilkes Counties represent our statewide <br />agricultural diversity and testify to the support of the program by established farmers. <br />The information intensive 8-week workshop series reviewed other new farmer training program <br />across the United States-and includes training on the following topics: <br />• Whole Farm Planning <br />• Soil Fertility, Irrigation Management, and Crop Rotation <br />• Plant Disease, Insect, and Weed Management <br />• Planting,. Harvesting, and- Post-Harvest Handling <br />• Enterprise Development and Busi-Hess Planning <br />• f~ecord keeping and Taxes <br />• Marketing <br />• Integrated Farm Management <br />In 2008, 7 farm enterprises (11 individuals) rented land at the Breeze Farm and grew crops for <br />sale. Apprentices included an African American, as well as two individuals from former. <br />tobacco growers and /or quota h-older farm families. All 7 farm enterprises completed a <br />business plan prior to planting their crops and marketed their crops through farmers' markets, <br />community supported agriculture (CSA), restaurants, wholesale to Whole Foods, and a (new) <br />farm stand. <br />Page 10 of 19 <br />