We work to provide training and technical assistance that supports and sustains Virginia’s small, minority farmers, the program also uniquely positioned to solicit insights and perspectives from the constituencies it serves, as well as from agriculture-related service providers with the following goals:

In the last decade, VSU’s Small Farm Outreach Program, part of the university’s Cooperative Extension program, has established itself as a leader in the Commonwealth for its training and technical assistance to minority, limited-resource, socially disadvantaged and military veteran farmers and ranchers. SFOP provides educational programming, outreach and training designed to encourage and assist these small farmers and ranchers to own, maintain and operate farms and ranches independently, to participate in agricultural programs, and to improve their overall farm management skills. VSU’s Small Farm Outreach Program also is uniquely positioned to engage agriculture service provides (i.e., employees from federal and state agencies, ag-related business and non-profits organizations) to ascertain the needs of small and beginning farmers and how best to assist them.