Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program Feedback Survey

0503-xxxx

Exp. Date:

2501 Grantee Survey

The Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (known as the “2501 Program”) needs your input to inform how to strengthen this initiative. Specifically, we aim to improve outreach efforts and enhance technical assistance to socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers with our partner grantees. Please take a few moments to respond to the questions below.

To start, we will ask questions about your experiences with the 2501 Program from your organization’s perspective as a grantee.

What is your organization’s relationship with the 2501 Program?

☐This is the first time the organization has received a 2501 grant

☐The organization has received multiple 2501 grants over time

The 2501 Program seeks to work with grantees to help inform and build their capacity to work with producers. For each of the following items, please rate how well you think the 2501 Program has been doing with assisting grantees.

	Not well at all (1)	Slightly well (2)	Moderately well (3)	Very well (4)	Extremely well (5)
Offering opportunities to provide meaningful input to USDA on how well the program meets the needs of grantees and their partners	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Sharing ideas and lessons learned to inform future practices	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Providing grantees with training on programmatic, performance, and financial reporting requirements	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Disseminating updated information on USDA programs and services	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Coordinating opportunities for networking and partnerships among farmers, USDA personnel, nonprofits, and agricultural organizations	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

What do you like the most about partnering with the 2501 Program as a grantee?

________________________________________________________________

What suggestions do you have to make the 2501 Program better from your perspective as a grantee?

________________________________________________________________

What other assistance would you like to have from USDA to support socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers beyond the 2501 Program?

________________________________________________________________

Now we will shift to the 2501 Project your organization is leading. In answering these questions, please think specifically about the efforts your organization has undertaken with 2501 grant support.

Which of the following 2501 Program priorities is your 2501 Project addressing?  (Please select all that apply.)

Helping socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers to:

☐ Own or operate successful farms or ranches

☐ Improve participation in USDA programs

☐ Build and maintain relationships between current and prospective

farmers/ranchers and USDA personnel

☐ Introduce agriculture-related information through innovative training and technical

assistance

☐ Introduce agricultural education to youth and/or beginning farmers/ranchers in

rural and persistent poverty communities

☐ Not listed, please specify

Thinking of your organization’s 2501 Project, what are the tools, training topics, and/or technical assistance you have provided to assist socially disadvantaged and/or veteran farmers/ranchers to be more successful? (Please select all that apply.)

☐ Financial technical assistance

☐ Farm planning

☐ Marketing techniques and strategies

☐ Addressing farm-related wellbeing

☐ Developing trust between organizations

☐ Building partnerships

☐ Not listed, please specify

For any of the tools, training, and/or technical assistance your organization provided to socially disadvantaged and/or veteran farmers/ranchers, please describe what you consider the most notable successes.

________________________________________________________________

For any of the tools, training, and/or technical assistance your organization provided to socially disadvantaged and/or veteran farmers/ranchers, please describe what you consider the most pressing challenges.

________________________________________________________________

Based on your experiences working with socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers, please rank the following challenges in priority order, with number one being the most challenging.

______ Resolving heirs' property issues

______ Planning for succession/estate planning

______ Managing farm business and finances

______ Accessing credit

______ Accessing USDA programs and services

______ Accessing other programs and services at the state or local level

______ Implementing best agricultural practices

______ Exploring innovative approaches to farming

______ Exploring innovative approaches to marketing

______ Understanding basic financial literacy

______ Not listed, please specify

What kinds of assistance from OPPE would most help your organization’s work to assist socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers? Mark the response that best matches each of the following areas of assistance.

	Assistance from the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) would be…
	Unhelpful (1)	Slightly helpful (2)	Moderately helpful (3)	Very helpful (4)	Extremely helpful (5)
Setting up financial management record keeping to align with grant requirements	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Identifying and documenting outcomes/impacts	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Writing quarterly reports	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Marketing programs effectively	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Linking to relevant USDA/federal partners & resources	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Understanding USDA program opportunities for socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Not listed, please specify:	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

To conclude, we want to know a little more about your organization.

What type of organization is the 2501 Program grantee?

☐ 1862 Land Grant University

☐ 1890 Land Grant University

☐ 1994 Land Grant University

☐ Hispanic Serving Institution

☐ Federally Recognized Tribe

☐ Nonprofit Organization

☐ Community-Based Organization

☐ Not listed, please specify

2501 Producer Survey

You are receiving this information because you participated in agricultural/ranching programming with the organization inviting you to complete the questionnaire that was supported through the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (known as the “2501 Program”).

This program needs your input to inform how to strengthen the initiative. Specifically, we aim to improve outreach efforts and enhance technical assistance to socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers with our partner grantees. Please take a few moments to respond to the questions below.

To start, we will ask questions about your experiences with the organization providing education, outreach, and technical assistance with 2501 Program support.

How often have you received help from this organization?

☐ This is the first time the organization provided me assistance

☐ The organization has provided me assistance multiple times

☐ Could expand this section

What kind of help have you received from this organization: (Please select all that apply.)

☐ Financial technical assistance

☐ Farm planning

☐ Marketing techniques and strategies

☐ Addressing farm-related wellbeing

☐ Developing trust between organizations

☐ Building partnerships

☐ Not listed, please specify

For each of the topics chosen above for the tools, training, and/or technical assistance this organization provided you, please rate how well you think this organization has done, ranging on scale from not well at all = 1 to extremely well = 5.

What do you like the most about participating in activities offered by this organization?

________________________________________________________________

What suggestions do you have for improving activities or assistance such as this?

________________________________________________________________

What other assistance would you like to have from USDA to support producers like you?

________________________________________________________________

Based on your experiences as a producer, please rank the following challenges by putting them in priority order, with number one being the most challenging.

______ Resolving heirs' property issues

______ Planning for succession/estate planning

______ Managing farm business and finances

______ Accessing credit

______ Accessing USDA programs and services

______ Accessing other programs and services at the state or local level

______ Implementing best agricultural practices

______ Exploring innovative approaches to farming

______ Exploring innovative approaches to marketing

______ Understanding financial literacy

______ Not listed, please specify

To conclude, we want to know a little more about you and your farm/ranch.

How many years have you been farming/ranching?

☐ Less than 5 years

☐ 5 to 10 years

☐ 10 years or more

What is your age in years?    

☐ 18 to 24

☐ 25 to 34

☐ 35 to 44

☐ 45 to 54

☐ 55 to 64

☐ 65 or older

How would you describe your sex?    

☐ Female

☐ Male

☐ Not listed, please specify:__________

Please select one:

☐ Hispanic or Latino

☐ Not Hispanic or Latino

How would you describe your race or ethnicity? (Select all that apply.) **IN ALPHA ORDER

☐ American Indian

☐ Asian

☐ Black/African American

☐ Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

☐ White

☐ Not listed, please specify:__________

Are you a military veteran?

☐ Yes

☐ No

Thank you for completing this questionnaire. We really appreciate your time.

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT

The respondents will receive as noted on each form an assurance of the protection and confidentiality as outlined in the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act and the Confidential Information Provisions of Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107–347 and other applicable Federal laws.  Respondents will be informed that their responses will be kept confidential and not disclosed in identifiable form to anyone other than USDA employees or its agents.  Included in the notification will be the assurance that the information provided will be used for registration, response and research purposes only.  

OMB DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. There is no valid OMB control number as this information collection is new. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

Page 12 of 12