The Center's Small Farm Education project has a 6-month classroom training program that is open to the whole family. The Risk Management Agency has a big stake in the success of this program and the outreach activities of the Center. Participants get a chance to practice their new skills before they're on their own. They enter a three-year apprentice relationship with the Center renting a half acre the first year that progresses to five acres the last year. Graduates and practicing farmers of the Latino community also have access to outreach training and technical advice from the Center.
Families have a financial as well as educational investment in their success.
Through the Center they are able to obtain a line of credit and get technical assistance. The goal is to train the farmers to manage their farms as businesses. RDC farmers reduce their crop management and financial risks by planting between 5 and 15 varieties of various vegetables, mostly with niche markets. Throughout the whole RDC farm, between 30 and 45 different crops are grown throughout the year, of which 95 percent are organic vegetables and berries. Organic foods are a higher-value product with an expanding market for program participants.