2025 Innovative Programming that Addresses New Audiences

Started in 1979, the UC ANR Small Farms Network (then called the Small Farms Program) has worked collaboratively with small-scale farmers to assess their needs and co-develop research and extension activities to best support their profitability and sustainability. At the beginning, the Small Farms Network had a particular focus on Latina/o/x/e growers, but quickly expanded to include other growers who have been underserved by the land grant system, such as Southeast Asian immigrant farmers. The Small Farms Network recognized early on the need for extension agents and program staff who share the languages and cultures of the growers with whom they worked. This recognition has guided hiring in the Network, including recruiting staff directly from the growers and communities they serve.

Today, the UC ANR Small Farms Network serves as an information hub connecting small-scale farms to research and education resources, provided in multiple languages. The team develops and disseminates produce food safety resources, including connecting small-scale growers to certificate and non-certificate courses and financial assistance. An area of emphasis is working with beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers to navigate food safety regulations.

To support food safety knowledge and regulatory compliance for small-scale, culturally diverse growers in California, the UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) team engaged in multiple activities, serving a diverse audience including White, African American, Hispanic, Chinese, Korean, Hmong, Lu Mien, and Nepali growers. Content was delivered in languages relevant to these groups in many of the extension events. In 2023 (the most recent year we have data for), one-on-one technical assistance was provided to 108 growers across the state, and 456 growers attended workshops or webinars where food safety information was provided by the UCCE team. To comply with food safety regulatory requirements for on-farm production set forth by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSA), growers are required to attend a US Food and Drug Administration approved training course, the Produce Safety Alliance Grower course.

In 2023, the latest year we have data for, the UC ANR Small Farms Network had over 5,000 direct contacts. As a result of their extension activities, the Network supported farmers from historically underserved communities to secure over $900,000 in economic relief funding last year alone. The UCCE Small Farms Network provided outreach and technical assistance in English, Spanish, Hmong, Lao, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese and Iu-Mien to support small-scale farmers in applying for state and federal programs to address drought, flood and COVID relief. As a result, 14 of 20 farmers in Fresno County supported by UCCE received funding for a total amount of over $335,000 in economic relief funding from state and federal programs. In Riverside County, 31 of 37 underserved farmers applying for grants with UCCE assistance were awarded a total of $350,000 in funding for economic relief from COVID-19, drought and flood. All 73 Central Coast farmers who applied for Coronavirus Food Assistance grants with UCCE assistance were awarded funds totaling $232,625.

They also supported over 180 growers to receive their Produce Safety Alliance certifications, which is an essential requirement to be in compliance with Food Safety Modernization act (FSMA) inspections. For example, in the Inland Empire of Southern California, a UCCE small farms advisor supports historically underrepresented farmers to navigate and meet FSMA regulations. The need for culturally specific outreach emerged through a needs assessment, which showed more than 80 growers in the area were not aware of FSMA regulations. UCCE became the hotline for Korean-speaking farmers, assisting them with education, training and one-on-one food safety assessments during individual farm visits. As a result, farmers completed California Department of Food and Agriculture Produce Safety Rule inspections with no findings, meaning they were fully in compliance.

Appreciation for the UC ANR Small Farms Network has been expressed by commodity boards, partner agencies, and clientele. Testimonials include:

“(Ramiro) Lobo y (Manuel) Jiménez, con su asesoría e investigaciones, juegan un papel importante en el éxito del creciente número de agricultores a pequeña escala en California, en su gran mayoría inmigrantes latino americanos y asiáticos.” (“With their advice and research, they play an important role in the success of the growing number of small-scale farmers in California, the vast majority of whom are Latin American and Asian immigrants.”)
     – La Opinión,a Spanish-language daily newspaper

“Michael helped me get a grant to buy a new pump for drip irrigation. It saves me water.”
     – Xiong Pao Her, a UC ANR Small Farms client, who grows about 100 crops throughout the year – including ginger, broccoli rabe, fennel, garlic, green onions, napa cabbage and kale – in Sanger.

“Without the support provided by the UCCE, hundreds, if not thousands, of Hmong farmers would have been added to the victim list for not knowing or understanding the laws. The UCCE has gone many extra miles to fill gaps between enforcement agencies and the Hmong farming community.”
     – Toulu Thao, a Hmong activist
        https://ucanr.edu/News/?routeName=newsstory&postnum=39490

The experience and expertise of Small Farms Network members and affiliates have directly informed the recent UC ANR Strategic Vision and Strategic Planning efforts. The Director of UC SAREP and a Small Farms Advisor served on the strategic visioning committee and other members of the Small Farms Network participated in visioning workshops across the state. Their input helped to ensure that UC ANR enshrined its commitment to support of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by naming Addressing Systemic Inequities as one of the seven key focus areas for the organization 1000+ academics and community educators who work with communities in all of California’s 58 counties.

On the state level, the Small Farms Network helped shape the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) vision for sustainable pest management, which articulates a “pathway to minimize reliance on the use of toxic pesticides and promote solutions that protect health and safety, are agronomically and economically sound, eliminate racial and other disparities, and engage, educate, and promote collaboration toward safe, sustainable pest management practices in production agriculture” (A Roadmap for California). Specifically, a UCCE small farms advisor served on the Sustainable Pest Management workgroup for DPR and represented the needs and interests of both underserved farmers and organic growers, diversified and small-scale. As a result of the advisor’s participation in the workgroup, DPR included the needs and interests of farmers who have historically received less support from state and federal agricultural agencies in a new guiding document, “Accelerating Sustainable Pest Management: A Roadmap for California.” Their inclusion in the roadmap increases the resiliency and viability of these farmers in the future.

The UC ANR Small Farms Network is also a trusted collaborator by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which tapped advisors in the Network to develop and deliver guidance for growers to assess crop safety after floods. The advisors developed a new website and fact sheet then presented guidance on a webinar attended by over 200 growers in 2023.

The UC ANR Small Farms Network works with farmers across California in eight primary languages (Chinese, English, Hmong, Iu-Mien, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, and Vietnamese). Funded by the California Underserved and Small Producer Program (CUSP), Bilingual Community Educators and Staff Research Associates have expanded the Network’s ability to collaboratively identify needs and support small-scale farmers in culturally responsive ways. Network activities reflect the specific needs of clienteles and are tailored to supporting them to maintain and grow their livelihoods, including by accessing financial resources, obtaining and retaining professional licensing, and meeting regulatory requirements.