The Power of Collaborative Farmer-to-Farmer Peer Networks

<p>This week we take a look into what it means to develop a comprehensive curriculum for new farmers on a small and medium scale with guest expert, <a href="https://drmacoleman.com/about-me">Dr. Marcus Coleman</a>. He is currently serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Tulane University and previously served as Program Director for <a href="https://lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/departments/spess/grow-louisiana">Grow Louisiana Beginning Farmer Training Program at LSU AgCenter</a>. Dr. Coleman explains the importance of diversification and some of the common barriers that small- and medium-sized growers face in the beginning, specifically in New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole. However, he is bringing an innovative shift to farmer training by incorporating marketing and leadership development. We learn a lot in this conversation about tools to help farmers take the lead, examples of farmers scaling up and one positive outcome of the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>