Award Details:

1. Beginning Farmer of the Year receives a $1,000 award in a public ceremony and a free pass to Industry Day at the Good Food EXPO (Friday) in Chicago.
2. Finalists (one farmer from each farmer alliance in Routes to Farm) will receive honorable mention, a $100 award, and a free pass to Industry Day at the Good Food EXPO (Friday).
3. Finalists are selected by their farmer alliance by Friday, January 26th, 2018.
4. Beginning Farmer of the Year is selected by representatives of the farmer alliances in Routes to Farm by Friday, February 9th, 2018.
5. Mentor Farmer of the Year receives a $200 award and a free pass to Industry Day at the Good Food EXPO (Friday). (The Beginning Farmer of the Year selects a Mentor Farmer of the Year to be honored.)
6. Winners will be notified on Monday, February 12th, 2018. They are presented awards in a public ceremony along with the video of the recognized Beginning Farmer of the Year at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food EXPO in Chicago on Friday, March 23rd, 2018. The Good Food EXPO & Conference is the leading event of its type in the country, and will be celebrating its 14th Anniversary in 2018. FamilyFarmed is delighted to offer Industry Day and special Industry Networking Reception passes (Friday) to the two winners and the finalists.
7. The Beginning Farmer of the Year and the Mentor Farmer of the Year must be present at the award ceremony to receive the award, will be featured in a press release, and need to be available for various media interviews.
8. The beginning farmer honorable mentions will be featured in a press release and will need to be available for various media interviews as requested.
9. The submitted videos will become property of Routes to Farm and may be used solely by Routes to Farm and its program partners for publicity and in online marketing materials to promote beginning farmer training.

How to Submit a Nomination:

Each Routes to Farm alliance has their own individual submission deadlines and nomination procedures. Please contact your alliance for more information.

Each video must be 3 minutes or less and answer these ten questions to be eligible:

1. What is your name and what is your farm’s name?
2. Where is your farm?
3. How long has your farm been in operation?
4. How much land do you farm and what is it like? Is it urban, peri-urban or rural?
5. What does your farm produce/sell and to whom?
6. Why do you farm?
7. What farmer alliance in Routes to Farm are you a member of and for how many years have you been a member?
8. How has your farmer alliance helped you launch or grow your farm?
9. What is the biggest obstacle you face or have overcome as a beginning farmer?
10. What is new on your farm next season? How are you innovating or growing?

Criteria for Selection:

1. Video is 3 minutes or less and all eligibility questions are addressed
2. Video shares a compelling, creative, humorous, or inspiring story
3. Video demonstrates how farmer has been a leader, innovator, or community-builder
4. Video features footage of the farm and the farmer
5. The farmer is a member of at least one farmer alliance in Routes to Farm
6. The farmer is in the first 10 years of farm business operation
7. The awardee agrees to attend and participate in the award ceremony at the Good Food EXPO in Chicago
8. The video raises the public profile of beginning farmers, mentor farmers and the farmer alliances that support them

Benefits of Participation:

1. Builds credentials with the farmer’s customer base
2. Broadens the farm’s visibility through features on routes2farm.org, FamilyFarmed.org, GoodFoodFestivals.com and LearnGrowConnect.org as well as inclusion in materials at the Good Food EXPO & Conference which reached 7500+ individuals in 2017 and farmer alliance websites and social media outlets.
3. Benefits from using the video submission in the farm’s own marketing and social media presence
4. Features the farm in alternative agriculture publications and local press in collaboration with staff support at Angelic Organics Learning Center and FamilyFarmed.
5. Publicity through Angelic Organics Learning Center, whose distribution list reaches more than 9,000 people. Additional publicity on the distribution lists of Family Farmed, Good Food
6. Festival and participating Farmer Alliances.
7. Builds connections for the farm through attendance at the Good Food EXPO & Conference
8. Raises the public profile of your associated farmer alliance