Beginning Farmer Program Evaluation Resource Library

The Beginning Farmer Program Evaluation Resource Library is a compilation of materials to assist beginning farmer and rancher training programs to conduct evaluation.

This Resource Library was created as part of the Gaining Results through Evaluation Work (GREW) project, funded through a US Department of Agriculture Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) grant. This project supports the development of strong, effective and long-lasting farmer and rancher training programs so that beginning farmers enter the field of farming and establish successful farm businesses.

This library contains hundreds of resources focused on running effective and thorough program evaluations collected by the GREW team. Some resources focus explicitly on farming projects and others provide more general program evaluation instruction. You can use the topic of interest buttons below to search for the types of materials of interest or you can type a search directly “I’m looking for…” bar. 

Below are a series of compiled tipsheets that highlight some of the key resources in the library and aggregate them into useful groupings to help navigate through the evaluation content.

Basic Evaluation Tools and Resources
There are many resources available on the web to help people conduct program evaluation. It can be somewhat overwhelming to wade through them all. To make the process simpler, we have highlighted a few key documents. These items offer basic information and guidance for different aspects of conducting evaluation.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Resources for Using Self-Assessment as a Learning and Evaluation Strategy
Self-assessment in beginning farmer programs can help improve learning outcomes for participants and serve programs as an evaluation tool. GREW offers several resources for learning more about, and utilizing, self-assessment in BFR programs.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Surveys, Assessments and Other Tools for Evaluating Beginning Farmer Training Programs
The GREW Resource Library contains hundreds of resources focused on running effective and thorough beginning farmer and rancher program evaluations. More than 75 new resources have been added to the library and more than 40 of these resources are examples of survey tools, reports, assessments and logic models done by peer organizations serving beginning farmers and ranchers.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Evaluation Resources

Twelve new articles, webinars, and websites have been added to our Online Evaluation Resource Library that feature information related to incorporating equity, inclusion, and diversity into evaluation work. In this document we highlight three examples from our library as a starting point for your explorations.  Download the .pdf tipsheet here.

Please visit again – more resources will be added regularly.

If you have a resource you would like to see, have a resource you’d like to share, or have any feedback about the Resource Library, please contact nesfp@tufts.edu.

A Simple Method to Evaluate Series-Type Extension Programs

Source: University of Georgia - K. S. U. Jayaratne , Gail Hanula, Connie Crawley

"This article describes how to evaluate the impact of a series-type Extension program. Evaluating program impact is essential for Extension accountability. The evaluation method described in this article is simple and effective in documenting the impact of one Extension program taught as a series. This approach can be used to evaluate other series-type Extension programs by modifying the behavior section of the instrument presented in this article to match the program content and objectives. This evaluation tool not only helps Extension agents document impact but also helps them to focus on the program objectives during the program delivery process."

A User-Friendly Evaluation Resource Kit for Extension Agents Delivering Financial Education Programs

Source: North Carolina State University - K. S. U. Jayaratne

"Inadequate evaluation tools and limited evaluation capacity prevent many Extension agents from effectively assessing program impact. A user-friendly and reliable resource kit is now available to help agents evaluate their financial education programs. This resource kit has an online evaluation manual and a database. The manual is available to help educators understand basic evaluation concepts and learn how to use the database. The database is available to help agents design customized evaluation instruments based on their specific program needs. A reliable evaluation instrument can be created within about 10 minutes." 

Advisee Client Feedback Survey

Source: Advisee Client Feedback Survey

Land for Good sends this survey to all clients it has provided one on one technical assistance and advising to, including farmers looking for land, dealing with lease or tenure security, or involved in farm transfer. This is administered in many different forms including online, by mail, and by agents in the field providing technical assistance. It measures changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior speaking to short and near term outcomes of Land for Good.

Analyzing Qualitative (Textual) Assessment Data

Source: Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning, Washington State University

This document provides information on analyzing qualitative assessment data, touching upin purpose, context and audience, examining and organizing data, andinterpreting and reporting results.

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